South Africans need to make up their minds about whether they worry more about personalities or ideology in the political set-up.
When people in the ANC and outside it say they do not want President Jacob Zuma to return for a second term and instead want a Tokyo Sexwale or a Kgalema Motlanthe, what is it that they really want?
Is it the quiet, dignified figure of Motlanthe they are smitten with or do they really believe that, politically and ideologically, he stands to offer something substantially different? What do Sexwale or Motlanthe stand for that Zuma does not already represent?
I deliberately use the word “worry” instead of what South Africans “want”, because these days our national conversation appears to be driven by fear and apprehension of the future.
As I have said before, this anxiety is totally misplaced. But it is there, wherever I go, particularly among the more influential and well-heeled in our society.
Going back to my original question, I am afraid that for the time being we will not receive an honest answer from the leadership of the ANC about what drives its choice of leadership. President Zuma and his national executive committee have closed any discussion about leadership and succession in the run-up to the Mangaung 2012 conference.
Zuma said it is too early to engage in such a discussion and argued that it would distract from important organisational and governance priorities.
We know that these discussions are happening anyway. But when they do happen, clandestinely or in quiet corners, they are called plots.
Remember the recent “plot” allegations against Zuma, which seemed to have been concocted by a loyal follower who wanted to embarrass anyone whom they suspected no longer supported Msholozi?
All this leads me to support the proposal by the ANC in Gauteng and the ANC Youth League that it’s time there was an open discussion. As long as the discussions are secret we will never really know what informs some of the strange choices we see being made.
We will continue to be subjected to rumours about how horse trading, money and the buying of delegates is a widespread phenomenon that determines who gets to govern our provinces.
To this day the residents of Mpumalanga do not know why someone thought Ndaweni Mahlangu would make a good premier, why David Mabuza is now both party leader and premier and Free State residents also don’t know why Beatrice Marshoff was deemed good enough to lead the province. People will be accused of plotting when they pick their leaders.
Two weeks ago the youth league, in its typically reckless manner, wanted to go ahead and publicly indicate its preferred names, but it was put in line by Motlanthe, who told it to wait until the ANC had opened its processes. He indicated that the youth league should not pre-empt ANC processes.
Julius Malema relented, but insisted it was time the ANC opened the process, saying it should not be left until it is too late.
Gauteng claims its stand was principled because it does not want to discuss names but rather debate what kind of organisation the ANC needs to be to survive another century and therefore what kind of leadership is necessary.
Unlike the youth league, it claims it is not in a rush for names but we all know that it probably already has a list prepared.
Gauteng leadership argues that an insistence on the prohibition of open discussion means its local branches will end up being infiltrated and influenced by elements from Cosatu, the South African Communist Party and the youth league, which all have their own views on the leadership.
Although some politicians might be hiding their true motives when they say they want to discuss the principles, qualities and character of the organisation, those of us who are not constrained by party discipline should start the discussion.
We must talk about what works and what does not work in the current leadership.
When we clamour for bold and decisive leadership, which most believe is lacking, we must be mindful that we had lots of that during the terms of former president Thabo Mbeki and we could not handle it.
One hopes we will look for a leader who has a clear vision about development, economic growth, poverty alleviation and building a cohesive society. We must avoid being driven by the politics of fear, which embraces anyone who claims he or she can stop nationalisation, Cosatu, Malema and Blade Nzimande.