With less than 40% of the vote and opposition parties aiming for a coalition government in the general elections of 2024, the ANC is on the verge of losing power. Aaron Motsoaledi, a member of the party’s national executive committee and the minister of home affairs, raised the alarm during his speech to the OR Tambo regional general council on Saturday in Lusikisiki. He mentioned a number of problems that the party was facing, including the deployment of cadre, load-shedding, corruption, unemployment, criminality, and a dearth of service delivery.

“Comrades, we are in a deep, deep crisis and we are on the verge of losing power,” Motsoaledi warned.“There are people who are already writing obituaries of the ANC and the only people who can make those obituaries not come true are ourselves. People are getting increasingly confident [that a coalition government is the way to go].”Motsoaledi warned coalitions were dangerous and unstable.

“You go to Tshwane and Johannesburg, you never know who is going to be the mayor the following day. As we sit here, we don’t even know who is going to be the next mayor of Ekurhuleni.”Motsoaledi said the party had failed dismally to address unemployment and had left infrastructure to crumble in an unimaginable way. He said the party had shot itself in the foot by employing unqualified people.