The ANC in eThekwini, which is the party’s largest region by membership, has begun a process of identifying members who have defected to former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
The region in KwaZulu-Natal is a traditional stronghold of the ANC, with the party having retained two key wards in December by-elections. The region has also set itself a goal of garnering 1.5-million votes for the ANC in 2024's elections as pressure mounts for it to retain governance of the province.
However, the recent announcement by Zuma that he would not be voting for the ANC in the elections and would instead be campaigning and voting for the newly formed MK party, has given the region's and provincial party's leadership the jitters at the prospect that the former president’s loyalists would follow him to the new party.
On Tuesday ANC regional secretary Musa Nciki instructed the leadership in 83 branches across the region to convene special branch executive meetings to assess the effect the MK party would have on the ANC in the region.
“The aim of this exercise is not to harm or label anyone. ANC members, BEC [branch executive committee] members and ANC voters are instructed to stop demonising those who might have joined MK party or have shown interest in MK party,” Nciki’s instruction note reads.
Branches have been given until January 3 to report back to the regional leadership on the number of people who have joined MK, or on ANC members who have been seen mobilising for the party.
Regional spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize says the regional leadership has been reliably informed that four BEC members have been campaigning for the new party since Zuma’s announcement on December 16.
“Preliminary indications are that there are not many other people who have joined the MK party in eThekwini, but we will await the final report,” he said.
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