ANC members, like football fans, must continue supporting the party even as it faces difficulties, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says.
Speaking in Polokwane in Limpopo on Wednesday, Mbalula compared the ANC to a team that keeps losing matches but continues to have the support of fans.
“You must be like the Kaizer Chiefs’ fans. This club loses every day, but its fans continue to support it. They fill Peter Mokaba Stadium even though they are losing. They do not give up.
“Please do not be disheartened, this thing is full of hope. Kaizer Chiefs do not get disheartened, but they lose every weekend. Their fans will go to Cape Town to support the club even if it’s losing,” he said.
Mbalula said even in the most challenging times, ANC members must be like Orlando Pirates and be “happy people”.
“Love the ANC, do not lose hope,” he said.
Fix the ANC
He also compared the ANC to a boyfriend or girlfriend who is not perfect at the beginning of a relationship.
“You must fix your partner yourself. If it is a man struggling with alcoholism, you fix that man and make him stop his bad habits. One day, people will compliment this man, but they will not know that you are responsible for putting him on the right track,” he said.
“This ANC will be fixed by you,” he added.
He appealed to those gathered at the event to continue supporting the ANC, even as more political parties emerge in South Africa.
“Do not be enticed by what is fashionable. This is an old movement, it is 114 years old and it is still going strong. We are going to make it, comrades. Some of you are volunteers for the ANC and you do not even have jobs, but you love this organisation.”
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The ANC’s top province
He said Limpopo is the ANC’s current stronghold. It is not in any coalition with other parties in the province and runs most of the municipalities.
“We know that in the coming elections – with the work that you are doing at the level of the provincial government – we are going to win elections in this province.”
Mbalula’s comments come on the eve of the party’s 114th birthday celebrations in Rustenburg in the North West on Saturday.
Electoral decline
For the first time in democratic South Africa, the ANC lost their majority in parliament and now has to share power with smaller parties and its political nemesis, the DA.
In 2019, they received 57% of the vote, but last year, 40%. They have attributed this to the formation of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, a party formed by their former president, Jacob Zuma, in 2023.
Despite Mbalula’s optimism, some analysts predict that the ANC will continue to decline and could fall below 30% in some municipalities, especially in urban areas.
Factionalism and positions
The party has also battled factionalism and the fight for leadership roles.
Mbalula warned party members in Limpopo that they should avoid fighting each other “like cats”.
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