Nominations conferences in all provinces have reduced the contest for the African National Congress (ANC) leadership to a two-horse race — and dealt a stinging setback to President Thabo Mbeki. Jacob Zuma won five provinces and, more significantly, received a total of 2Â 232 votes for the presidency, against Mbeki’s 1Â 406. The pro-Zuma provinces also endorsed his slate for other “top six” positions. And in another surprise reversal for Mbeki, the ANC Women’s League endorsed his rival.
But the game is not over — the provincial summits only decided which names go on the ballot paper. Mbeki has reacted by insisting he will stand, while intensified lobbying before the ANC’s December 16 conference could see shifts in patterns of support.
The Mail & Guardian asked five senior ANC “elders” to comment on the provincial results, the party’s hardening divisions, and the potential fallout beyond Polokwane.
Zola Skweyiya
Minister of Social Development and NEC member
Our duty is not just to go to Polokwane, but to think beyond it to what kind of African National Congress (ANC) we’ll have.
Individuals come and go, but principles of the ANC will always be there. It should not be about individuals, which is our main problem now, but about what Oliver Tambo, Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela stood for. If we carry on like this, history will condemn us. Whatever decisions are taken now will be on our conscience forever.
We are faced on a daily basis with hunger, homelessness and the abuse of women. These should be the issues for Limpopo. I’m not saying people should not think about themselves. But they should also think of the bigger ANC collective. At the moment people are worried about state resources and who controls them.
What has been worrying me is what happens on December 21 (the day after conference). I wonder if it will be the same ANC with the same outlook, concerned with the unity of our movement.
It is not easy for me today to see what’s happening. I’m going on 66 and I’ve been in the organisation since I was 14. I know nothing except the ANC. To use the language of youth today, it has been my lifetime investment. So I feel very strongly that its integrity and discipline should not disappear. It’s a painful process I and others are going through. All of us are hurt. We’ve given up our life for the movement and it ends up like this. It can’t be allowed.
Whoever wins will have to be assisted, monitored and stick to the line, to ensure that the demands of our people are looked after.
We are also grappling with the issue of ethnicity, which I thought we’d addressed long ago. The demon of tribalism is rising from every corner and we ignore it at our peril. I now realise I was dreaming when I thought we had moved away from ethnicity. Many issues still centre on it.
We thought we would not go through what the rest of Africa has gone through, but we are just another African country. There is nothing special about us and we have to accept it.
I hope there are other people like me, who want to see that when we leave Polokwane we have policies that ensure that children under 18 receive grants, that our children get a good education and have good health facilities, that our elderly people receive their pensions and, most importantly, that we deal with HIV/Aids. This is what the ANC should be focusing on.
What the other ‘elders’ said
Jeremy Cronin: “‘Things cannot continue as they are’“
Derek Hanekom: “‘Many would have preferred a compromise candidate’“
Kader Asmal: “The ANC will ‘heal itself’“
Mbhazima Shilowa: “‘We want an NEC that works’“