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Fikile Mbalula addresses the media over the contents of the recently held ANCs NEC meeting.
African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says the party has seemingly failed to convince the communists not to be on the ballot.
Relations between the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP) appear to be at an all-time low. “We have reached a stage where we can’t persuade the SACP not to contest the upcoming local government elections. The SACP must be aware of the consequences of weakening the alliance,” Mbalula says.
The party has held regional conferences across the country, but many of them have been marred by disputes and court litigation.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) has not considered the results of the early provincial conferences.
Mbalula says, “We expect 45 regional conferences to take place between now and December. Timelines will be tightened in terms of conference guidelines.”
GNU
The ANC Secretary-General stresses that the organisation is forging ahead with its relationship with its partners in the Government of National Unity. He says the party’s NEC has taken a decision to reset the GNU and mandated officials to engage with current partners to broaden participation and give full effect to the statement of intent.
This comes after cracks appeared in the GNU following the recent approval of the national budget, which sparked renewed tensions between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance.
“The NEC resolved to reset the GNU. We will not allow opportunist forces to manipulate the GNU,” he adds.
The ANC accused the Democratic Alliance of wanting to dilute the country’s economic transformative agenda in order to please Western forces like the United States of America.
Tariffs
Mbalula explains that the shifting of the geopolitical landscape requires that South Africa assert its sovereignty, defend multilateralism, and pursue partnerships that advance inclusive development.
He says the ANC rejects attempts by domestic reactionaries and foreign forces to destabilise the country through misinformation and economic cohesion, adding that the NEC applauded the interventions announced by ministers of Trade and Industry, Parks Tau and his International Relations counterpart, Ronald Lamola, on the impending 30% tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
The NEC has also resolved to reconfigure the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the Western Cape.
The party says its membership is at 1.5 million verified members.
Mbalula was briefing the media on the outcomes of the recent National Executive Committee meeting:
The NEC is particularly resolute that South Africa will not be coerced into reversing its progressive economic transformation agenda or compromising its sovereignty under the guise of opportunistic foreign pressures.
The Democratic Alliance’s reaction to the Ministers’…
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) August 6, 2025
