There is much merit in Pallo Jordan’s counselling against splitting off from the ANC in preference to fighting one’s corner from within (”Terror Lekota is a sore loser”, October 10).
I am not sure, however, that Jordan is correct in his breezy dismissal of Mosiuoa Lekota’s actions, nor in his comparisons with divorces such as that of the PAC in 1959 or Bantu Holomisa’s more recent departure.
He could have added for that matter the exit of the so-called Gang of Eight led by Ambrose Makiwane after the Morogoro Conference of 1969. True, none of those departures was remotely able to dent the hegemony of the ANC. But I would argue as a disciplined and committed ANC loyalist of almost half a century that there is much to be worried about regarding the gauntlet hurled down by Lekota and the merit or otherwise of his motives.
Central to the disgruntlement of the PAC and Gang of Eight was the evolution of the ANC into a truly non-racial, revolutionary organisation. The Africanist faction that went on to form the PAC was opposed to the Freedom Charter and the alliance with non-black communists and democrats.
The Gang of Eight was equally disgruntled over the influence of communists such as Joe Slovo and Yusuf Dadoo and their ascendancy to influential positions. There is no such element of racism or anti-communism in Lekota’s position, notwithstanding a critique of the tactics of the present alliance leadership.
I gauge that what motivates Lekota and other loyal ANC members throughout the country is not the disgruntlement of a ”sore loser” as characterised by Jordan, but rather the ill-advised purging that has occurred from the Polokwane national conference to Mbeki’s shocking dismissal as South Africa’s president.
The dissident view is that this has resulted from what is being described as a ”populist putsch” at Polokwane that continues to pulverise all in its path.
They argue that the new leadership, rather than genuinely seeking to heal wounds and build unity, has been vicious and relentless in humiliating and marginalising anyone perceived to have been in the so-called Mbeki camp as they move to exert iron-fisted control over ANC, alliance and state.
Those of us who counsel the victimised against splitting off have been told quite flatly that there is diminishing space for open and healthy debate within. They point to the autocratic dismissal of the country’s president; targeting of premiers, mayors, councillors, activists, trade unionists; and alleged actions against branches and regions that they claim are summarily dissolved for the crime of having voted the wrong way at Polokwane. They complain that ANC structures have been gerrymandered and sewn up — in many cases even before Polokwane — to deprive them of the oxygen and space to raise their real concerns. They are aggrieved at what they describe as an alien, unconstitutional way of running the organisation and dealing with dissent.
Whatever the gripes about the Mbeki era, the degree of this manifestation is unprecedented. And those concerns are not about disagreement with ANC policies, as was the case with the PAC, but all about inner-party democracy and conduct.
If the new leadership is genuinely concerned about perceived Mbeki autocracy then surely the lessons should have been learned and such mistakes — perceived or not — rigorously avoided.
That there has been such a cry of anguish from within the ANC, and from many hitherto loyal and committed cadres who have sacrificed for years, should with all due respect greatly concern a democrat and free thinker such as Pallo Jordan. He will recall that at the post-Polokwane lekgotla involving the newly elected NEC and government ministers, ANC president Jacob Zuma pledged there would be room for all in a spirit of healing, inclusivity and building of unity.
There were only two ministers who responded — Lekota and myself. In welcoming Zuma’s professed magnanimity, we said more or less the same thing: leaders come and go; the results of democratic elections must be accepted; the obligations of disciplined loyalty in support of the policy and principles of the organisation and its democratic conduct and traditions must be adhered to by leaders and members alike.
Unfortunately, instead of following through with the spirit of reconÂÂciliation and inclusivity pledged by Zuma, the sense is of a veritable witch-hunt that has been unleashed. I consequently come to the conclusion that Lekota has responded to the cry of anguish and outrage from the outcasts and those who believe they are next on the list.
I believe we — ANC leaders, veterans, cadres, the support base, allies and friends — do need to be concerned, and in fact should be afraid, very afraid. Not simply because of the threat or otherwise of a new party contesting the elections, but of what in the first place has caused such committed comrades to even think of breaking away from the mother body.
I would have hoped, with President Zuma, that post-Polokwane there would be no looking back at the 60-40% divide in the vote there. Alas, the perceived purge under way of the 40-percenters obliges us to bear in mind that they are a core of tried-and-trusted cadres that the ANC can ill afford to lose.
By comparison, need we be reminded of the disgraceful scenes of rudeness and intimidation by a large and rowdy section of the 60-percenters that so shocked the country and swung the vote against Mbeki? Who then brought the ANC into disrepute and continue to do so with cries to kill for Zuma or threats against the judiciary — except, that is, when the verdict goes their way?
Mature leadership requires that President Zuma and the NEC move swiftly. Not to punish the so-called rebels by expulsion or suspension as in the case of Lekota and company, but to bury the hatchet and honestly implement the post-Polokwane pledge of reconciliation and inclusivity. This means ensuring that the ANC remains a genuinely democratic home for all its members in the best principles and traditions of its nearly 100-year existence.
Mayibuye!