Picture: ANC Provincial Chairperson, Nono Maloyi

By OBAKENG MAJE

10 February 2026- The ANC Provincial Chairperson, Nono Maloyi said they are concerned about the growing instability within municipalities caused by internal power struggles and unethical conduct among their deployees. Maloyi who delivered a keynote address during the ANC Provincial Extended Lekgotla held at Matlosana Local Municipality’s auditorium in Klerksdorp said many of their municipalities are not failing because of a lack of resources, laws, or capable public servants, but because of instability deliberately manufactured from within.

He further said this instability is not accidental. Maloyi added that it is as a result of sustained infighting amongst comrades, often sponsored and enabled by those entrusted with the highest levels of authority.

“Municipal instability thrives when leadership becomes divided and governance is reduced to factional control. Instead of serving communities, people’s institutions become battlegrounds for influence, tenders, and personal enrichment. Decision-making stalls, councils become polarized, and lose coherence.

“Service delivery suffers, not due to incapacity, but because energy and resources are redirected toward internal conflict. At the centre of this instability are individuals who wield significant power such as executive mayors, mayors, speakers, chief whips, municipal managers, chief financial officers, and other senior managers,” he said.

Maloyi said when these eminent persons abandon ethical leadership, they become sponsors of division rather than custodians of good governance. He said through bribery, procurement manipulation, and deliberate obstruction, they finance factions within councils and administrations, ensuring loyalty to individuals rather than to the institution.

“Corruption is not merely an outcome of instability, it is often the mechanism that sustains it. Bribes are used to silence oversight, reward compliance, and punish independence. Financial mismanagement and irregular expenditure become tools to consolidate power.

“Those who resist are isolated, suspended, or forced out, while those who participate are protected. This creates a culture where malfeasance is normalized and integrity is treated as a threat,” said Maloyi.

He said the true victims of this infighting are communities. Maloyi said projects are delayed or abandoned, basic services deteriorate, and public confidence collapses.

“Residents experience failing infrastructure, unreliable utilities, and unresponsive administrations. Over time, anger replaces trust, and municipalities become symbols of dysfunction rather than engines of development.

“Instability persists because accountability mechanisms are deliberately weakened. Internal controls are undermined, audit findings are ignored, and disciplinary processes are manipulated. Oversight bodies are misled or overwhelmed, allowing misconduct to continue with little consequence,” he said.

Maloyi said when accountability disappears, instability becomes self-perpetuating. He said stability cannot be restored without confronting the source of the problem.

“Ethical leadership must replace factional loyalty. Municipal Managers and senior officials must be held to the highest standards of conduct, with clear consequences for corruption and abuse of power. Procurement systems must be transparent, financial controls enforced, and whistleblowers protected.

“Remember, municipalities exist to serve communities, not to enrich individuals or sustain political wars. Stability comes from professionalism, integrity, and respect for the rule of law. When leadership is principled and accountable, infighting loses its power, corruption is exposed, and public institutions regain their legitimacy,” said Maloyi.

He said people should not forget that municipal instability driven by sponsored infighting is a choice, not a coincidence. Maloyi said it is sustained by corruption and enabled by silence.

“Ending it requires courage, decisiveness, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to ethical governance. The office of the Chief Whip is the backbone of caucus coherence. Yet too often, Chief Whips are expected to enforce discipline without adequate authority to act decisively.

“To correct this imbalance, ANC Chief Whips must be formally empowered with three important powers and that is the authority to suspend rogue and ill-disciplined ANC councillors from caucus activities,” he said.

Maloyi said this includes, the power to initiate and recommend disciplinary action where conduct violates ANC rules and caucus decisions and the ability to recommend removal from office when misconduct or persistent defiance renders a member unfit to serve. He said without these powers, the role of the Chief Whip becomes symbolic rather than effective, granting these powers does not mean abandoning fairness or due process.

“On the contrary, it strengthens accountability by ensuring that discipline is applied consistently and transparently. Our people are watching. They see public disagreements, council paralysis, and leaders who defy organizational decisions without consequence.

“This creates an image of an organization unable to govern itself, let alone the country. Comrades, the strength of the ANC has always rested on unity, discipline, and collective leadership. Empowering Chief Whips to suspend ill-disciplined members and recommend removal from office is not a threat to democracy within the movement. It is a defense of it,” said Maloyi.

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