The newly elected ANC Musa Dladla regional leaders will go on a fact-finding mission to ascertain what went wrong in the 2021 local government elections which saw a huge chunk of the electorate desert the ANC.

On Sunday, regional chairperson Musa Cebekhulu said the immediate task of his leadership collective is to rebuild confidence in the ANC and work harder to regain lost ground.

The ANC lost control of the district municipality to the IFP in the 2021 local government elections.

“It is also required to scrutinise and come up with tangible solutions on how to rectify our mistakes.

“We noted with keen interest the analysis of the voting patterns and also noticed the social gap between the ANC and the masses,” said Cebekhulu.

The region was not the only one affected by the rise of the IFP in KwaZulu-Natal, however Cebekhulu said losing control of governance in King Cetshwayo district was “disastrous” for the ANC.

“We will also engage branches and membership to ascertain what went wrong in the 2021 local government elections,” he added.

While the dismal performance of the ANC in elections was attributed to the outgoing leadership by some members, Cebekhulu said that was an unfair analysis.

“The outgoing leadership did a sterling job under challenges and circumstances they faced during their terms of office.

“We faced Covid-19, a dwindling economy, the July unrest and community service delivery protests that resulted in disgruntlement in local government elections,” he explained. 

He added that their task was now to look ahead and unite the region and reposition it as a force to be reckoned with in the provincial and national political space.

“The conference is clear on unity within our structures and we cannot shift that responsibility to anyone but us. If we want to safeguard this movement and redeem it's integrity we have to work with every member going forward.

“The contest is over — it is our duty to now work together to take the ANC in Musa Dladla forward,” Cebekhulu concluded.

TimesLIVE