‘A Question of Conscience’: Mbalula Calls on the ANC’s Richest to Bail Out a Struggling Party

A plea from the stage at Birchwood

When ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula stood before the media at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Wednesday, he didn’t deliver a polished political message. Instead, he offered something closer to a plea a call for conscience, aimed directly at the wealthiest members of the ruling party.

With the ANC’s National General Council (NGC) underway, Mbalula confirmed what staff at Luthuli House have known for months: salaries have not been paid. It’s a truth that has hung over the organisation like a shadow, one that became impossible to hide as unpaid workers protested outside the conference venue while some of the party’s richest members arrived in luxury cars.

But this time, Mbalula went a step further.

“It is correct that you have very rich people who happen to be ANC members… it is a question of conscience,” he said.
“Those members must contribute the wealth they have acquired as members of the ANC.”

The message was unmistakable: the ANC is in trouble, and the wealthy who rose through its ranks should help save it.

The wage bill the ANC can’t escape

According to Mbalula, the ANC’s wage bill sits at around R20 million every month, an amount the organisation clearly cannot sustain. Even his own salary, he admitted, has gone unpaid for months.

Yet despite the financial strain, the party insists staff cuts are not an option, and assets, including the well-known headquarters on Sauer Street, will not be sold.

The ANC is now searching for long-term financial solutions, promising to broaden its fundraising strategy beyond party members. But for now, the organisation is leaning heavily on loyalty, sacrifice and, as Mbalula frames it, “renewal.”

Members footing their own bills, a first for the ANC

One of the most striking shifts at this year’s NGC is that delegates paid for their own travel, accommodation and participation.

Mbalula celebrated this as a cultural reset:

“We are here because members contributed individually. This has not happened in the past. We are copying the way churches operate.”

He went on to say that ANC members will even have to start buying their own T-shirts for conferences a symbolic break from the days when branded regalia flowed freely.

The subtext is clear: the ANC is trying to teach its followers to sustain the party from the ground up, rather than expecting Luthuli House to shoulder the cost.

The missing report and the unanswered questions

Ordinarily, the NGC would include a treasurer-general’s financial report detailing the organisation’s state of affairs.
This year? Nothing.

Mbalula told journalists the ANC’s financial position is so poor that the treasurer-general could not provide a presentable report. That silence is telling and fuels growing speculation about how deep the crisis really runs.

Part of the ANC’s argument is that the Political Funding Act has scared donors away. Another factor, they say, is the loss of the international support they enjoyed during their liberation movement years.

But analysts note that even with these constraints, the ANC’s financial collapse has been building for years long before the Act was implemented.

Protests outside, luxury cars inside

The contrast outside Birchwood on Monday was hard to ignore.

As unpaid ANC staff marched and demanded their salaries, some of the wealthy elite of the party including President Cyril Ramaphosa and Patrice Motsepe were seen entering the venue in expensive vehicles.

It sparked a wave of commentary on social media:

• “How can staff protest for salaries while billionaires walk past them?”

• “If the rich ANC members won’t save their own party, why should the public trust them to save the country?”

• “The optics are terrible. ANC is looking like a house divided by class.”

The scene, ordinary workers chanting outside while the party’s richest walked in, captured the growing gulf between the ANC’s leadership and its base.

A party forced to confront itself

The ANC’s crisis is no longer theoretical or hidden behind closed doors. It is visible in unpaid salaries, missing financial reports, public protests and a leadership that is now openly calling on its wealthy members to rescue the organisation.

Mbalula’s message was more than a fundraising pitch, it was a rare moment of vulnerability from a party that has long projected invincibility.

But vulnerability can also be a turning point.

Whether wealthy ANC members step in or whether the crisis deepens, will signal not just the future of the organisation, but its place in a political landscape that is rapidly shifting.

For now, the party says it is “renewing.” The public, however, is waiting to see if it can also recover.

{Source: The Citizen}

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter , TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com