Pretoria – ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has firmly denied claims that President Cyril Ramaphosa has been asked to step down following the G20 Summit. Speaking at a briefing after the party’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting, Mbalula described these reports as mere rumours, stating that the issue was never discussed during the meeting.
Mbalula acknowledged, however, that there are individuals within the party who are actively seeking Ramaphosa’s removal ahead of the party’s next elective congress in 2027. These factions, he said, are attempting to stir up dissent within the ANC, but their efforts have so far been unsuccessful.
“There are people who have got such intentions, and trying to get it going in our structures, and thus far, that has failed,” Mbalula said, referring to the internal plots to unseat the president.
The reports, which surfaced over the weekend, claimed that Ramaphosa’s early departure was on the NEC agenda, with some sources suggesting the president himself addressed the matter. Mbalula dismissed these claims as the work of Ramaphosa’s detractors, who he said were using the media to advance their agenda.
Ramaphosa, according to Mbalula, assured the meeting that he remains unshaken by these attempts to remove him and is prepared to step down at any time if the party decides so.
Mbalula went on to reiterate that the ANC is satisfied with Ramaphosa’s performance as president. “He will not go because he was elected by members of the ANC, not by rumour mongers and that’s what’s important, and by those peddling negativity to undermine the cohesion of the ANC,” he said.
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