The African National Congress (ANC) has unveiled a restructured provincial task team in KwaZulu-Natal, with Mike Mabuyakhulu appointed as convenor replacing Jeff Khadebe, who has been redeployed. ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula announced the changes, with remaining task team members set to be named next week.
James Nxumalo, the newly appointed provincial coordinator—equivalent to provincial secretary—confirmed that the previous task team had failed to take the province to conference. Speaking from OR Tambo Airport before returning to Durban, Nxumalo acknowledged that the National Executive Committee cited multiple concerns about the prior structure.
“The previous PTT that was appointed was too big because it had about 66 members,” Nxumalo said. “They felt that it has to be trimmed to somewhere around 30 or 35.”
He added that the NEC was “not happy about the slow process in terms of the implementation of the directives that were given to the previous PTT in terms of rebuilding the organization, uniting the African National Congress, and at the same time starting the preparations for the next forthcoming local government elections.”
Nxumalo dismissed suggestions that Mbalula’s characterization of the previous task team as a “taxi” rather than a “Ferrari” reflected serious dysfunction, calling it a joke. “We understand in what context he was raising that,” Nxumalo said. “But I must say that we are equal to the task because we must make sure that we win back the province of KwaZulu-Natal into the fold of the African National Congress.”
He explicitly named the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) as among the “counterrevolutionary forces” that dislodged the ANC in the province. “Our task now is to make sure that we bring back as many people as possible including members of the ANC who left the organization and join other political parties including the MKP,” Nxumalo said. “They are warm welcome back home into the African National Congress.”
Asked about his dual role as a senior South African Communist Party leader—having served as former mayor of eThekwini—Nxumalo rejected any suggestion of a conflict. He cited historical precedents including Harry Gwala, Moses Mabhida, and Moses Kotane, who held leadership in both organizations.
“There are thousands of members of the South African Communist Party (SACP) who are members of the African National Congress,” he said. “These are contradictions that both the ANC and the communist party will have to resolve… but it’s a matter that is affecting the entire alliance.”
Nxumalo dismissed the notion that he had been in “political wilderness” prior to this appointment. “I was making my own contribution in my branch where I come from,” he said.
Regarding Khadebe’s removal as convenor, Nxumalo defended the veteran leader. “Comrade Jeff Khadebe is a veteran of the African National Congress. He has made his contribution to rebuild the organization… It was not an issue at all that maybe there were some reasons. No, it’s just that the NEC have decided to reconfigure the PTT.”
Nxumalo emphasized the urgency of the task with local government elections expected between November 2026 and January 2027. “We don’t have time,” he said. “We must hit the ground running.”