A more streamlined, technocratic ANC, with unruly regions and branches brought firmly under the control of Luthuli House, is at the centre of plans to align party structures with those of the government.
A discussion document titled Organisational Design of the ANC: A Case for Internal Renewal, distributed ahead of the party’s National General Council next weekend, contains proposals that clearly mirror President Thabo Mbeki’s restructuring of government.
But the plan is likely to face stiff resistance; some provincial leaders told the Mail & Guardian they have already resolved to contest it.
According to Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, the party’s deputy secretary general, the proposals will amount to “a more effective and efficient ANC” where the “management and administration” of the party is “more cohesive and systematic” in the provinces and head office, limiting the scope for patronage and factionalism.
The document suggests that the branches — traditionally the party’s most important structure — have lost touch with the ANC’s policies and are no longer advancing the principles of the “national democratic revoÂlution” through party mobilisation and organisational work.
In addition, it notes that the “selection and election processes, as presently practised within the organisation, are contributing to poor levels of cohesion within the ranks and factional agenda[s], [which do] not necessarily promote the values of the ANC, such as putting the collective first.”
The document suggests that the transition of the ANC from an extra-parliamentary movement to a ruling political party with electoral structures has resulted in members using their positions in the ANC to achieve personal political ends. To resolve this, the document recommends that branches be aligned more closely with state structures.
“Among the design principles that the [restructuring of the party] must achieve is the delayering of the organisation to reduce its control span … most significantly the organisation must phase out leadership organs that do not corresÂpond with any equivalent government authority. In this respect, zones must be phased out and sub-regions as party equivalents of municipalities must be established in all municipalities.”
Mthembi-Mahanyele said: “We want to move away from people who look at all these responsibilities and say, ‘I want to be this [leader] and that [leader].’ In short we are saying that we want a more efficient ANC with better management skills … and political capacity to implement policy on the ground.”
She agreed that this strategy falls in line with Mbeki’s programme of action, which moves to address the delivery backlogs by giving national government, in particular the presidency, greater decision-making powers over provinces and local government.
The report proposes that “provinces must focus on managing all centres of power … In this regard, the structure of provincial ANC offices must mirror the structural reorganisation that will be effected at head office.”
The organisational review envisages that the party, from the branches to head office, will be structured along the following centres of power: state, the economy, civil society, terrain of ideas and the international arena.
“We need a new kind of branch that relates to government policy,” said Mthembi-Mahanyele. “Currently we’re unable to do that because we haven’t emphasised these sectoral issues … the branches consist simply of an executive.”
If the proposals contained in the discussion document are accepted at the national general council they won’t require changes to the party’s constitution, but Luthuli House will have a much stronger hold over the party, and will assume a more managerialist and “comprehensive character” to enhance the party’s “strategy and tactics”, said Mthembi-Mahanyele.
“If the organisational review passes through the national general council it will mean that when we at headquarters sit we will be able to send out a form where we say to the provincial leadership, ‘Can you give us a report on what your branches have done around the five sectors?’,” she said.
The document also proposes the introduction of a permanent electoral commission for the party.
The commission “would take charge of the election process” during provincial and national conferences at which the party’s leadership is elected to clamp down on the pursuit of “personal agendas”.
“This matter is so vital that it can determine the future fortunes of the organisation,” says the document.