The ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) has moved to shake up its troubled structures in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape ahead of local government elections, removing key leaders blamed for deepening instability and organisational failures in the two provinces.
Multiple insiders with knowledge of Monday’s NWC meeting said Eastern Cape provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi would not form part of the provincial task team expected to lead the party after the collapse of the province’s elective conference earlier this year.
The meeting also resolved to remove Gauteng coordinator Hope Papo, with senior leaders accusing him of failing to stabilise regional structures and allowing conference disputes to spiral out of control.
The NWC met on Monday to reconfigure the Gauteng provincial task team and discuss leadership arrangements in the Eastern Cape after prolonged legal and organisational battles paralysed both provinces.
According to insiders, ANC leaders unanimously agreed that Ngcukayitobi could not be entrusted with a leadership role in the provincial task team because of his association with the legal challenges that halted the Eastern Cape conference.
Ngcukayitobi has resigned so many times, we cannot even keep count. He is also part of those litigants. Why would we include him in the provincial task team? He must pick a lane and stick to it.
— Senior ANC leader
“The feeling in the meeting was that you cannot have someone who is central to the disputes now being asked to lead the process of rebuilding unity,” one senior ANC leader said.
“Ngcukayitobi has resigned so many times, we cannot even keep count. He is also part of those litigants. Why would we include him in the provincial task team? He must pick a lane and stick to it.”
The ANC’s Eastern Cape conference descended into chaos in March after court challenges halted the gathering moments before delegates were expected to elect the new leadership. The conference was meant to pit provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane against Ngcukayitobi, his former ally turned rival, in a bruising factional showdown.
The divisions exposed deep fractures inside one of the ANC’s most politically significant provinces, with disputes over branch audits, delegate credentials and internal appeals processes ending up before the courts.
TimesLIVE previously reported that the conference was ultimately put “in abeyance” after an interim court order blocked proceedings. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula later admitted the conference had effectively been trapped in a legal and political crisis.
The turmoil escalated further when disgruntled ANC members launched contempt of court proceedings against Mbalula, Mabuyane and other senior leaders over allegations that the party intended proceeding with the conference despite the interdict.
Ngcukayitobi also found himself at the centre of dramatic scenes at the East London International Convention Centre after a fake resignation letter circulated among delegates, triggering celebrations among Mabuyane supporters, before the document was dismissed as fraudulent.
Insiders said Monday’s meeting resolved that deputy provincial secretary Helen Sauls-August would instead be appointed coordinator of the provincial task team.
The provincial task team leadership is also expected to include Mlungisi Mvoko, Sauls-August, Nanziwe Rulashe and Zolile Williams as part of a broader leadership collective tasked with stabilising the province ahead of elections.
Sauls-August is aligned to Mabuyane’s faction and was expected to form part of the slate that would contest against Ngcukayitobi’s grouping before the conference collapsed.
“The view was that the province needs stability and someone who can work with all structures without dragging the organisation deeper into court battles,” another ANC insider said.
In Gauteng, the NWC is understood to have taken an equally harsh stance against Papo, whose leadership came under sustained criticism during discussions.
Senior ANC leaders accused him of failing to manage deteriorating regional dynamics, particularly in Johannesburg and on the West Rand.
We cannot afford to have someone like that so close to the elections. Papo is failing to manage the dynamics in the regions. The West Rand situation and the Johannesburg regional conference happened on his watch.
— ANC NWC member
“A lot of people said Papo was just a waste. He has not done any work. He is all talk and no action,” one NWC member said.
“We cannot afford to have someone like that so close to the elections. Papo is failing to manage the dynamics in the regions. The West Rand situation and the Johannesburg regional conference happened on his watch.”
Papo will reportedly be replaced by Sochayile Khanyile, who currently chairs the standing committee on public accounts in the Gauteng legislature.
The ANC in Gauteng has faced mounting internal unrest in recent months.
In April, disgruntled ANC members on the West Rand formally challenged the legitimacy of preparations for a regional conference, alleging widespread irregularities in branch general meetings and accusing party structures of manipulating internal processes.
The affected branches raised concerns about procedural failures across Mogale City, Merafong and Rand West, adding to growing instability inside the province.
The Johannesburg region has also been engulfed in controversy following allegations of ballot manipulation contained in criminal complaints lodged after the regional conference.
According to insiders, ANC leaders argued during Monday’s meeting that Papo had failed to assert political authority over increasingly volatile regional structures.
“The large number in the task team created its own challenges,” another insider said.
“Only a few people were active while the rest were just coasting. Hope’s problem is that he did not come into the leadership to craft his own programme. All he wanted to do was manage everyone and that created its own problems.”
The NWC is also understood to have resolved to significantly shrink the Gauteng provincial task team, which currently consists of 68 members.
ANC insiders said the bloated structure had become ineffective and difficult to manage.
“That number was not helping because people were not working,” the insider said.
“The feeling now is that the ANC needs smaller, functional structures that can actually focus on elections instead of endless internal fights.”
Veteran ANC leader Amos Masondo is also expected to be removed as Gauteng convener, with insiders saying some leaders argued that the party needed younger leadership to drive organisational renewal ahead of the polls.
Lizeka Tandwa
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