ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has come out swinging, accusing the Democratic Alliance (DA) of fuelling recent tensions between the US and the African National Congress.
Speaking at a media briefing on the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) outcomes, Mbalula claimed that the DA’s lobbying efforts during trips to the United States undermined South Africa’s transformative agenda.
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Fikile Mbalula labelled the DA’s actions as “political mischief,” accusing the party of campaigning against the country’s progressive policies. This, he suggested, paved the way for Washington’s punitive tariffs and threats to sanction ANC leaders.
“You can’t, for national interest, say undo BEE to appease the US because among others this is what the US wants of us — that we must do away with certain policies which for us, in terms of transformation policy, are not going to assist us,” Mbalula said.
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Fikile Mbalula Says: ‘Let It Be’, ANC Defiant in Face of Possible Sanctions
Unfazed by warnings from the US Congress, Fikile Mbalula issued a bold response. He said the ANC would not bow to foreign pressure and would stay the course on its transformation goals — even if it meant sanctions.
“Even if it means that we suffer through sanctions as leaders of the ANC, let it be. We will never back imperialists to subvert our democracy, to subvert our sovereignty… We will never forsake our country which we fought for,” he declared.
In the same address, Mbalula said the party would open talks with its tripartite alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP), which had announced plans to contest future elections independently. He warned that such a move could weaken the broader national democratic revolution (NDR).
“The ANC will act with maturity and fortitude, engaging our allies with humility but also with clarity… However, we might have reached a stage where we are unable to [shift] the SACP from its decision to contest the elections and we believe that will weaken the NDR — and it is important that the SACP understands the implications of its decision,” he said.
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Western Cape Structure Disbanded, Focus Shifts to Key Provinces
The NEC has resolved to disband the ANC’s troubled Western Cape provincial executive committee, citing the need for stronger organisational discipline and political education. National subcommittees will be deployed to the province, while the party’s working committee will oversee the restructuring.
Mbalula reported that both Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have shown substantial progress in restoring internal coherence and rebuilding grassroots structures — a critical development, given that these two provinces account for more than 40% of the ANC’s electoral base.
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Earlier this year, the ANC dissolved both provincial structures after disappointing election results caused the party to dip below the 50% majority threshold nationally.
The party’s national general council (NGC), a key midterm policy review, will be held in December at the Nasrec Expo Centre. Fikile Mbalula said it would host 1,600 delegates and the finalised theme and strategic framework would be announced in due course.
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