The conduct of some African National Congress (ANC) delegates at its 52nd national conference in Polokwane showed they did not understand what the party stood for, President Thabo Mbeki has told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
He was disappointed at how little some people understood of the ANC’s political workings and policy implementation, Mbeki said in an interview with the public broadcaster.
”There were, particularly on first day, incidents which were foreign to the ANC. The kind of behaviour such as heckling chairpersons and behaving in a manner that was unacceptable.
”As president of the ANC Jacob Zuma said in his closing speech ‘that was a negative’.
”The misbehaviour communicated the message of an ANC at war with itself.
”This is a wrong message and is incorrect,” said Mbeki.
He said that while ANC members might differ about their preferred candidates ”they are not at war with one another”.
However, the image conveyed to the country, the continent and the world ”was a bad image”.
”The matter was addressed and delegates were told that this [behaviour] was unacceptable and indeed the behaviour improved,” Mbeki said.
”I wasn’t that highly surprised, but it was disturbing…,” he said.
”I had been told about the passion the leadership matters seemed to arouse. In many instances, wrongly, because some people for some reason come to the conclusion that this person represents these positions whereas the other represents the other, where there is no substance to that.
”It was disturbing that it demonstrated that amongst some of the delegates to the conference, the level of understanding of what the ANC is, how it works and what it stands for was rather low.
”This gives birth to the kind of behaviour that the ANC and the country is not accustomed.”
Mbeki denied that the tensions had overshadowed policy discussions, accusing the media of communicating a ”sense of drama and acrimony”.
He said there were no divisions within the ANC about policy, strategy or about the direction in which the ANC or the country should be going.
”The same people who are militant about one candidate or the other agree perfectly about policy,” he said.
The divisions were about competition for the position.
”Of course it is going to be an intense fight.”
”One should say that we are a democratic movement and accept democratic processes.
”One has to accept that people will have choices about persons they like and dislike and express that in this very passionate manner.”
Denying that he was less accessible than Zuma, Mbeki said the country’s ordinary people had never found him inaccessible.
”They feel a very great ease of access”.
He also dismissed the suggestion that the election result represented a vote against him and his style of leadership.
”It can’t be because there is a rejection of members of the ANC on the basis that I failed to implement the ANC’s policies.
”If that was the argument then at least five of those [top] six officials would not have been elected.”
Divisions had disappeared when policy matters and the way forward were discussed, he said. – Sapa