Willing and ready: Provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi at a community meeting. Photo: ANC Amathole
Region
Eastern Cape ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi has confirmed that he is willing to lead the party in the province should ANC branches nominate him for the position of provincial chairperson at an elective conference scheduled for May.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, Ngcukayitobi said he would accept nomination if it came through the organisation’s formal structures.
“In our organisation, it is not about running, it is about availing yourself when the call has been made. If the branches call upon or make a request that I should be available, I will make myself available.”
Ngcukayitobi said he would not publicly discuss competing ambitions in the provincial leadership, including those of leaders who have indicated availability for further terms. Leadership questions should be resolved through ANC processes rather than individual declarations.
The ANC in the Eastern Cape is preparing for a closely watched provincial conference, with leadership succession emerging as a central issue. There has been speculation about whether the current provincial chairperson and premier, Oscar Mabuyane, will make himself available for a third term.
Mabuyane was first elected ANC Eastern Cape chair by a landslide majority in 2017 after a violent process which saw a brawl break out between his supporters and those of a rival faction led by then premier Phumulo Masualle. Chairs were thrown and eight people injured during the scuffle.
Mabuyane has denied that he is seeking a third term as chair, saying he is not campaigning for the position. In recent media interviews, he said reports suggesting that he was positioning himself for another term were incorrect.
“I am not seeking a third term,” Mabuyane told Eastern Cape radio station TruFM. “If branches say I must make myself available, I will consider it, but I am not campaigning for any position.”
Mabuyane had not responded to questions from the M&G by the time of going to print.
Despite Mabuyane’s denial, the issue has generated debate within the party, with several ANC regions in the Eastern Cape publicly expressing support for him to continue as chair. His backers argue that continuity and stability are necessary as the ANC prepares for the 2026 local government elections and seeks to consolidate its hold on the province.
But others say a third Mabuyane term would undermine leadership renewal and succession planning. Some ANC members and structures have argued that extended tenures risk entrenching divisions and intensifying internal contestation, particularly in a province that has experienced prolonged factional disputes.
The question of Mabuyane’s future leadership has become a focal point as branches prepare for nominations ahead of the provincial conference, intersecting with broader debates about renewal, accountability and the direction of the organisation in the Eastern Cape.
Ngcukayitobi said if elected chair, he would prioritise restoring political authority over ANC deployments to government, arguing that accountability had been weakened by blurred lines between the party and the state.
“There must be a separation between the party and the state. The party must hold those deployed to the state accountable,” he said.
The ANC’s national leadership must address challenges in local government by ensuring that deployment decisions are based on competence and professional qualifications rather than internal party considerations, Ngcukayitobi added.
“One of the most important elements we are discussing is the nature of the people who are appointed in local government,” he said.
He cited municipalities in the OR Tambo District that had stabilised under the leadership of legally trained mayors and highly qualified municipal managers.
“The person serving as mayor in that municipality is an admitted advocate. This is someone who has obtained an LLB degree, is well trained in various aspects of the law and has practiced as a lawyer,” he said.
“These are the kinds of individuals we need to place in charge of local government. The municipal manager in the same municipality held two master’s degrees and has extensive administrative experience; this is the kind of capability we need to attract through our deployment processes.”
Where such skills were not available within the ANC, he said the party should look beyond its ranks.
“If there are not enough suitable candidates among ourselves, we should look to the broader South African population, patriotic individuals who are willing to serve in local government. That, unfortunately, is ultimately a function of leadership.”
Ngcukayitobi said the ANC should reposition itself as a political organisation that holds the government to account, even where it governs, rather than absorbing public dissatisfaction with state performance. He said clearer lines of responsibility were required between party structures and government institutions.
The Eastern Cape should reconsider its reliance on foreign direct investment and instead adopt a state-led development strategy focused on public finance and infrastructure spending, he said.
“There is no alternative except to use money from the government to ignite growth,” he said, adding that declining foreign investment, particularly in the automotive sector, has exposed the province’s vulnerability and required a shift in economic thinking.
Government-led investment should be used to stimulate industrial activity, infrastructure development and boost the creation of jobs, he argued.
Ngcukayitobi said factionalism within the ANC was driven largely by competition for access to positions and state resources, arguing that addressing factionalism required removing the material incentives associated with leadership roles.
“As long as positions are treated as spoils, you will not defeat factionalism,”
Ngcukayitobi said he supported the introduction of lifestyle audits, criminal background checks and ethical clearance for ANC leaders and public representatives.
He said individuals who could not account for their wealth or failed ethical standards should not hold office.
“Police clearance must be available. Ethical clearance must be available,” he said.