ANC Dr WB Rubusana regional secretary Anele Lizo has urged party members not to abandon the organisation ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Lizo took to social media to weigh in on the trend after recent high-profile defections that have rocked the party in the region.
These include ANC councillors Kuhle Ciliza (Ward 1), Pearl Hansen (Ward 10) and proportional representative councillor Graham Lottering, who left to join the Patriotic Alliance.
Former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) regional chair and former sports MMC Xolani Witbooi recently defected to the UDM, and former ANCYL provincial leader Ayanda Matiti has announced that he will not renew his ANC membership when it expires.
“As the 2026 local government elections draw closer, a familiar development is playing itself out,” Lizo said.
“Some of our comrades are abandoning ship and changing political allegiance.
“Although we join the ANC voluntarily, it is disturbing to see comrades we have served with leaving the ANC to join other political parties.
“Nevertheless, we must accept their decisions in a comradely spirit.
“We cannot celebrate when those we have served with leave us, as the people of the Eastern Cape and South Africa at large look to the ANC to lead and continue the good story of building a better life for all.
“Difficult as it is, we must accept their decision to leave while we redouble our efforts to ensure that progressive ANC policies are implemented.”
Lizo said what was concerning about the new phenomenon of political migration was that it was driven largely by self-serving interests and the desire to acquire positions.
“It started as floor-crossing a few years ago and is now entrenched in South African politics,” he said.
“The ANC is not the only party in this quagmire; other political parties are affected by this behaviour too.
“Sadly, once comrades lose conferences or are not elected to positions, they become bitter to the point that they jump ship.
“Being deployed in any position is a privilege and not a birthright.”
Lizo told ANC leaders, members and supporters that they must always remember that the 114-year-old organisation was not built by those who leave when it gets difficult.
He said the giants on whose shoulders they stand were resilient ANC volunteers who stayed the course and weathered the many storms they faced, including repugnant colonialism and apartheid systems.
“Thus, it is prudent to remind cadres that our glorious movement was never a shelter for convenience, but a fortress for struggle and sacrifice to liberate our people from the injustices of the past,” Lizo said.
“We are observing with serious concern that today, the loyalty of comrades shifts once they are not appointed in positions of responsibility.
“Cadres who served for years as ANC councillors have abandoned the movement for other political parties once their terms of office end. That is political opportunism.
“True loyalty reveals itself in moments like these, when the organisation must renew itself, reconnect with the people and correct its own shortcomings.
“The ANC is not without its challenges. Communities are frustrated. Service delivery must improve. Internal divisions must be confronted decisively. But walking away will not fix these challenges. It will deepen them.
“Those who leave do not strengthen democracy but rather weaken the very instrument that has historically driven transformation in our country.
“The task before us is not to abandon the movement, but to rebuild it from within by renewing branches, strengthening accountability, and appointing capable, ethical leadership to serve in local government.”
Lizo said the ANC needed comrades equal to the task.
“Our people need a reliable water supply, potholes fixed, streetlights to work, refuse to be collected regularly, and many other services that are provided by municipalities. The ANC needs leaders equal to this task,” he said.
“In this season of political migration, I appeal to members of the ANC in the Eastern Cape to remember that they joined the ANC not for positions, not for personal gain, but for the mission of improving the lives of our people and advancing the goal of building a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.
“The 2026 local government elections will come and go, and the ANC will remain. Cadres of the ANC must resist the opportunism of leaving the movement at this crucial time when unity, discipline and renewal are our rallying mantra.
“To every cadre who feels uncertain, who feels frustrated, who feels tempted to walk away, we say: stay the course, help to rebuild our movement and serve diligently in your branch.”
Lizo said the future of local government and the communities they serve does not depend on those who are easily swayed like reed grass (iingcongolo), but is shaped by cadres who are principled and loyal to the cause of transformation.
“The ANC has faced greater storms before than the current ones, and it prevailed,” he said.
“It will also prevail from this episode of difficulties, through the loyalty, courage and right actions of its members — members who are grounded in purpose rather than positions.
“We need loyal cadres more than ever before as we continue with the important work of improving service delivery for everyone that the ANC-led government started in 1994.
“As we edge closer to the municipal polls, the ANC must be united. Let us close ranks and work together for the betterment of our communities.
“The unity of the ANC is sacrosanct, so we must soldier on and stay the course.
“Regardless of whether one emerges as a councillor-candidate or not, let us be united and work as a unit.
“Let us stay the course, comrades.”
Daily Dispatch
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