Axe falls on Radebe in ANC KZN major leadership overhaul

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula on Wednesday announced a major overhaul of the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial top leadership, dropping party heavyweight Jeff Radebe as provincial leader while elevating the party’s provincial coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu to the position of ANC provincial leader. Announcing the leadership changes in Durban, Mbalula said the current 67-member KZN provincial task team (PTT) will be trimmed. “As the ANC, we have made it clear that we want a smaller PTT,” he said.

Apart from Radebe, ANC senior provincial leaders who were dropped include former premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, who was the party’s PTT deputy co-ordinator, and former Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi, who was the party’s first deputy convenor. Former eThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo was appointed the ANC provincial co-ordinator, while former Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi was appointed as the new first deputy convenor. High-profile ANC provincial leaders who were returned include Transport and Human Settlements MEC Sibonelo Duma, who returned to his position as the party’s second deputy convenor and Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, who returned to her ANC provincial Fundraiser position.

The ANC provincial leadership reshuffle came a few weeks after Mbalula and members of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) had complained about the performance of the KZN PTT. However, Mbalula on Wednesday denied that outgoing PTT members were removed due to poor performance. “The truth of the matter is that the term of the PTT has lapsed,” he said. Mbalula added that the ANC leadership still had confidence in Radebe.