Zuma takes control of MK Party finances after revoking signing powers of bank signatories

Jacob Zuma has taken direct and exclusive control of his party's bank accounts due to gross financial mismanagement. They recently had a problem where a landlord was upset because the party failed to pay outstanding rent. Party officials have even been accused of stealing funds from the party.

MK has not had much impact on government since the election, despite placing 3rd in the elections with 14% or so and achieving 45% or so in KZN, because the ANC have excluded them from coalitions. But it's worth remembering that this party is still technically the Official Opposition party in South Africa and had they won just a few more seats they would govern a major province.

Since the election, MKP senior leadership has been a revolving door. I've lost track of the number of secretary-generals they've had. Even Zuma's own daughter, who faces accusations of fraudulently manipulating men to go fight in Russia's war in Ukraine, has been removed.

Zuma has always been the obvious political draw of MKP. One year ago, we could have had an interesting debate about whether the party could survive politically without him. He is in his 80s now, and must surely retire from day to day politics within the next few years.

However, with this news I think it is clear that not only will they struggle to win votes after he is gone, they can't even be trusted to run the organisation. They can't survive operationally without him, forget about politically. MKP needs this aging grandfather to help them manage their money. There is clearly no sustainable, serious organisation here. There is just Zuma and vibes.

A miracle could happen and the party could formalise. But if the more likely thing happens, then we can expect MKP to disappear within one to two election cycles. Those voters will never return to ANC. MKP also has a lot of bad blood with the EFF.

This story is relevant because MKP wins a significant share of votes. So given how this story shows that the party is very very likely to implode, it raises interesting questions about what the national electoral map will look like in 2029.

Lastly, it strengthens my theory that the most important variable in South African politics is the management of the parties themselves – their internal democratic practises and their professional, operational management. Zuma is hands down the most charismatic individual in South African politics. He's a politically intelligent operator with significant reserves of support. MKP is supposed to be an unstoppable juggernaut on its way to governing the country. I'm supposed to be writing doomer posts about how they are consolidating right wing voters in every constituency, and how unstoppable they are. But no matter what assets and advantages you have, it's now clear that you can't outrun a badly run, undemocratic party.

South African electoral outcomes are driven by the quality of party management – not so much race, ethnicity or ideology. People hide behind these factors to obfuscate their political incompetence. This article provides a powerful piece of evidence that contributes to this argument. MKP had the best shot at power of any opposition party since democracy and they have completely screwed up.