Fikile Mbalula says the ANC will continue passing laws aimed at deepening transformation, whether the opposition likes it or not.
Image: X/@FikileMbalula
African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the only way the party can overcome opposition from the Democratic Alliance (DA) - a member of the Government of National Unity (GNU) - is to win the next elections with an outright majority.
Speaking at the Duma Nokwe Memorial Lecture in Sedibeng on Tuesday, Mbalula said the ANC would not be deterred, even as the DA continues to challenge key government policies in court.
“Comrades, the misrepresentation of the Expropriation Act is evidence that the beneficiaries of apartheid will not sleep,” Mbalula said.
“Similarly, those who have taken us to court for advancing employment equity are working overtime to reverse the gains of our freedom.”
The DA has challenged both the Expropriation Without Compensation Act and the Employment Equity Amendment Act in court and has a track record of legal opposition to ANC policies.
In April, the party successfully contested the adoption of a fiscal framework in Parliament. Although the ANC had secured the budget with backing from both GNU allies and non-aligned parties such as ActionSA and Build One South Africa (BOSA), the DA and Freedom Front Plus opposed it.
Despite being the second-largest party in the GNU, the DA has failed politically to stop key legislation, including the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill and the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act
Mbalula said the ANC must secure a decisive electoral mandate to prevent policy gridlock.
“It is clear to us, as the ANC, that the only way to overcome this strategic setback is to win the elections with an outright majority,” he said. “However, comrades, we must not just win the elections to manage contradictions, but to ensure radical and rapid socio-economic transformation.”
He argued that South Africans have already signalled their desire for change.
“Our people have said through the ballot that they want radical and accelerated change,” he said. “As the ANC, we must listen to the masses and not justify the unjustifiable.”
Acknowledging the party’s failure to win more than 50% in the last election, Mbalula dismissed claims of voter migration.
“Our people simply decided to stay at home. They did not go to any other political party,” he said. “If they had, we would have a completely new government in the republic.”
He stressed that the ANC remains the country’s largest party and will continue to push forward with its legislative agenda.
“That is why, comrades, with that 40%, we will deepen transformation,” he said. “We will pass laws that deepen transformation—the BELA Act, the NHI, the Expropriation Act, Employment Equity, and more. Those who are in court to challenge these laws of transformation must gear up for a long battle, because we are not going to stop.”
Mbalula also invoked the legacy of Duma Nokwe, ANC secretary-general from 1958 to 1969, to call for introspection and reform within the party. Nokwe died in 1978 at the age of 50.
“It is in this sense that we believe Comrade Duma Nokwe gave us an opportunity to reflect and correct ourselves,” Mbalula said. “This self-correction, comrades, is being realised through the process of organisational renewal and rebuilding. We must admit our mistakes and correct them.”
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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