- Abantu Batho Congress president PG Mavundla discussed why he helped the African National Congress in 2021
- Mavundla explained that he received a personal call from Jacob Zuma, which pulled him into the 2021 eThekwini coalition
- The ABC–ANC alliance eventually collapsed in December 2022 when Mavundla was ousted via a motion of no confidence
Source: Getty Images
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.
KWAZULU-NATAL - Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) president and eThekwini mayoral candidate Philani "PG" Mavundla has opened up about the behind-the-scenes phone call from former President Jacob Zuma in 2021.
Mavundla explained that the call brought him into the African National Congress-led coalition government in Durban in 2021 before a personal falling-out with then-Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda that ultimately ended the partnership.
Speaking in a sit-down interview on the KZN Tonight Podcast with host Sihle Mavuso, Mavundla described how Zuma's direct approach convinced him to throw the ABC's support behind the ANC after the 2021 local government elections left the party short of a majority in the eThekwini metro.
The ANC had secured 96 of the council's 222 seats, forcing it into coalition negotiations. After a grouping of opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, and Inkatha Freedom Party, appeared set to lock the ANC out of power, Mavundla's two ABC seats proved decisive.
When the reconvened council sitting took place on 24 November 2021, ABC's support helped Kaunda defeat DA candidate Nicole Graham by 113 votes to 104. Mavundla was subsequently elected deputy mayor and given an executive committee seat overseeing human settlements and infrastructure.
The coalition did not last long
Mavundla told Mavuso that tensions with Kaunda began after he compiled a detailed report identifying officials he considered incompetent and submitted a formal request for their removal, arguing their continued presence was obstructing the city's functioning. Kaunda did not act on the report.
When the ABC escalated the matter by approaching the ANC directly as a coalition partner, Mavundla said Kaunda's attitude shifted sharply. The two men reportedly grew so estranged that Kaunda allegedly dispatched ANC councillor Thanduxolo Sabelo to speak on his behalf at meetings, even when Mavundla was present in the room.
The alliance formally collapsed in December 2022 when the ANC, with backing from the EFF and other parties, passed a motion of no confidence that removed Mavundla from the deputy mayoral position and from the executive committee entirely.
Mavundla is now seeking to return to power as the ABC's mayoral candidate for eThekwini ahead of the next municipal elections.
ABC criticises ANC for neglecting KZN residents
Briefly News reported in 2024 that the ABC bashed the ANC for putting Gauteng residents ahead of the rest of the country.
The party said that under the ANC's leadership, the Gauteng e-tolls were scrapped, but KwaZulu-Natal residents still faced toll gates.
The party urged South Africans to back parties that take care of all South Africans and not solely focus on Gauteng.
Source: Briefly News