Land Reform Minister Thoko Didiza. (David Harrison/M&G)
At least three names touted to be part of the ANC’s renewal commission have been criticised as being junior.
Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza, Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi and board member of the party’s OR Tambo school of leadership Mahlengi Bhengu were among the names discussed for the 10-member group to oversee the ANC’s renewal programme, two sources with intimate knowledge of the talks have told the Mail & Guardian.
This comes after the M&G reported on Monday that the ANC’s national working committee (NWC) had been forced to intervene after the party’s top five officials left out former president Thabo Mbeki from its draft list.
A draft ANC document leaked to the media in January stated that the renewal commission would engage branches and analyse the state of the party’s organisational structures, cadre development, political education and policy-making capacity, among other issues.
The document said the commission would produce a report to the ANC’s policy conference scheduled for June, before it is adopted by the party’s elective conference in December.
President Cyril Ramaphosa previously said that the renewal commission would be charged with developing vision 2032. The party insiders said Mbeki’s exclusion came as a surprise to some NWC members, who called out Ramaphosa and the other top officials.
Mbeki was eventually added to a group of elders who would act as consultants to the commission. The former ANC and South African president has been criss-crossing the country at the behest of provincial leaders and recently met with Free State regional and provincial leaders to help to fix the fractured movement.
One national executive committee (NEC) member said they were confused by the inclusion of younger party leaders in the list.
“It’s shocking, because Losi has her own problems in Cosatu. She must also worry about her own conference. She is leading an organisation that itself needs renewal. Just a few years ago comrade Thoko was not welcomed in Tshwane. This idea was painted as a project that will be led by veterans and elders. I hope some changes are made in the NEC because we can’t be seen as factional for renewal to work,” they said.
During his speech at the ANC’s 8 January anniversary gala dinner, Ramaphosa said the party’s veterans’ league was deeply immersed in the process of renewal. He said veterans had developed a document “and they are going to be helping to lead the process of renewal of the ANC”.
“Last year, the veterans met with the officials and it was agreed that veterans would lead this process. It doesn’t seem like this is the case. From what I know, there are more NEC members than elders in the recommended list,” the ANC member who spoke to the M&G said.
Although some ANC members have bought into the idea, at least two party veterans said the timelines were too far ahead.
“These are things [we] as veterans have been trying to advise the ANC. Ramaphosa has failed to stamp out corruption, which resulted in the disastrous local government election [in November]). One would have expected that the reaction would be: come one and all, and assist us to chart the way forward,” a party elder said.
Another ANC veteran added that the renewal commission should have started its work in 2021.
“It should have started almost immediately after the elections last year. This did not happen, which indicates to you that we do have a problem. For it to be realistic, it has to develop criteria: who may participate and who may not and leaders must bite the bullet and agree that you may not be part of the renewal crusade if you are tarnished.”
One source said Mbeki and KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli each made an argument during the January NEC meeting that the renewal programme should start immediately.
“Ntuli said ANC should start renewal now, not in 2023. They both raised the issue that there is a national development plan [NDP], [which] ends in 2030. There has been no evaluation of the NDP, but we are now coming up with vision 2032,” they said.
“Mbeki said there was no evaluation of the decade of the cadre. The organisation is dying now. Ramaphosa said the veterans would lead the renewal process and now there is a renewal commission: Which is which? In what context will the veterans lead renewal, if there is a renewal commission?”
[/membership]