The ANC’s worst enemy is the party’s own leaders. In recent years, its greatest threat has not come from opposition parties but from its own leadership.
Time and again, senior figures embarrass the party at crucial moments, handing rivals easy ammunition. I hear some of them are in search of a traditional healer to come cleanse Luthuli House, believing that the party has been cursed and that is why it is losing votes.
Well I have news for them, aniloyiwe, akunabathakathi (you have not been bewitched), you just need better leaders. It is the same party that elected Jacob Zuma as its leader out of all the leaders the party had at the time. Once in office, Zuma perfected the art of political own goals.
Who can forget the Zuma years, when the party’s spin-doctors were constantly putting out the flames started by their leader. Almost weekly, ANC leaders had to explain or provide an explanation to Zuma’s misdemeanour.
It was like chasing a toddler with a towel from one spill to another. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It’s not Helen Zille’s popularity or Herman Mashaba’s charisma that could tilt Johannesburg towards the opposition, but rather the ANC’s self-inflicted wounds.
The DA and ActionSA hardly need manifestos when ANC leaders themselves provide endless material for ridicule. Simply pointing to the party’s clownish behavior may be enough to convince voters that Luthuli House no longer deserves their trust.
This strategy is already visible in Gauteng, where the DA hopes to wrest control of the three metros from ANC-led coalitions.
The controversy over the DA’s billboard in Tshwane − depicting premier Panyaza Lesufi in a hotel shower − was less about opposition creativity than ANC vulnerability.
The party should blame itself for offering such golden election content. Almost weekly, an ANC leader delivers another blunder that deepens the party’s crisis of credibility.
Consider ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe, who recently accused unemployed youth of laziness. In a country with one of the highest jobless rates in the world, such remarks are not only insensitive but astonishingly out of touch with reality.
While the party was still reeling from this misstep, another scandal emerged: the infamous “hotel shower” gaffe. Yet even that was quickly overshadowed by deputy minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment Bernice Swartz, who seemed determined to outdo her colleagues.
Swartz staged a bread‑handout spectacle, complete with ANC regalia, loyal supporters, and a queue of poor South Africans waiting for loaves of bread. In the video, one of her aides declared: “One loaf, one family. From the ANC.”
In the ANC there is life, so one loaf means a lot. We thank mama Bernice Swartz. The stunt sparked widespread condemnation, and Luthuli House swiftly distanced itself from the stunt, throwing Swartz under the proverbial bakery truck. Yet this response was opportunistic.
Swartz was not innovating; she was following a well‑established ANC tradition of parading the poor during election season. For decades, leaders have distributed food parcels, built houses, or launched foundations designed to project philanthropy while securing votes. Generosity spikes every election cycle, and the poor are reduced to props in political theatre.
To be fair, this practice is not unique to the ANC. Other parties also exploit poverty for narrow political gain. Vulnerable South Africans are routinely handed short‑term relief − school shoes, food parcels, or temporary housing − while systemic issues remain unaddressed.
The lucky few may benefit from these gestures, but millions are left with nothing more than promises. If Swartz’s gimmick had not provoked such loud rejection, Luthuli House would likely have remained silent, as it has in countless similar cases.
In Swartz’s defence, many families genuinely cannot afford a loaf of bread. Hunger is real, and assistance is necessary. But there are more dignified ways to help without turning suffering into campaign content. Politicians must stop using poor citizens as political footballs. True leadership requires addressing structural inequality, not staging photo opportunities.
For opposition parties, however, Swartz’s blunder is manna from heaven. DA strategists are surely crafting bread‑themed campaigns to highlight ANC hypocrisy.
And she is not alone. There are many more “Swartzs” within the ANC leadership, waiting for their turn to inflict fresh damage on the party’s battered image. Each misstep erodes public confidence further, making it easier for rivals to present themselves as credible alternatives.
Ultimately, the ANC’s worst enemy is not the DA, ActionSA, or any other competitor. It is the party’s own leaders, whose reckless words and tone‑deaf actions betray the very people they claim to serve.
The fact of the matter is that ANC leaders are no longer in touch with the lived reality of the people they claim to represent. The opposition need not fight hard; the ANC is doing the job for them.
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