The movement leading South Africa was in crisis, President Jacob Zuma said on Monday, bemoaning ill-discipline, the premature introduction of key debates and the use of money to promote self-interest.
“Members of powerful organisations believe they can deal with things the way they want and not the way the situation demands,” he told delegates at the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (Cosatu) central committee at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Gauteng.
“For example, we may just decide to say whatever we want and not care about the image of the organisation because we believe even if we lose votes, it will not be a big loss as we are big anyway!” he said.
Zuma is president of the country and the African National Congress, which is in an alliance with Cosatu and the South African Communist Party.
Zuma said the crisis facing the movement was not unique to the ANC, but had affected other liberation movements.
“Our strength could become our weakness if we are not careful,” he warned.
Another challenge the movement faced was the “disappearance of respect and discipline” in the ANC.
‘Determining policy on our feet’
“[We] have introduced a new culture of exchanging views and dealing with the views of other comrades publicly, even before we test such views within our organisations, and with the comrades who hold those views.
“This has introduced a tendency to determine policy on our feet, having not gone through the proper process that would normally help to maintain the dignity of the organisation,” he said, without specifically mentioning ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s push for the nationalisation of mines as well as land reform.
Malema and the youth league managed to place the nationalisation debate on the agenda at the ANC’s national general council last year, where the party resolved to probe the viability of the state playing a larger role in the economy.
The ANC Youth League — at its recent conference at Gallagher Estate — called for land redistribution without compensation.
“We introduce some debates prematurely before we have discussed them among ourselves and it creates a space for more disagreement in public on matters that could have [been] discussed and agreed on internally and give leadership as a united voice.”
Zuma reminded ANC members that the party had a “tried and tested” policy-making process — which dated back to its formation in 1912.
‘Free for all’
Another challenge the movement faced was making issues a “free for all”, when members misunderstood the party’s “transparency and openness”.
“This helps a situation wherein people who are not necessarily part of our broad movement but who have certain views to promote, and also those who may have money but certain objectives, to find space to use other people to promote their policies in the movement.
“When interests are at stake, the issue of leadership becomes a matter of life and death,” he said.
“The issue is not how the organisation will or should be led, but how the interests of certain people must be protected.”
Zuma said the “money issue” had become a “big sickness” in the organisation — saying money was used to promote self-interest and this impacted on how the organisation was run.
“We need to uproot this sickness so that our organisations whose interests it is to defend the revolution can become instruments of the revolution rather than instruments of certain classes of certain people.”
He called on members to stop “clique-ism” and “gossip” and to adhere to the “revolutionary way” of doing things.
“These tendencies must be fought by all who still call themselves revolutionaries. It’s easy for anyone to call himself or herself a revolutionary who paid nothing to say so,” he added. – Sapa