The ANC’s top brass is “not serious” about resolving growing tensions that threaten to rip the party’s biggest province to shreds in KwaZulu-Natal.

This startling broadside came from former KZN premier Senzo Mchunu‚ who was ousted as provincial leader at the controversial 2015 elective conference.

Mchunu was present at a series of marathon meetings this week — led by President Jacob Zuma and the rest of the ANC top six — starting on Monday at the Coastlands Hotel on the Durban beachfront.

Zuma also met with Mchunu alone on Tuesday‚ and on Thursday night another “special meeting” was held between Zuma and the KZN top office bearers‚ as the party scrambles to find solutions to the divisions.

Mchunu welcomed the meetings as an opportunity to raise issues and try iron out widespread divisions in the province. But he said the top six’s response was underwhelming.

The meetings — especially the one-on-one between Zuma and Mchunu — came after the former premier confronted Zuma for the first time this week about his alleged “complicity” in his unceremonious sacking as the KZN head of government in May last year.

As president‚ Zuma appoints provincial premiers and signs off on their removal.

Mchunu said it was Zuma in fact who had raised the issue about his removal and subsequently apologised that Mchunu was never given a chance to defend himself before being shown the door.

The current provincial executive committee had levelled several allegations against Mchunu to motivate for his removal from office and Mchunu felt Zuma and the rest of the officials did not hear his side of the story before acceding to the PEC’s demands to see the back of him.

Zuma reportedly apologised “unreservedly” to Mchunu and committed to look into his matter.

Zuma also reportedly promised to look into concerns raised by a group of so-called “rebels” in KZN who took their mother body to court over the 2015 conference. In that Pietermaritzburg High Court case — won by the rebel 43 branches‚ but now being appealed — both Zuma and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe were accused of failing to listen to the aggrieved members.

Mchunu denied that he had a follow-up meeting with Zuma following Monday’s‚ despite two sources independently claiming so.

“Yes‚ we did hold such a meeting but let’s correct the information first. The meeting was on Monday‚ there were four other officials at the meeting. We were a delegation of 20 or so people. We raised substantial and serious issues in the meeting. [The] response was qualitatively poor‚ indecisive and largely not serious in the context of the current ANC internal situation in KZN‚” Mchunu said in a text message.

He said only Zuma spoke and committed to come back for another meeting.

“He made a promise to attend to the matters that we raised‚” said Mchunu.

Also present at Monday’s meeting with the top six were national executive committee KwaZulu-Natal deployees Nomvula Mokonyane‚ Pule Mabe‚ Nomafu Cawe‚ Joe Phaahla and Edna Molewa. Mantashe did not attend.

The aggrieved members told the officials that they wanted the PEC disbanded and a provincial task team installed in preparation for the re-run of the provincial conference.

“The strongest submission that was made by us was that of demanding the disbandment of the current PEC and moving them out of office because they have done a lot of damage to the entire movement and to individual comrades‚” said S’thembiso Mshengu‚ a spokesman for the rebels.

However‚ after receiving legal advice‚ the NEC allowed the PEC to proceed with their appeal process.