“THE ANC IS BLEEDING”: DISCONTENT MEMBERS ACCUSE REGIONAL LEADERS OF IMPOSING CRONIES IN LIMPOPO

“Grievances Fell On Deaf Ears” As Constitution Is Ignored And “Returned Soldiers” Get Privileges

Limpopo delivered 74% to the ANC. It remains the party’s strongest province. But with national support now at 40%, there is no room for error. Elections are won in wards. When volunteers feel their voice doesn’t count, they walk away. When communities see the constitution applied selectively, they lose trust.

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.  

AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact

POLOKWANE – The ANC is bleeding in Limpopo. 

And if the wound is not dealt with now, the party risks finding itself in ICU by 2026.

ANC members who are discontent have brought these grievances to The Azanian, saying their concerns have fallen on deaf ears inside the party. They say they are not being given privileges, they are not being entertained, and they are not being digested accordingly. 

They allege that across wards in Polokwane, Molemole, Blouberg, Lepelle Nkumpi and other municipalities, regional leaders are imposing cronies as councillor candidates. They say branch democracy is being raped, the constitution is being ignored, and loyal members are being sidelined ahead of the 2026 local elections.

“The public must not have candidates imposed on them,” said one member. “People don’t want this person because he is a crony of a particular executive. But because he is an ally of a regional chairperson or secretary, he is being forced on us. This is a creation of calamity on its own.”

The pattern is the same everywhere, members say. Meeting outcomes are overturned. Candidates with overwhelming branch support are dropped. And individuals with no mass base are pushed forward because of political alignment.

The interference is not stopping at councillor candidates. Members allege that unqualified people are also being imposed into Branch Executive Committees simply because they are allies of regional leadership.

“They are not equal to the task,” another discontent member said. “They don’t have the capability to be leaders, to be councillors, or to be mayors. But they are being placed there.”

This, members say, is the “rape of branches” — the systematic undermining of internal democracy.

The most explosive issue is the treatment of “returned soldiers” — members who left the ANC for other parties and have now come back.

The ANC constitution is very clear. Such members must serve an observation period. It is five years, or three years with relaxation, before they can hold leadership positions or be deployed.

Branch members allege that rule is being thrown out. Instead, returned soldiers are allegedly being given privileges. They are being placed directly into strategic BEC positions and fast-tracked as councillor candidates ahead of members who stayed, built structures, and never left.

“You cannot just come back from whatever party and then you are privileged because you are a crony of someone,” a member said. “Those who never left are being overlooked. That is unfair and it is destroying morale on the ground.”

Limpopo delivered 74% to the ANC. It remains the party’s strongest province. 

But with national support now at 40%, there is no room for error. 

Elections are won in wards. When volunteers feel their voice doesn’t count, they walk away. When communities see the constitution applied selectively, they lose trust. “If these discrepancies continue, I put it to you: the ANC will lose its majority power in the province,” a senior insider warned. “This is serious calamity. The ANC will be found wanting.”

ANC Limpopo Provincial Secretary Vha-Musanda Reuben Madadzhe raised this concern earlier when addressing ANC gatherings in the province. He warned that imposition will lead to serious consequences. 

But members say despite that warning, the negative practices are continuing on the ground.

Now Madadzhe has repeated the warning, saying the public must not have candidates imposed on them as “this will really cause serious calamity and the ANC will be found wanting.”

He has called for an audit of all disputed wards against the constitution and verified branch minutes, for branch outcomes to be upheld where members have spoken clearly, and for discipline to be applied so that no leader regardless of position is above the rules. Members with grievances have been urged to report directly to his office for intervention.

Nationally, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has also signaled a shift — opening the candidate pool to skilled professionals while stressing that internal democracy at branch level must be protected.

The discontent members say The Azanian is the only media house that is fearless and unfiltered. “We speak the truth to power,” one said. 

The ANC in Limpopo still has the structures, the history and the people to recover. But recovery starts with fairness at the base.

As one branch member put it: “We are bleeding. If we don’t deal with this wound now, we will go to elections divided and we will pay the price ward by ward.”

Voters are watching whether the party can manage itself with discipline before it asks for their vote again. The recent march of discontent ANC members in Peter Mokaba Region signals that indeed the ANC in Limpopo is bleeding therefore its members are toyi-toyi against their own party which is a recipe to calamity.