Senzo Mchunu.
Former ANC chairperson in the province Senzo Mchunu believes that the party is not about to die and will recover from its losses, despite its dismal election showing in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Mchunu was reacting to the news that his former comrade and former KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairperson and premier Willies Mchunu had joined Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party as the provincial convenor barely a month after resigning from the ANC.
Mchunu spoke to the Mail & Guardian on the sidelines of the ongoing four-day ANC national executive committee meeting in Boksburg on Friday, encouraging the party’s leadership in the province not to sit on its back but to address its issues “head-on”.
“The ANC is not about to die there, it’s about to get to its former situation or glory if you like and we will see to it that it happens,” the police minister and highly influential national working committee member said.
“Those who are gone, let them go and we wish them good luck. Those of us who are remaining, we are going to continue with the ANC, rebuild it because if there’s a problem in your home, you don’t change your surname, you don’t follow the destroyers.”
Mchunu said at the national level, he was happy that the ANC had taken it upon itself to rebuild the party after its electoral support dipped below 50 plus one percent required to govern the country outright.
“We are saying through the president that let’s take it upon ourselves to deal with rebuilding the organisation, I take it that we are going to fall on our words and swords and do just that.”
Willies Mchunu (the two are not related) resigned from the ANC earlier this month, citing concerns about the party’s current trajectory.
He has been a close associate of Zuma for decades, backing his run for the ANC presidency in 2007 and in 2015 was central to the defeat of Senzo Mchunu by Sihle Zikalala in the battle for chairperson.
The new Provincial Executive Committee recalled Senzo Mchunu and replaced him with Willies, who had been elected as deputy chairperson on Zikalala’s pro-Zuma ticket.
In his resignation letter, Willies referenced the formation of the GNU and the KwaZulu-Natal government of provincial unity as key issues influencing his decision.
He said that after reflecting on the ANC’s position after the elections, he no longer believed he could contribute effectively to the party as he believed it should have taken a different direction and worked with Zuma’s party.
Willies’ resignation was not unexpected, Senzo Mchunu said.
“We have been having discussions with comrades in the north, we were even expecting it. It’s no issue,” he said.
“When we fought for democracy in South Africa, we were opening up political choices, we were opening up political spaces that were closed before and available for members of the ANC including Willies. People are free to make political choices.”
“A number of people have defected from the ANC starting with the Congress of the People, some of them later came back, some defected to the Economic Freedom Fighters, some came back, and some remain there. MK got formed and some people are defecting, which has been happening,” he said.