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South Africans, including the mass of ANC members, cannot allow progress since 2017 to be wasted and the constitutional order subverted. The campaign against this assault on our democracy must intensify, involving all sectors of society.
When the pronouncements of the secretary general of the African National Congress on Gagasi FM that the Democratic Alliance was “the enemy of the National Democratic Revolution” and that they vote with the party in favor of an investigation into the fitness of Busisiwe Mkhwebane to occupy the position, It was “sleeping with the enemy” that caught the attention of the public beyond radio listeners, the first question that came to mind among many members of the ANC was, do we still have an organization?
There are many conceptual issues that reflect the kind of confusion that should not be associated with a secretary general, such as his reference to the Democratic Alliance as “enemy of the National Democratic Revolution.” A cadre that deserves such a high position would be aware of the debates that have taken place within the movement since 1994 on the characterization of the opposition in a democratic society. In this context, the ANC in 2007 resolved in the Strategy and Tactics document that:
“… Unlike before, when the antagonists of the apartheid division were locked in mortal combat, participation in questions of transformation into a democracy is part of legitimate discourse and electoral politics. Those who continue to resist change within the constitutional framework are opponents of the democratic order. Their political and other organizations are legitimate expressions of a school of thought that must be challenged, but at the same time accepted as part of the democratic commitment ”.
While in 2017 the ANC argued that election results could place “in positions of authority, forces that can stealthily and deceptively weaken the progressive realization of a National Democratic Society,” it also acknowledged that the ANC itself could cause incalculable harm to the cause. of social transformation. The 2017 Strategy and Tactics document recognizes that “it cannot be entirely ruled out that the liberation movement itself may be so corrupt – in terms of its objectives, policies, value systems, as well as the composition and conduct of its leadership – let it become a bed of counterrevolutionary infestation ”.
Conceptual confusion aside, what bothered many ANC members is that the secretary general tried to distance himself from the guidance that officials (the so-called Top Six) recently gave to the ANC caucus in Parliament. It was a question of whether or not to institute a formal parliamentary inquiry into the suitability of the Public Protector to occupy the position, given the report of the panel established by the President of the National Assembly, which had found prima facie evidence of incompetence and misconduct.
The national president of the ANC communicated the decision of the Top Six to the parliamentary group. However, according to the secretary general, this could be challenged, as “ANC officials are not a structure in terms of our constitution.” “What repercussions,” he replied when asked if there would be consequences for those who voluntarily went against the leadership’s guidance, “when they have done the right thing?” Since then, the ANC caucus has clarified that the parliamentarians who were absent had valid explanations, further deepening the confusion sown by the secretary general.
There are times when any leader can lose a point or speak ill. What is worrying is that this has become the hallmark of the secretary general’s public pronouncements on difficult issues facing the movement. For example, on the issue of members standing aside when they are formally accused, the National Executive Committee (CNE) adopted the guidelines in February, a decision that was publicly communicated by the president at the end of the meeting. However, the general secretary has since argued that no such decision was made, as the matter, according to him, had yet to pass to the branches. The general treasurer who led the team that prepared the guidelines has had to publicly revoke this, reiterating the president’s closing remarks.
And so a trend is emerging in which the ANC secretary general begins to stick out like a sore thumb among his peers and throughout the movement. This appears to be part of a larger campaign to undermine ANC structures.
Do these developments reflect “the counterrevolutionary plague” that the 2017 conference warned about? Let’s be generous and characterize it simply as the consolidation of a faction within the ANC.
The faction called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) has announced that it is holding meetings; and one of its leaders, incidentally, working in the general secretariat, has published a “basic document” that calls for “the return of the ANC to its socialist ideological orientation”, whatever that means, under the current conditions. global and domestic.
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On land expropriation, the RET document argues that food security and other conditions cannot be a factor. However, the 2017 ANC conference resolved to ensure that any expropriation “does not undermine future investment in the economy or harm agricultural production and food security” and “must not cause harm to other sectors of the economy.”
Regarding state property, the RET document calls for full nationalization, in contrast to the 1992 ANC Ready to Govern document and numerous subsequent conference resolutions that advocate weighing the “balance of evidence.”
It is not the first time that the ANC has experienced the emergence of an organization within the organization. As with the PAC in 1958 and the Group of 8 in the 1970s, this eventually led to the breakup. The elephant takes a long time to turn, or to use a different metaphor, the fruit was allowed to ripen and fall at the slightest movement of the tree.
But the situation may be more serious than this generous interpretation, so the debate on matters of content may not make sense, since politics is nothing more than a ruse to hide something else. ANC veterans and other respected individuals and organizations in the Defend Our Democracy campaign identify the threat to include the challenge to the Constitutional Court, and argue that “it goes beyond what an individual raises [and] it illustrates how this individual embodies a political culture fundamentally antithetical to democracy: the cult of personality, government by dictatorship of factions, nepotism and totalitarianism in a securitized state ”.
According to the activists of Defend Our Democracy, this threat is characterized by looting that has weakened the state and undermined the economy. The proceeds of corruption are being used both for personal enrichment and to “allow a well-organized cartel” to stop the prosecution of the beneficiaries of corruption and state capture. In addition, a private militia and a wider network have been mobilized to amplify the illegal defiance of the courts by the former president.
Conspiracy theories abound, with reports of units trained in sabotage and assassinations, and strange coincidences such as the attempt to incite violence against foreigners in KwaZulu-Natal by elements of the same private militia, and the fire in the Parliament after the vote on the Public. Protective. Some of these theories may be unfounded.
But it cannot be ruled out that South Africa’s own Savimbis and Dhlakamas, who destabilized Angola and Mozambique with the support of the former SA Defense Force and its Military Intelligence, are coming out of the woodwork and showing their true colors.
South Africans, including the mass of ANC members, cannot allow progress since 2017 to be wasted and the constitutional order subverted. The campaign against this assault on our democracy must intensify, involving all sectors of society.
In these endeavors, the battles must be skillfully chosen and the timing of each fight must be appropriate. Care must be taken not to allow spoilers to dictate the “what, when and how” of combat. Fish should not be allowed to twist, turn, and muddy the waters out of the control of the judicial system.
Let’s not forget: the beneficiaries of corruption and state capture will not surrender without a fight. South Africa cannot afford to be complacent! DM
Joel Netshitenzhe is the executive director of the Mapungubwe Institute and a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC (NEC). Write in a personal capacity.
