Can an embattled political party that’s been losing electoral support afford to still be associated with a self-centred tribalist demagogue and a leader seeking to escape accountability for his role in an embarrassing scandal
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa didn’t mention Phala Phala and Jacob Zuma – the two elephants casting a haunting shadow over the party in his political report at the opening of the organisation’s 55th National Conference on Friday.
The party went into this conference with the thorny issue of Phala Phala, the biggest scandal to rock the ANC under Ramaphosa’s leadership still lingering.
But for reasons best known by him, Ramaphosa chose not to deal with Phala Phala in his political report – which reflects on the party’s performance and issues since the last conference.
He chose instead to deal with state capture, Eskom, the state of the economy and emphasis on party unity among the leadership and the general membership.
Was it perhaps because Ramaphosa, in his wisdom thought the matter that caused division among the party’s MPs and created such a huge political storm that opposition parties were calling for his head, wasn’t important enough to be dealt with in the opening address of such an occasion?
Ramaphosa as ANC leader and the state president, should have dealt with the Phala Phala matter in his political report. He owes it to the party’s members and the general public, since the ANC is the governing party and will be canvassing for votes among non-ANC members ahead of the upcoming general election in 2024.
Also, it was important for party members to get feedback from him, on the political implications Phala Phala has had on the ANC, and is likely to have in the period leading up to the general election.
Ramaphosa has been dodging this matter since the scandal broke, creating a scenario where even those members of the public who had confidence in his leadership after the chaotic Zuma era, are beginning to have doubts about his credibility.
But even though he did not touch on Phala Phala, his opponents who have used the scandal as a rallying point to oust him as party president, found the scandal as convenient ammunition to humiliate Ramaphosa during his address.
A group of delegates from the party’s KwaZulu-Natal region dished out a potent dose of hooliganism at the start and during proceedings, disrupting party chairperson Gwede Mantashe and Ramaphosa’s speech with songs about Phala Phala and much jeering.
And to think these are the kind of delegates carrying the responsibility of carving the ANC’s path forward makes one wonder what level of contribution, if any, do they make in commissions that shape party resolutions.
If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought these delegates were from a political party bitterly opposed to the ANC. But such has been the party’s politics since Zuma’s ascendency to power at the Polokwane conference in 2007.
The other elephant in the room – Zuma, a man who is arguably the most divisive, self-centred, self-serving ANC leader in the history of the organisation, yet again used the occasion to draw attention on himself and snub the party leadership.
For reasons best known to the former president, he decided to make a grand, late entrance to the proceedings. The populist demagogue’s late arrival during Ramaphosa’s speech, ignited ruptures of excitement among his supporters who broke into song.
That the party president was giving a report back on the organisation’s performance during the last five years didn’t matter to a man who has entrenched the cult of personality psyche into the organisation.
What seemed important to this rowdy bunch singing Zuma’s praises was to cause disruption, hurling expletives and shouting Phala Phala with the same momentum taxis honk their horns in the city at peak hour.
The KZN region has used the party’s proverbial problem child Zuma as a rallying focal point against Ramaphosa; capitalising on his factional mobilisation which often borders on tribal mobilisation, a term used by Ramaphosa to describe the tragic uprising in KZN following Zuma’s arrest last year.
Zuma’s incarceration for violating the Constitutional Court last year has escalated hostilities.
He has not bothered to speak out against such divisive behaviour by his comrades. He has chosen instead to bask in the glory of the adulation shown by this group.
He has refused to take a back seat and play the role of a party elder, guiding and promoting unity among comrades and has instead become a constant thorn, publicly deriding the leadership of the party he claims to love.
He went a step further indicating he was available to stand for a top six position in the party during this conference. Zuma has displayed so far displayed all the attributes of a self-centred, populist demagogue who cares not about the ANC or the country, but his own personal interests and power.
As party tradition former presidents and veterans usually take up their seats on the podium among the leadership during such events. However, the man who made a late entrance chose to sit among the ordinary rank and file delegates. This is a loaded statement, a rejection of the current leadership.
Later Zuma joined his KZN comrades in song, smiling gleefully as they belted out a song aimed at Ramaphosa – “Phala Phala – what has Zuma done?”
Is there any normal, adult South African citizen, who still doesn’t know the answer to this question? A disgraced former party president openly supporting such action speaks volumes of the level of contempt he holds against the current leadership.
If Ramaphosa retains his position as the party’s number one this weekend, perhaps top on his to-do list should be reigning in Zuma and his band of hooligans.
The man has been the source of divisions and factionalism in the ANC for the longest time. In recent months after his early release from jail, his actions have been of one who is daring the party leadership to a confrontation.
The danger with not dealing decisively with such behaviour especially by a party elder, sends a message to the ordinary members that it’s acceptable to behave in that manner – and this is not the kind of image any party that wants to appeal to the country’s masses can afford.
Ramaphosa’s shambolic handling of the Phala Phala debacle has not done him any favours. In his political report he mentioned that those who aided and enabled state capture would not stop resisting efforts to fight the scourge.
Fighting state capture is all well and good. But when the battle is led by someone who sits with a scandal involving harbouring millions of dollars on his property and avoiding questions around the issue, it gives those implicated in state capture ample ammunition to cast doubt over the intention of his efforts.
Whether Ramaphosa retains his position as ANC president or not, it is perhaps time the organisation’s leadership crosses the Rubicon and reign Zuma and stamp out factionalism and hooliganism.
There has been a concerted effort to bring in young people into the leadership, one of whom is Ronald Lamola, a sober legal eagle who grew up in the movement’s structures.
If the ANC wishes to cleanse itself and restore public confidence in the organisation ahead of the general election in 2024, perhaps it’s time they throw the likes of Lamola’s generation into the deep end.
It’s perhaps an opportune moment for the ANC to transform itself into a modern political party and do away with its archaic ways, operating like a liberation movement where “struggle credentials” take credence over ability, discipline and accountability.
While not every South African is an ANC member or supporter, the organisation’s history and role in the struggle is such that a great number of the country’s citizens love and respect it as a vehicle that could possibly bring about positive change and transform the country into a thriving society. After all this is what they have always promised.
But in recent years it’s become clear to many that the general attitude of some of its active members and leaders is that of people who are only interested in amassing personal wealth, at whatever cost, and holding onto power even at the expense of the welfare of the country and its citizens.
It would also be ideal if even Ramaphosa, who still has the Phala Phala guillotine hanging over his neck to fall on his sword if he’s found to have violated the law. It’s good for democracy and accountability. It will send a message that no one is above the law, but even more importantly, that no one is entitled to lead the ANC or the country.
If the ANC doesn’t sort out the mess it has put itself in after this conference, they should perhaps start preparing for life on the opposition benches after the 2024 election. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
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