"'Lose Lesufi, Gauteng is lost'

NO ACTION: ANC'S TOP 7 TAKE NO ACTION AGAINST PREMIER OVER ANTI-GNU STANCE

- Eric Naki

Luthuli House let Gauteng ANC provincial chair Panyaza Lesufi off the hook because it is scared of losing him and the province to Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) if they disciplined him over his anti-GNU stance.

The party's top seven national officials did not support secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's recommendation to rein in Lesufi as they feared a possible rebellion and even a break-up by Gauteng - about 18 months before the 2026 local government elections, said an ANC insider.

The main concern was the possibility that Zuma could take advantage of the situation as he looked for every opportunity to recruit senior ANC members to join his new party in his campaign to kill the ANC piece by piece.

According to the ANC source, there was a mooted move by Luthuli House to disband the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committees, ostensibly on the basis of their poor electoral performances after the May national and provincial elections.