Mbalula’s ambitions are ‘sowing divisions’ in the Free State

ANC insiders and some Free State provincial executive committee (PEC) members have accused secretary general Fikile Mbalula of sowing division in the province as he looks to consolidate numbers for his presidential bid at the party’s 2027 elective conference.

Sources said Mbalula has failed to garner support for his presidential ambitions from his home province and is allegedly trying to use municipal placements to gain favour ahead of 2027. 

Mbalula has denied that his involvement in the province is intended to serve his own ambitions. He has also insisted that he has no plan to run for the ANC presidency in 2027. 

If Mbalula does stand for president at the conference, he is likely to go head-to-head with national and party deputy president Paul Mashatile, who has made clear his ambition to take the top spot. 

But if Mbalula’s alleged campaign plans are implemented, and people are purged as is allegedly intended, this would divide the ANC in the province, leaving it with no chance of winning a majority in next year’s local government elections, according to a source close to the matter.

The source said even though Mbalula grew up in the Free State, he did not have a base in his home province, and PEC members would not support him as ANC president.

The “divisions” being talked about in the Free State were being deliberately orchestrated “to find a way for Mbalula and his supporters to act against people” who would not support his bid, the insider added.

Over the weekend, ANC officials and the national working committee (NWC) visited five regions in the province to assess the state of he ANC’s branches. It has been speculated that the committee is considering reconfiguring or disbanding the PEC because of divisions and infighting among its leaders. 

This would not be the first time the ANC had dissolved the provincial leadership, having done so in 2012 and 2021.

The source said that Mbalula asked for a standalone presentation on governance in the Free State, which was not the norm during the NWC’s visits to provinces.

Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae had made the presentation, the source said, adding: “It’s the first time — it’s never been done. Everywhere it’s a presentation that combines governance and [political matters]. He [wanted the premier] to say she is not treated well and not given space to operate. 

“He is supposed to have a base here in the Free State but he doesn’t have one. The [PEC] don’t want him. These divisions they are talking about are things that are just planted.”

On Monday, Mbalula told a media briefing in Bloemfontein that the ANC would not tolerate cadre deployment, which prioritised political connections over competence.

“Only those who can effectively deliver services will be retained or appointed. A skills audit for all senior municipal managers in the Free State is being conducted to ensure qualified and competent individuals occupy key positions in municipalities,” Mbalula said.

Mbalula said the Free State had immense potential for economic growth but this had been hindered by poor governance, lack of investment and inadequate infrastructure.

To stabilise municipalities in the province, he said the ANC’s local government interventions task team would be sent to assist those that were struggling with technical support and backing where urgent action was needed.

“There are things that we have come across … that border on lack of performance, so action must be taken. You will see that a collective leadership will act on these issues. There should be no delay in addressing matters,” Mbalula said.

This has caused tension in the province, with some party members saying only those favoured by Mbalula would benefit from changes to positions in municipalities. 

They questioned on what basis people would be removed from their posts, given that all the municipalities in the Free State had been found wanting, with not one receiving a clean audit. 

According to the latest report from the auditor general, many municipalities in the province are drowning in debt, particularly unpaid bills to bulk water suppliers and power utility Eskom.

Parliament’s portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs heard last month that R40 billion was also owed to Free State municipalities, with 70% of that relating to households.  

In the same month, electricity was disconnected to the Fidel Castro and OR Tambo buildings, which house, among others, the provincial treasury and education departments and the office of the premier, because of unpaid bills. 

The Citizen reported at the time that the provincial government owed R200 million to Centlec, the power utility in the Mangaung metro­politan municipality.

The insider said replacing municipal deployees with those allegedly allied to Mbalula would cause further divisions and damage the organisation.

“People are already promising mayorship to people who will support them, which is crippling the party,” the well-placed source said. 

“Remember that to run patronage, you remove the leadership so that you have control of deployment.”

Asked during the briefing in Bloemfontein whether he was trying to garner support for his presidential campaign, Mbalula said the NWC was not in the Free State to reinforce any particular programme but rather to “consolidate the existence of the ANC” so that it “does not perish”. 

He said the NWC was not replacing the PEC, but doing what was expected of it, which was to service all party structures on the ground.

“We have full confidence in our PEC in the Free State led by Mxolisi Dukwana. There is no house that doesn’t have problems. 

“These comrades have fought hard in an election which we thought we’d lose hands down,” Mbalula said.

Asked whether he was confident that the ANC would win most of the municipalities in next year’s local government elections, Mbalula said winning was not a given and the party needed to work for it. 

People voted for a party according to what it had done for them, he said, adding: “We are confident that, here in the Free State, we will win if the government is doing the right thing.”

