The ANC would like to modernise but is too afraid to do so. It clutches on to the past as if it has no better days ahead. If it does not change, the times will force it to. Time will force it to reorientate reluctantly, and when you change reluctantly, you become a pale shadow of your former self.
The ruling party will have to let go of all preconceived ideas that the elders might have had and put them aside. Old people like to keep things the same despite the changing times. And then they get left behind and spit at those who believe that change is good.
History is littered with those who resisted any possibility of change. The ANC does not want to be in the unforgiving dustbin of history.
It is the old people who are holding the ANC back. In Africa, we have been taught to be polite and respect our elders. We can still be respectful while telling them to move over – to the old age home of politics. They must admit that their time is up and hand over to the young ones, who still have a long future ahead of them. This is not a matter of discarding them, they must still be there for institutional knowledge and guidance. We must face the truth: they are not making the ANC any better.
The ANC is very capable of change and has changed in the past. It went from an organisation wanting to talk politely to the oppressors to one that made things happen in the 1950s and 60s, when the young lions like Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and others decided that it was time to force the grown ups to change their tactics while maintaining its core values.
Changing tactics is not the same as changing what you want to achieve. Change is painful but necessary. The trick of course is not to modernise so much that it leaves the masses behind. Change should be steady and appealing to the masses. Here are the things the ANC needs to do to be better.
Get new blood
The upper echelons of the ANC need an injection of modernists. However, adding them does not mean rejecting traditionalists. Since it is an old organisation, it requires not a revolution but a revolutionary-evolution. A re-evaluation means a complete overhaul, that's not what's needed now. The ANC does not want to be like the Republican party in the United States, which has become a party of old white people, while the Democrats are a party of the young and optimistic.
A body of modernists to change the ANC
The ANC should embark on a deliberate modernisation drive. Perhaps it would not be a bad thing to be deliberate about the people who sit on the "modernisation committee".
The people I believe would be the perfect candidates for the ANC to appeal to the so called "clever blacks" are the following:
Cyril Ramaphosa: His struggle credentials are impeccable. He led the negotiations team before 1994. He is a former trade unionist and now has business credentials too. He seems to be someone who knows what he is doing and I have seen the ANC turn to him to explain ANC positions frequently of late.
Malusi Gigaba: He is a young, energetic minister who has led the ANC Youth League. He transformed from a radical young lion to someone who holds one of the most important and challenging ministries in government. Not only is his ministry one of the most important, he is also the youngest minister in Cabinet. One could say that he has a chief executive demeanor about him. When the department of home affairs was being turned around, he was the deputy minister.
Tito Mboweni: Another colourful character who was the first black South African Reserve Bank governor. When he became governor, the world was scared but he converted doubters. He is a man who believes in the free market and is not afraid of new ideas. He would probably rub some traditionalists up the wrong way.
Gwede Mantashe: He is someone who will keep them in check and as an ANC traditionalist, would make sure that as they transform the ANC, it stays the course and would remind the others not to forget the masses because they are the ones who put where they are.
Fix the perception problems it has
The biggest challenges the ANC faces are not ideological. Its leadership perceived to be looking out for its own interests and not of the people. The ANC needs to nip the idea that it is arrogant in the bud as quickly as possible because it will fester and as satirist Dr Arbthnot so eloquently put it, "All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies."
End the cadre deployment doctrine
There are certain portfolios that should be held by members of the ruling party to ensure that no sabotage is taking place, but they should not be given to people because of their seniority in the ANC, but because they can do the job.
Control the message
There are very few occasions where I felt that the ANC has owned and controlled a message. More often than not; it is seen to be on the back foot and on the defensive. When you control the narrative you don't look like you know what you are talking about. You can control the story and not seem to be at its mercy.
Don't sweat the small stuff
Choose what to respond to and what to ignore. No one is more easily distracted from the issues of the day than the ANC. The smallest fly on the back of this huge elephant has a nuclear weapon trained on it. Appoint completely boring and unemotional spokespersons, who will stick to the facts and not the emotions of the issue. It's often the emotions of the issue which journalists cover, not the issue itself. Control your emotions – contain the story.
Some like to say that the ANC is completely broken and absolutely beyond repair. The ANC can be fixed.