The ANC is struggling. It admits it and has come up with a diagnoses of what’s going wrong. There has been a strong internal reflection among ANC leaders of the ills that are costing the ANC. Besides declining in electoral support, the party is also bleeding members. Qaanitah Hunter sums up what the ANC itself thinks is wrong.
For more of the M&G’s coverage of the ANC’s national general council, click HERE.
The ANC bemoaned factionalism and money politics in the ANC. People use money to disrupts meetings, worsen ructions in the leagues and even prompt violence between alliance partners. We’ve heard this from Zuma in his political report. It is not new. But the Balance of Forces document presented at the NGC goes further: “Many of the acts of corruption in government derive from party dynamics.” Hmm.
People behave badly and that gives the ANC a bad name. That isn’t earth shattering. Previously the party said they would act swiftly against anyone that gives the ANC a bad name. But they failed to do this. *Cough! Nkandla! Cough.* The ANC wants to act against anyone who gives the ANC a bad name whether they are found guilty yet or not. Let’s see.
- Splits and other circus acts
Cosatu has had a tough few years. You remember how it was going to split and then the ANC stepped in. Then it was going to split and ANC stepped in again. Then Numsa was expelled and later its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi was chucked out. The ANC has admitted that splits really affected the organisation. Well, naturally.
Since the expulsion of Numsa and Vavi, they have been on a serious lefty path. They are calling for socialism and have painted the ANC as a neoliberal party. The ANC isn’t too pleased. “There is an urgent need to interrogate the rise of a self-declared leftisim that is inimical to social transformation,” the Balance of Forces document reads. Don’t worry if you don’t understand what that means just know the ANC is not happy.
Leaders are far away from ordinary people. We didn’t need the ANC to tell us that. But shem, they have realised that it is costing them. Leaders can’t resonate with ordinary people. There is a distance. Okay. Sure. But why do leaders get fancy VIP meals away from ordinary delegates at this very NGC?