The bum-kissing pledge by ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe to support Zanu-PF during Zimbabwe’s polls next year has justifiably raised the ire of everyone from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to opposition parties in Zimbabwe and here at home.
Last year the ANC Youth League’s president, Julius Malema, undertook a similar trip to Zimbabwe where he heaped praise on President Robert Mugabe and his violent seizure of farms. The timing of Malema’s trip to the north of the Limpopo caused an outcry within the ranks of the ruling party and government. Malema was hauled over the coals because his trip came in the middle of President Jacob Zuma’s mediation efforts to broker a settlement between Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in terms of SADC’s global political agreement.
When the ANC’s national disciplinary committee ruled on charges against Malema last month, it was particularly scathing about his vocal support for opposition to Botswana’s ruling party and President Ian Seretse Khama. ANC members, the committee said, should bear in mind that their party was in government and remarks they made were likely to be associated with the South African government.
Apparently that caution does not apply to other party leaders, however.
This past weekend at Zanu-PF’s national conference in Bulawayo, Mantashe declared the ANC’s support for Mugabe’s party, without apparent regard for the role played by the ANC government in the search for a sustainable solution to Zimbabwe’s frozen political conflict. He told delegates the ANC would share its expertise regarding election campaigns and how to treat a hostile media. “We are willing to assist in coming up with election messages and strategies that will deliver victory. It is important for Zanu-PF to regain ground and continue to represent the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe.”
This came as a surprise because in the past Mantashe has criticised Mugabe’s autocratic rule and because Mantashe’s utterances put Zuma’s mediation efforts at risk.
Zanu-PF and the MDC, the two signatories to SADC’s agreement, are already at each other’s throats despite running the government of national unity together.
Zuma’s facilitation team in Zimbabwe, which includes presidential special adviser Lindiwe Zulu, the president’s special envoy Charles Nqakula, and presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, has gradually rebuilt South Africa’s reputation as an honest broker after the disastrous Thabo Mbeki years.
But Mantashe, instead of adopting an all-inclusive approach and encouraging the parties to work towards a free and fair election, opted to start the fire. And the ANC, instead of threatening discipline, has supported Mantashe.
For South African observers of the struggle for control of the ANC, it will be yet more evidence of a double standard at Luthuli House. More importantly, for those who care about Zimbabwe, and the tortured regional effort to return that country to a truly democratic path, it will be a sign that South Africa’s leaders are again giving old loyalties priority over the path to peace.
It is not too late for Mantashe to retract his comments, apologise and commit himself to broad support for democratic processes rather than to an individual party. But don’t hold your breath.
Read the second editorial “SA must ride the Dragon“