The Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (MKP) encouraged councillors in municipalities “to do the right thing” as the ANC breakaway party looks set to target municipalities after its historic success in last week’s elections.
The party said councillors who want to work with the MKP to fix the country should come over, saying there is no time to waste.
The MKP caused a stir in the provincial and national elections when it dislodged the ANC as the ruling party in KwaZulu-Natal and became the third-largest party in the country.
ANC leaders in key municipalities in KZN on Tuesday expressed confidence that their councils will not be collapsed by mass resignations of councillors.
‘The Mercury’ spoke to councillors in eThekwini Metro and Msunduzi Municipality amid concerns that the party is faced with deepening problems after the electoral defeat.
A source in the ANC, who spoke to “The Mercury”, said the party is “caught between a rock and a hard place”, saying forging a coalition government with the DA nationally will plunge Africa’s oldest liberation movement into anarchy.
Another challenge, said a source, is that following the “clean sweep” of the MKP of many voting districts, there is genuine fear that some councillors might switch allegiances, resign their post, force a by-election and contest the elections under the MKP banner.
MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela, when asked about the party's ambition to take over municipalities said, “there is no time to waste, we cannot wait for the next 2026 local government elections. All the councillors that want to do the right thing, that want to come over, must come over.”
One ANC councillor said a partnership with the DA was not a reason members could resign, saying the parties had worked with worse organisations. “We worked with the national party, the architects of apartheid.
“If there are members that jump ship, we will cross that bridge when we get to it,” said the ANC councillor from Msunduzi Municipality.
A councillor in Durban said speculation of an exodus of councillors started immediately after former president Jacob Zuma formed his new political party.
“Zuma put many councillors that had supported him through his difficult time in a bad spot. Since he announced, those who were not in support have been making remarks suggesting that those councillors that had supported Zuma would also join MK Party, trying to provoke an exodus, but it's unlikely to happen.”
An ANCYL member in the KZN Midlands said a decision to join hands with the DA, while practical, would be destructive to the ANC in the long run, adding that it would undermine the party's strength.
“How would the ANC ensure that it maintains its left-leaning policies in light of any coalition it would form, understanding its position as a nationalist movement that is opposed to ultra-left and right policy positions.
“The people who would go to MK will do so because they want power, the desire of the ANC to go to any partnership, is also driven by the desire for power, if it were up to me, the party would be going to the opposition benches. The people have spoken, they do not want to be led by us,” she said.
Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said the ANC in Msunduzi was not worried about any exodus as ANC members are principled.
The Mercury