Panyaza Lesufi’s major headache

The recent announcement by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) President Julius Malema that the party has fallen out of love with the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng has put Premier Panyaza Lesufi in an incredibly precarious position.

On 4 February 2026, Malema said that the EFF will support any vote of no confidence brought against the ANC Premier or any ANC mayor in Gauteng. 

He also said that the party will reject the upcoming Gauteng budget, which will be presented to the provincial legislature soon. 

“This is due to the disrespectful behaviour of the ANC towards the EFF, particularly in Gauteng and in Ekurhuleni, where the ANC behaves as if it governs alone,” said Malema.

“The inability of the ANC to accept its decline and work with mutual respect with those it cooperates with will be their downfall. The EFF will never allow its voters to be undermined as the table of political expedience,” he added.

Lesufi is currently governing Gauteng via a minority coalition, comprising the ANC, Patriotic Alliance (PA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and Rise Mzansi.

These parties collectively make up 32 out of the 80 seats in the provincial legislature.

Prior to the establishment of the provincial government, talks to include the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) 22 seats collapsed.

Since its establishment, the ANC-led government has partly relied on the support of the EFF’s 11 members of the provincial legislature (MPLs), despite them not forming part of the coalition.

It was relatively smooth sailing for a while, given that Lesufi, as ANC provincial chair, negotiated co-governing agreements with the EFF in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, and Mogale City.

As such, the EFF supported much of the Lesufi-led provincial administration, helping pass budgets and defeat no-confidence motions brought by the DA.

The relationship sours

The leader’s latest statements likely relate to the fact that EFF councillor and speaker of the Ekurhuleni City Council, Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, was compelled to resign in December under internal pressure within the EFF.

The party had hoped to retain the speaker position despite the resignation; however, the ANC put up its own candidate for the position, Dora Mlambo, on January 26 and won over the DA and EFF candidates.

Highly-placed sources told Sunday World that the EFF demanded that the newly elected ANC speaker step down. 

Shortly after these events, Malema warned that the EFF would reject the Gauteng budget and would rally support from the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and their eight MPLs to do the same.

Given that the provincial government needs at least eight opposition MPLs for its budgets to get over the line, or to survive no-confidence motions that they relied on EFF for support for, this could spell big trouble for Lesufi.

“They think they can treat the EFF like dirt and do as they please with us, especially in Ekurhuleni, and very soon they will reap the consequences of their disrespect and disregard for the EFF,” the EFF leader said in a speech following the party’s second plenum at the end of January.