ANC's Mbalula dismisses Mtolo's comments blaming him & Ramaphosa for party's decline in KZN

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has hit back at the party’s secretary in KwaZulu-Natal, Bheki Mtolo, who said that both Mbalula and party president, Cyril Ramaphosa, should be held accountable for its electoral decline in the province.

Last week, Mtolo reportedly stated that the blame for the party's failure to secure a majority in KZN shouldn't rest solely with the provincial leadership.

The ANC's performance in the province plummeted from 54% in the 2019 elections to just 17% in the 2024 general polls.

On Monday, the ANC's KZN leadership met with the party’s national working committee in Boksburg to address the significant electoral decline in the province.

As the ANC assesses its electoral setbacks in KwaZulu-Natal, some provincial leaders appear dissatisfied with shouldering all the blame.

The party’s provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, believes what he calls Ramaphosa's "weakness" played a role in the party’s electoral defeat in the province.

But Mbalula has dismissed Mtolo’s remarks, asserting that his comments hold no merit.

"Those remarks by Mtolo mean nothing. We are here now, and we are moving forward. We make nothing of those remarks, they mean nothing because we are 17%. And we have told them that today."

Mbalula said this was not the time to play the blame game over the ANC's electoral decline in KwaZulu-Natal, stressing that what is needed now is collective accountability.