Newly elected ANC Gauteng provincial chair and education MEC Panyaza Lesufi needs to ramp up implementation of the party's service delivery programmes in the government, to save SA’s economic hub from falling into opposition hands in the 2024 national election, senior party officials said.
Lesufi was narrowly elected to the influential position with 574 votes compared to co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Lebogang Maile’s 543, during the party's provincial elective conference in Benoni at the weekend.
Lesufi did not respond immediately to a request for comment and a media briefing by the newly elected provincial leadership scheduled for Monday was postponed.
Lesufi is likely to become the next Gauteng premier and take charge of SA’s economic powerhouse, which contributes about 35% to GDP. This after Gauteng premier David Makhura told Business Day recently that he would step down to make way for his successor to prepare for the 2024 national election, where the party’s electoral support is expected to dip below 50%.
The ANC is on shaky ground in Gauteng, where it lost control of the crucial metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane to DA-led coalitions during the 2021 municipal election after its national electoral support fell below the 50% mark for the first time since 1994.
The ANC’s electoral support has been declining in the province over the years, to 36.06% during the 2021 municipal elections from 45.84% and 59.66% during the 2016 and 2011 municipal elections respectively.
The province is faced with service delivery challenges pertaining to the supply of basic services such as housing, clinics, schools and water and electricity.
Speaking to Business Day on the sidelines of the provincial conference at the weekend, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele and Gauteng economic development MEC Parks Tau said they did not expect the newly-elected leadership to “start anything substantially new, but to implement” the party’s service delivery programmes to win back people’s trust and regain support in the upcoming elections.
“There is nothing new in terms of the programmes/content we need to adopt. The challenge we have, which we are working on right now, is to implement our resolutions,” Gungubele said.
“We accept that we lost the local government elections because we don’t do well in implementation ... that’s why we are trying to improve our situation.”
At the provincial conference on Friday, Lesufi’s predecessor, Makhura, blasted the ANC, characterising it as a “self-absorbed organisation” that was at war with itself.
He said the party focused on things that did not matter. “These are fundamental issues we must confront. We must not lie to ourselves. We disappointed people, the core base of the ANC, the people in our townships,” he said, stressing if the party did not address these issues then “in 2024 we will be gone”.
Makhura’s views echoed those of the party’s national chair, mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe, who told delegates attending the organisation’s Eastern Cape conference in May that the governing party had become “arrogant”, “out of touch with society”, and dogged by a “trust deficit”.
Tau said it was important for the party to embark on a “self-introspection journey” as 2024 was not far away.
“For me when we are reflecting on our own organisation and performance, it’s good for the organisation [because] we are then able to chart a way forward. [The build-up to 2024] is about reconnecting and ensuring that we are able to engage with the people and reflect on what made them to stay away [during the 2021 municipal poll],” Tau said.
Political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the possibility of the ANC’s electoral support dipping below 50% in 2024 was not far-fetched.
“The political behaviour of the electorate in Gauteng is completely different from other provinces ... the majority of people in Gauteng are part of the middle class. They don’t vote in relation to party loyalty, but in relation to whether those in power are able to keep their promises or not, and because of that you have a lot of rationale voters,” Breakfast said.
He said ramping up implementation of ANC programmes in the government would not be a silver bullet due to internal party divisions.
“The only opportunity the ANC has is to do well at provincial level and I don’t see them doing that. Lesufi was Makhura’s deputy, he has been there throughout the years. I don’t expect anything [new] from him, unfortunately.”
mkentanel@businesslive.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.