Battle for the soul of the ANC

The faction aligned to African National Congress president Thabo Mbeki goes into the party’s national conference in Stellenbosch next week with the upper hand.

The faction’s crackdown on the left-dominated ANC structures in the Eastern Cape — which was to have pushed trade unionists and leftists for the national executive committee (NEC) next week — has been proclaimed “successful” by all. The faction also managed to cut the province’s delegation from 655 to about 400.

In less than two days the battle between the “left” and the so-called “Luthuli House loyalists” being played out in various provinces will take centre stage.

The conference is seen by many in the ANC as the most important since the organisation’s unbanning in 1990 as it will determine how much longer its alliance with the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will continue. Both the mainstream and leftist strands of the ANC are going into the conference determined to do fierce battle for control of the NEC and to ensure that their idelogical orientation shines through in the policy resolutions.

ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said the conference was very critical “as it happens after the first decade of the ANC in government”. It came at a time of “challenging” relations with the alliance.

Issues likely to dominate the congress include poverty alleviation, economic transformation and the response to HIV/Aids. The question of whether the government should implement a basic income grant — as proposed by the state-appointed

Taylor commission — or merely improve the existing social security system, will also be a major issue of contention.

The most crucial debate, however, will be over the Strategy and Tactics Document, the guide to ANC doctrine. Whoever wins the battle over whether “the poor and working class” is the motive force (catalyst) for change or whether the force should have a broader definition will be deemed to have won the battle for the soul of the party.

A senior ANC leader said the conference comes at a critical time when internal and cross-alliance debates are raging over the blocked socio-economic conditions in the country.

“It will be critical to see how the ANC positions itself just a year and a half ahead of the general elections and see whether the organisation is able to connect actively with the masses,” he said.

Another said the conference was important as the organisation was facing a “real threat of sinking into complacency and denial over the problems of unemployment and poverty facing the country.”

Those on the left who want to move the ANC away from what they see as conservativism want to push community activists, trade unionists and communists into the NEC.

This is set to be resisted by Luthuli House loyalists, who, in recent months, have been working hard to ensure that leftists are either voted off or marginalised.

“By the end of next week we will know whether the left still has a chance in the ANC,” said an SACP member.

The tripartite alliance partners have been engaging in name-calling in recent months, particularly since the ANC’s policy conference in September when Mbeki warned communists that they would be severely dealt with if they tried to hijack the ANC and drive it towards a socialist orientation.

Since then some senior SACP members pointed out they were “no longer welcome in Luthuli House”.

Mbeki, who will present a political report on the first day of the conference on Monday, is expected to continue with his attack on the “ultra-left” elements within the alliance and issue a strong message that the fundamentals of his government’s policies are not up for negotiation.

It is expected that the left parties, who felt they were outmanoeuvred in the provincial nomination processes, will lobby for support at the conference where they will nominate their candidates for the NEC from the floor.

Besides Blade Nzimande and Jeremy Cronin, the SACP’s leading candidates for positions on the NEC include Robben Islander George Mashamba, SACP deputy chairperson Dipuo Mvelase and SACP central committee members Yunus Carrim, Ncumisa Kondlo, Jerry Thibedi, Willies Mchunu and Sello Moloto. The list also includes former Mpumalanga premier Mathews Phosa, who is not a communist but is popular in left-wing ranks.

Cosatu was also counting its losses this week after announcing last month that it intended to flood the NEC in a bid for representation of the workers in the party’s highest leadership structure.

Only one Cosatu backed candidate — National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Gwede Mantashe — has made it to the nomination list.

However a senior Cosatu leader said: “We have not given up hope yet.” Cosatu intends to lobby provinces for support for its candidates next week.

Many ANC NEC members, including a number of ministers led by party chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota, have been stationed in the Eastern Cape for the past two weeks.

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