Fikile Mbalula warns of ANC ‘selling out’ if it loses alliance partners

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has warned that the party risks “selling out” if its alliances are not carefully upheld.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Popcru executives in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, amid tensions over the ANC’s partnership with the DA in the government of national unity (GNU).

Mbalula said the ANC–DA alliance is “demanding, not easy”, pointing to the recent clash over a proposed VAT increase which the DA opposed.

“What we won’t do is sell out despite the hardships. But we might sell out if this alliance [fractures] … Selling out is easy if there won’t be unions to tell us about their grievances,” he said.

The ANC is under pressure from its long-standing alliance partners, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which have expressed serious dissatisfaction with the GNU, particularly over the inclusion of the DA.

Mbalula admitted “the ANC is pleading day and night” within the GNU to maintain stability and defend its policy positions.

The SACP has resolved to contest the 2026 local government elections independently of the ANC, citing concerns that the GNU path (especially co-operation with the DA) undermines the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and betrays working-class interests.

“So when you leave the ANC, who are you leaving it for? If the ANC loses its allies, the interests of the working class will be overlooked because only people with the same perspective will be left. Don’t leave the ANC, because you’d be crippling it,” Mbalula warned.

Cosatu has supported the SACP’s decision and has also publicly criticised the ANC for bypassing its alliance partners when forming the GNU. It has condemned policies it sees as neoliberal or misaligned with working-class priorities, such as disagreements over the minimum wage, the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act and the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act.

The ANC has defended its decisions, saying forming the GNU was a strategic necessity after losing an outright majority in the 2024 elections.

Policy proposals such as the VAT increase, the NHI and education reforms are central to the conflict. If the alliance fragments, it may alter how or whether these policies are implemented.

The tripartite (ANC–SACP–Cosatu) alliance has historically united around liberation and social justice goals.

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