ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has issued a stern warning to party members, urging them to remain focused on rebuilding the organization and not be diverted by trivial matters, as the party prepares for its crucial mid-term National General Council (NGC).
The NGC, a key event on the ANC’s calendar, is scheduled to take place at Nasrec, Johannesburg, from December 8th to the 12th. The gathering will serve as a platform for thousands of delegates to assess the party’s strengths and weaknesses, review progress since its last National Conference, and chart a way forward amidst current challenges.
The party’s National Executive Committee has already adopted a 72-page discussion document that will anchor all NGC deliberations. Delegates are set to discuss two main documents: the NGC-based document on the state of the national democratic revolution and the balance of forces, and the mid-term report reviewing the implementation of resolutions from the party’s 55th National Conference.
Ahead of the national event, Regional General Councils and Provincial General Councils are meeting to consolidate their positions. It was at the Mpumalanga Provincial General Council on Saturday that Secretary General Mbalula delivered his pointed message.
“There are people who are planning things for the general council. They are planning things,” Mbalula stated, addressing the attendees. “You, branches, will defend the ANC. The people want to see the ANC emerge from the general council a strong organization, decisive, leading the motive forces going forward, dealing with the challenges before it.”
He cautioned members against losing focus, warning, “You are diverted by things that have got no meaning.”
The warning comes as various party structures are defining their stances on key national issues. The ANC Youth League, which recently held its own NGC in Kimberley, Northern Cape, resolved on several radical economic interventions. These include the expropriation of land without compensation, the nationalization of the “commanding heights of the economy” such as mines and banks, and the merger of the Post Bank and African Bank into a single, strong state-owned “People’s Bank.”
The Youth League also advocated for the protection of township economies from “foreign exploitation” and called for a significant increase in the local processing of minerals, proposing that 70% of mineral exports be processed domestically to create jobs.
Meanwhile, in regions like the West Rand in Gauteng, local leaders are focusing on the practicalities of governance, particularly the need for formalized coalition laws. A regional representative emphasized the urgency, stating, “It’s one thing that we will push robustly so that we have a legislation that can govern local government in terms of coalition government.”
The NGC will convene at a critical juncture for the country, coinciding with the work of the Madlanga Commission. This parliamentary ad hoc committee is currently investigating serious allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal top cop, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, against various individuals and state organs, adding a layer of national significance to the party’s internal deliberations.
