OPINION: Prospects exist for the ANC to renew itself. However, given the issues outlined, this goal will be hard to achieve. The mindset needs to change and the audit process needs to happen. Sadly, time is of essence. This explains my pessimism, writes Professor Bheki Mngomezulu.
The phrase “ANC renewal” has been making the rounds. Its ubiquity has rendered it almost meaningless. This is because even people who have no idea of what this “renewal” entails use the concept loosely in order to sound politically relevant.
Some talk about renewal but continue to cause divisions in the party or collude with those who are determined to destroy it and eliminate other comrades. This amounts to political dishonesty.
Let me be optimistic for a moment and state that the renewal of the ANC is possible. But this cannot happen overnight. It needs a clear vision about the organisation, determination, honesty, astute leadership, real comradeship and love for the country. Without these basic requirements, the renewal project is impossible.
When Cyril Ramaphosa assumed the reins as the ANC president, he made many promises. These sounded promising in theory but were bound to fail unless the real issues that continue to rip the ANC and the Alliance apart were tackled.
These included: lack of knowledge about the ANC (what it stands for), politicians working for their stomachs and not the people they claim to represent, politicians killing one another for positions, defending comrades because they are feared not because they offer anything of substance to the organisation, as well as deploying cadres who are a liability to the party as opposed to being an asset.
The reality is that Ramaphosa set the bar too high for himself to achieve. Now that his first term of office is nearing its end, the stark reality is that his vision has failed. Factionalism in the ANC and the Alliance has become rampant. Political killings and corruption have not stopped. The disruption of ANC branch meetings which is accompanied by senseless shootings have continued unabated.
The recent three-day visit to the Free State by former President Thabo Mbeki buttresses my assertions that there is still no unity within the ANC and that the renewal agenda has not yet been achieved. It is true that Mbeki was in the Free State on an invitation by the provincial leadership. But the situation in that province is not unique.
The diagnosis provided by Mbeki is telling. In fact, it corroborates what I have said on many occasions in different platforms. Mbeki stated inter alia that there is a need for the audit of the membership of the ANC. I have been advancing the argument that the ANC has been infiltrated by people who have no love for the organisation. They join it to amass wealth or to destroy it from within.
To expound Mbeki’s call, there is also a need for the leadership audit. The two propositions are not inimical to each other. If there is no membership audit, wrong people are elected into leadership positions. Instead of using the powers as well as material and financial resources that accrue, they use these for self-enrichment at the expense of the organisation. The rampant looting of party resources, the killing of comrades, the leaking of party information and other ills can best be explained by lack of love for the ANC.
In mid-2022, the ANC will hold its policy conference. In December, the party will hold its scheduled elective conference. The critical question which arises is the following: Will the ANC achieve its renewal agenda by December 2022? Prospects are there but the reality is that this goal will be difficult to achieve. My pessimism is premised on what I have observed in recent months, which I will briefly reflect on.
The selective implementation of the 2017 “step aside” resolution continues to tear the ANC and the Alliance apart. To some, this amounts to purging and is used as a mechanism to prevent some members of the ANC from contesting for different positions in December.
The continued unexplained killings of ANC leaders have resulted in trust deficit. Unexplained killings have been rampant in KwaZulu-Natal. Lately, the Eastern Cape has had its fair share of this scourge. Ill-discipline in the ANC is not helping the organisation.
Even before the party’s top brass announced the beginning of the contest for the December conference, some members of the ANC went public confirming their preferred candidates. Some even lied claiming that “the majority” of ANC members are fully behind certain individuals.
They did this without any mandate given to them. The sad thing is that even senior leaders of the ANC fell into this trap – including some premiers, members of the top six and ministers. This was a disgrace!
In a nutshell, prospects exist for the ANC to renew itself. However, given the issues outlined above, this goal will be hard to achieve. The mindset needs to change and the audit process needs to happen. Sadly, time is of essence. This explains my pessimism.
* Bheki Mngomezulu is Professor of Political Science and Deputy Dean of Research at the University of the Western Cape.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL and Independent Media.
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