EFF Makes Big Demand As Gardee Urges ANC To Hand MK Party Key Municipalities In KZN

Economic Freedom Fighters deputy president Godrich Gardee has called on the African National Congress to pursue a broad alliance with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and other African political formations in municipalities where the parties have influence.

Gardee’s proposal includes co-governing with the MK Party in areas where it is the largest party, naming eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal and Mkhondo in Mpumalanga. Mkhondo is not in KwaZulu-Natal; it is a municipality in Mpumalanga. He also urged the ANC to invite parties that did not hold significant council representation, presenting the outreach as a way to reduce divisions among African voters.

The EFF deputy president called on the ANC to convene what he described as a South Africa All-African People’s Conference. He said the party should take the lead in bringing political organisations together, and argued that the EFF would organise the gathering if the ANC did not.

Gardee compared the proposal with the recent Conference of the Left convened by the South African Communist Party. His call follows the 2026 local government elections, after which parties began negotiating governing arrangements in councils without outright majorities. The EFF and MK Party have already held coalition discussions, although no formal agreement between them had been announced in the report available.

In his statement, Gardee warned that divisions among parties seeking support from African voters could weaken liberation movements and allow the Democratic Alliance to expand its influence. He characterised the DA as a vehicle for a return to white political rule, a claim that is political rhetoric rather than an established description of the party.

Gardee also criticised ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe. He said the ANC had failed to act on earlier warnings about the decline of liberation movements and accused Mantashe of previously rejecting ideas for progressive unity that he now supports.

The proposal is a political appeal, not a confirmed coalition plan. Any governing arrangement would depend on negotiations between parties and the balance of seats in each council. A broad alliance involving the ANC, MK Party and other formations would also require agreement on leadership positions, policy priorities and how the councils would operate.

Gardee’s intervention adds to the debate over how parties should respond to fragmented election results and hung councils. He framed an all-African conference as a way to build cooperation beyond individual municipal negotiations, while urging the ANC to begin by working with the MK Party where it holds the strongest position.

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