Thabo Mbeki urges ANC to prioritise renewal, get rid of members who seek self-enrichment
The project of renewal within the ANC is moving slowly, although non-genuine members are already weaning themselves off the party.
That is the view shared by some ANC members in the Midlands, who have observed business people, who previously secured tenders through party connections, abandoning the ANC, along with former leaders joining opposition parties.
They spoke after former President Thabo Mbeki made a call for the party to take the renewal programme seriously and remove those who seek to use the party for self-enrichment. Mbeki made these remarks while attending a political education event in Durban at the weekend.
“Be honest about the state of the organisation. As a movement and an organisation, we recognise there is a crisis. You can’t drop from where we were to this 17% and think there is no crisis,” he said. He noted that the situation was so dire that even in localities, it was difficult to identify which areas were ANC strongholds.
“We want to honestly address the nature of our problems. What actions do we take regarding the renewal of the ANC? The sense I get is that we are all acknowledging it is a critical matter that must be attended to.”
He emphasised that the party needs to examine the relationship between renewal and conference.
“We can’t just say conference, conference. Who are these people that we are conferring? You need to be able to say there is a process of renewal that has taken place; it has produced this kind of member, this kind of cadre, and let them have a conference. Otherwise, you might be repeating that mistake if you have a conference first. You continue to put people in positions of power, people who should not even be in the ANC.”
Mbeki warned that the only way for the ANC to turn itself around is to cleanse itself of those members and leaders who join the party for self-enrichment. An ANC member in the Moses Mabhida region said this is precisely the process of ensuring genuine members are part of branches, which they have seen being followed by the province, although it is slow.
The member noted that the renewal process in KwaZulu-Natal is progressing very slowly. “Last week was the final meeting with the PTT (provincial task team); they were meeting with structures to start deploying task teams there. At the moment, the focus is very much on just trying to get the ANC process right.”
“For instance, it was found that a branch had listed 300 members whose memberships expire in 2026, but some of these members have left for other parties, leaving the branch with only 200 members. That is the first issue that had to be addressed,” said the member.
However, he added, there are changes that are not forced. Those who were using the party as a stepladder are abandoning it in droves.
“There are people that were involved in the school nutrition and other significant tenders in the Midlands who have shifted and begun to align themselves with the MK. There is a leader in the ANC who was recently unveiled by another party as its member. While the renewal process may be slow, the party is naturally undergoing a cleansing process as members leave on their own.”
Another ANC member in the Moses Mabhida region said, “When former President Thabo Mbeki speaks of renewal, he speaks to the heart of what South Africans are crying out for: a political home that is honest, accountable, and committed to serving people rather than exploiting their struggles. On the ground, renewal is uneven – it is a vision rather than a lived reality.”
“Communities still witness councillors and leaders who put themselves above the people, and this breeds mistrust. Yet at the same time, we also see dedicated cadres who work tirelessly in villages, townships, and cities, often with little recognition, holding the movement together and ensuring services reach the most vulnerable. That tension is the reality of renewal today: a battle between principle and patronage.
“The renewal we demand is not just cleansing the corrupt; it is reclaiming the soul of the movement, aligning it once again with the needs of the people,” she said.
Political analyst Siyabonga Ntombela said he is sceptical about the renewal project.
“In my opinion, the renewal project is an impossible feat for the ANC. They have tried it numerous times; they do not seem to get it right. Those alleged to be corrupt are at the helm of the ANC leadership; therefore, how can they be removed? If it’s possible, let’s start by removing all those who were mentioned in the State Capture report.”