ANC-secretary-general-BBC Mbalula Fikile
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. Photo: Twitter / @MbalulaFikile

Home » ANC’s Mbalula tells BBC: “SA could become a failed state BUT we are not journeying towards that direction”

ANC’s Mbalula tells BBC: “SA could become a failed state BUT we are not journeying towards that direction”

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula may have told the BBC today that South Africa could become a failed state, as per the BBC’s headline (“South Africa could become failed state, says ANC’s Fikile Mbalula”), but he was quite clear that SA is neither in that category nor heading that way. Watch the full interview below. […]

By Jenni Baxter
23-05-23 20:27
in Eish!
ANC-secretary-general-BBC Mbalula Fikile
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. Photo: Twitter / @MbalulaFikile

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula may have told the BBC today that South Africa could become a failed state, as per the BBC’s headline (“South Africa could become failed state, says ANC’s Fikile Mbalula”), but he was quite clear that SA is neither in that category nor heading that way. Watch the full interview below.

ANC's Mbalula tells BBC: "SA could become a failed state BUT we are not journeying towards that direction". Photo: Twitter / @MbalulaFikile
ANC’s Mbalula tells BBC: “SA could become a failed state BUT we are not journeying towards that direction”. Photo: Twitter / @MbalulaFikile

When asked by BBC Hard Talk interviewer Stephen Sackur how disappointed he is in the state of South Africa today (due to corruption, load-shedding and subsequent economic woes including one of the world’s highest unemployment rates at 33%), Mbalula answered: “South Africa is undergoing many challenges like other countries, but to put us into a category of failed states – it’s an exaggeration.”

He conceded that there are “pockets of the powerful thinkers in the country who project us as displaying characteristics of a failed state, of course. We may not be too defensive to that – if certain things are not resolved, we will become a failed state but we are not journeying towards that direction.”

The interview – which took place at Chief Albert Luthuli House – can be seen on BBC News and BBC iPlayer for UK audiences today (23 May) and will be available to listen to on BBC World Service Radio on Wednesday 24 May 2023.

Mbalula posted several snippets of the interview on Twitter, as well as the full interview (watch below). Here are some of the key quotes:

On the ANC’s performance

He said the country is “recovering well” after Covid and a global economic crisis, and that “the ANC has been in power for less than 30 years, after 300 years of deprivation and mismanagement. We have been able to cushion our people from the worst in these 30 years, and we still regard ourselves a young democracy.”

On Russia and Ukraine

“We are non-aligned when it comes to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. I met with the USA ambassador, and he has apologised for being overzealous, saying things that he shouldn’t have said.”

On loadshedding (which lasts up to 10 hours per day)

“This load-shedding has just made a mess of our country.” He called it the ANC’s “Achille’s heel” and admitted that in terms of the elections next year “it will affect the fortunes of the ANC to receive just an outright majority… if it is not dealt with decisively.”

“We are not looking for short-term measures to end load-shedding. We’re looking at the totality of things we need to do to solve this problem.”

On former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter (who he is taking to court)

“The less said about De Ruyter, the better… The best he did in terms of dealing with the challenges that are facing Eskom was to write a book, which is not even conclusive. He failed as an agent of the law.”

WATCH BBC Hard Talk interview with Stephen Sackur – and Fikile Mbalula: the full interview

Tags: ANC Secretary General BBC Fikile Mbalula Stephen Sackur