Another insider said “a lot of people” were starting to realise what Mbalula was doing. 

The party was no longer the priority, the source said, as people rushed to position themselves for the 2027 elective conference. They said Dukwana had fallen victim to the internal battles in the ANC.

They also said that he was fighting corruption in the Free State.

During former Free State strongman and then premier Ace Magashule’s tenure, Dukwana was fired from the cabinet after exposing graft. During the Zondo commission hearings, Dukwana implicated Magashule in a case involving a roofing contract, the trial for which is set to start next month. 

Magashule and the other accused face more than 70 charges of corruption, fraud, money laundering and attempted theft over a R255 million asbestos roofing contract. 

Dukwana also told the commission that Magashule had abused his power and laundered money from the public purse.

“Dukwana is supported — he is known to have stood up at the most unpopular time — if you go and tamper with that, do you think the organisation will remain intact?” asked the source. 

“There used to be Ace Magashule here, a strongman, just like Mpumalanga premier [David Mabuza] who controlled everything. 

“For the first time, the PEC is operating without a strongman and you can see that they are trying.”

The province was being “tampered with” because of the elective conference, the source asserted.

“They want to push for saying there are divisions, therefore. The reason why this thing is exhibited is the issues of 2027 — all of us know ¬… it’s the driving force. As much as people say they are not campaigning, people are campaigning.”

A PEC member said “comrades” were worried after witnessing the recent reconfiguration of the ANC in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, following the ANC’s dismal performance in the provinces last year during the elections, fearing a push for the same action in the Free State.

The ANC secured a narrow majority with 52.88% of the votes in the Free State, a marked drop from 62.94% in 2019.

“What happened in those two provinces was worrying us a lot. 

“We are just questioning ourselves why Northern Cape is not being addressed because they got less than 50% in the elections. We got over 50%, so we won the elections,” the PEC member said.

“The problem we are having is that there are starting to be divisions here. In some municipalities, members of the ANC are working against each other, which is a problem.

“We are coming from that time of Ace where they were divided and, as the PEC, we have warned against divisions that will cause problems if it continues.”

Some in the province have been calling for Letsoha-Mathae to be removed as premier and be replaced by Dukwana, who was premier from 24 February 2023 to June last year.

It is part of ANC culture to interview candidates for premiership and mayoral positions and Dukwana allegedly failed his interview with the party’s top seven last year at the party’s Johannesburg headquarters Luthuli House. He was interviewed alongside Letsoha-Mathae  and Dibolelo Mahlatsi-Mance.

Dukwana is the provincial speaker in the legislature, a position his supporters feel was a demotion.  

Dukwana said he respected and supported the decision of the party’s national executive committee to deploy Letsoha-Mathae as premier, adding that she should be assisted in doing her job. 

Asked about factionalism, he said that there would be “challenges” in any organisation. 

“Differences of opinion should not be characterised as factions — there should be an understanding that people come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives.” 

He said the NWC’s visit to the Free State was intended to strengthen the party and to ensure that its machinery was ready for elections.

“Whatever the organisation does is in the best interests of ensuring that the unity of the organisation stands.”

Commenting on the ANC’s 2026 election chances in the province, Dukwana said the Free State leadership was working on winning but this could only be achieved if they had “functional structures which lead communities in resolving challenges they face”. 

The party was committed to dealing with the trust deficit on the part of voters, he said, conceding this was a huge task.

ANC provincial secretary Polediso Motsoeneng insisted there were no divisions in the Free State and that the visit by the NWC was a routine leadership function to get a sense of the state of the organisation and “where there are weaknesses, they will have to provide support”. 

Motsoeneng said there would be no disbandment in the province. People differed in terms of ideas when in meetings, he said, but ultimately there was consensus on what was discussed and decisions were taken by the collective. This did not constitute disunity or division. 

Asked about the prospect of Dukwana being made premier again, he said that appointment was the prerogative of national officials and the PEC supported Letsoha-Mathae.

“I can assure you she will finish her term,” he said.

In a message addressed to party members, seen by the Mail & Guardian, deputy chair Toto Makume expressed frustration over internal issues that he said should have been raised earlier instead of waiting for the NEC’s visit.

Makume questioned why certain “comrades” only brought up important issues when party leaders visited their areas, instead of addressing them proactively.

“As usual, now that this meeting has come and gone, many of these discussions will disappear again, making our case seem opportunistic rather than truthful,” the message read. Makume warned against factionalism, saying: “When we push for disbandment or destruction, it appears we are only interested in positions. 

“This is what we were told in our meeting with the NWC. Comrade SG [Mbalula] asked an important question: ‘Why do we mobilise for the wrong things?’”