The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has outlined a bold plan to revive the fortunes of the party following catastrophic electoral losses in the general elections last year. This is according to ANC leader Mike Mabuyakhulu, who is the ANC KZN provincial task team (PTT) co-ordinator, who told The Mercury that central to this revival is placing the ANC at the centre of all communities and doing the work the party was built for more than 100 years ago.

Mabuyakhulu is one of 66 people on a provincial task force that was put together to get the ANC back on track after it dropped from being the province's largest party to third. In an interview, Mabuyakhulu discussed the work being done by the provincial task team as well as the personal struggles he has endured in the past few years. He was accused of corruption a few years ago, and the allegations had a direct impact on his career prospects. As a result, he withdrew his name from the list of ANC members who were scheduled to serve in the provincial legislature and the National Assembly. In 2023, he was cleared of the charges.

Mabuyakhulu said, "Our names were besmirched, and this had a serious impact on my career," when asked about the effects that the allegations have had on his professional life. We were number one on the list for the provincial legislature and number three on the list for the National Assembly when we had to withdraw our names in 2019." When asked about the organization's revival, he stated that the PTT would concentrate on the party's internal issues rather than the MK Party factor. “We have a strategy for reviving the party in the province, and the majority of that strategy focuses on being in the community and providing community service. We want to reassure the public that whenever there are difficulties, we will address them.

This will not just be for electioneering purposes; the point is to do what the ANC was founded to do more than 100 years ago, and that is to serve our people.” In order to restore the party's credibility and image as a servant of the people, he emphasized that members of the ANC must embrace this vision and serve their communities. “There are going to be programmes aimed at rebuilding the ANC, but in parallel with those programmes, we will be serving the people. He stated, "We are not rebuilding the ANC for the sake of rebuilding; rather, we are serving our communities." On the internal work that needs to be done, he said there are structures whose terms of office expired in December, and the PTT will now be working on leading the province into a provincial conference.

Mabuyakhulu expressed enthusiasm for the ANC revival program, noting that the party's alliance partners have also supported the proposed initiatives. It is too soon to comment on the relationship, but we can say that things appear to be moving in the right direction.