KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – Former South African president and ANC stalwart Thabo Mbeki has issued one of his sharpest warnings yet to the African National Congress, urging the party to confront what he described as an existential crisis threatening both its legitimacy and its future.
AfricaHeadline Reports Team
editorial@africaheadline.com
Speaking at a political school event organized by the ANC’s Provincial Task Team (PTT) in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbeki combined personal reflection with pointed critique. He recalled joining the Defiance Campaign at just 10 years old, a moment, he said, that taught him the central role of youth in the liberation struggle. But he contrasted that history with the ANC’s present challenges, lamenting that too many within the movement are motivated by self-enrichment rather than public service.
Mbeki reserved some of his harshest words for KwaZulu-Natal, a province long viewed as a bellwether in South African politics. Once a stronghold, it has now become a liability for the ANC, where support has fallen precipitously. Mbeki said the party must act decisively to confront corruption, indiscipline and ineffective leadership in the province, warning that a failure to do so would further erode public trust. Renewal, he argued, cannot be left to the formalities of leadership conferences; it must begin before delegates cast their votes, with integrity and competence as the foundation.
At the heart of Mbeki’s address was a call for a broad-based national dialogue to tackle South Africa’s mounting socio-economic crises from poverty and unemployment to inequality and crime. He underscored the need for inclusivity, stressing that women must be central to the process and that communities across age, race and geography must be heard.
The former president also insisted that such a dialogue cannot be symbolic. Its outcomes, he said, must be institutionalized, built into the machinery of government policy and reflected in legislation. Anything less, he cautioned, would betray the public’s trust.
Mbeki acknowledged openly that corruption has corroded the ANC’s moral standing and weakened its governance. He said leaders must conduct honest self-assessments and admit where they have failed, calling this the only path to restore credibility. His prescription for reform is as political as it is moral: strengthen accountability, enforce ethics, and return the ANC to its historic mission of service.
The former president’s intervention carries significant political and legal undertones. His call for a binding national dialogue echoes South Africa’s constitutional promise of participatory democracy, but it also raises questions about whether government will translate deliberation into action. His critique of self-enrichment within ANC ranks hints at potential legal scrutiny, from anti-corruption bodies to electoral authorities. And his focus on KwaZulu-Natal reflects a broader anxiety that the ANC’s decline in a key province could destabilize its national standing ahead of the 2026 elections.
For Mbeki, the moment demands nothing less than a return to the ANC’s founding values. He pledged to continue leading political education programs to sharpen strategy and to help chart a way forward. But his underlying message was unmistakable: the ANC’s survival depends not on nostalgia for its liberation past, but on its willingness to reckon with failure, embrace renewal, and govern with integrity.
“Without honest reflection and decisive action,” Mbeki warned, “the ANC risks losing not only the trust of South Africans, but the very purpose for which it was founded.”
