KZN ANC says Mbeki warned them about potential loss of support in the province
'He told us that we must renew the ANC and put renewal at the top of the agenda, because if don’t... it takes one election that we just get wiped out,' said Bheki Mtolo.
ANC KZN secretary Bheki Mtolo at the provincial results operations centre on 2 June 2024. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza/Eyewitness News
DURBAN - The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) says former president Thabo Mbeki warned them about the possibility of losing power in the province, long before the election.
The ANC in the province suffered the most at the May general polls, losing majority and clinching an unimpressive 17% of the votes.
On Friday, the party addressed the media for the first time since its drastic drop in support.
After they were elected as provincial leaders in July 2022, KZN ANC leaders visited former ANC presidents Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
The party said Mbeki gave them a tip on the importance of reviving party support in the province.
“He [Mbeki] told us that we must renew the ANC and put renewal at the top of the agenda, because if you don’t renew in KwaZulu-Natal, it takes one election that we just get wiped out,” said the party’s Bheki Mtolo.
Two weeks ago, the party’s national working committee visited the province for accountability of its structures in this regard.
It highlighted that despite its poor performance recently, there was still hope.