News24.com | ANC rolls into KZN with 10 cows for Zulu king, prepares to engage province over weak leadership

Mbalula's first stop was at the Ballito lodge in Zimbali on Friday, where he received an audience with the Zulu king, Misuzulu ka Zwelithini. (Photo: Twitter, MYANC)

• The ANC has brought the big guns to KwaZulu-Natal to "strengthen" its provincial structure amid squabbling that has seen governance take a back seat.
• The party brought 10 cows as a sign of respect to King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini.
• The ANC in KZN welcomes the national leaders and vows to collaborate with them to strengthen the party.

The ANC leadership, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, has rolled into KwaZulu-Natal amid a rocky patch of governance in the province, where national leaders said there were clear weaknesses. 

ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Mndebele confirmed to News24 that senior leaders would address party structures and supporters on Saturday, including Ramaphosa and ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and the national working committee.

The party leadership is in KZN to investigate the province's "weak leadership", which has culminated in the national schools nutrition programme's failure to deliver food to millions of pupils; squabbles among the province's top five officials; and eThekwini's governance crisis, which saw the national government invoke a Section 154 intervention against it.

Mbalula's first stop was at the Ballito lodge in Zimbali on Friday, where he received an audience with the Zulu king, Misuzulu ka Zwelithini.  

Mbalula revealed that the ANC had brought 10 cows for the king, he said this was the party's way to pay its respects. The king didn't address the media, save for a photo opportunity.

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Touching on weaknesses in the ANC leadership and governance in the province, Mbalula said the party's challenges were well-known.

Speaking alongside provincial party chairperson Siboniso Duma, he said the ANC would provide "in-depth feedback" on Monday and that the provincial and national leadership structures would have prepared reports by Sunday.

Mbalula said the party was on a quest to strengthen its structures. He said the national leadership wanted to put an end to structures hearing about party affairs from the media. 

"We are a leadership that wants to build a strong bond with the structures, which has not been there," Mbalula said. 

"Our structures will hear from us and we will hear from them. There are no holy cows."

He said the ANC had "many challenges" in KZN.

A tough-talking Mbalula said factions had cost the party votes in by-elections. He said the party would build a unified ANC to tackle next year's elections. 

"Where there are squabbles, we will run them down. Where there are challenges, we will run them down decisively," Mbalula said.