LISTEN TO KGALEMA MOTLANTHE & TAKE HEED BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe is doing South Africa a great service by pointing out that the ruling party “was presently made up mostly of members and leaders devoid of the kind of political ability and consciousness required to maintain a united and non-racial society”. COPE agrees with him that this was indeed a key ideal articulated during the liberation struggle. To abandon it now is to court disaster unnecessarily.
If every leader who participated in the struggle and who paid a heavy price for opposing apartheid, now spoke out against the impairment of “internal democracy in the ANC”, as Motlanthe has done, an enormous amount of good will come out of it. Progressive and democratic organisations thrive on constructive and well-meant criticism from people in the know. Only repressive organisations react defensively and aggressively.
COPE, as an opposition party, concedes that good policies are certainly in place as is the constitution. However, “if those in power can pick and choose when to adhere, when not to adhere” to policy or the constitution, we are in a very difficult situation indeed. Government adherence to policies and the constitution encourages universal adherence by the nation. Its failure encourages everyone else to follow suit and lawlessness will prevail as is happening now.
Most of us in COPE were previously members of the ANC . What former President Motlanthe diagnosed is wrong with the ANC has indeed been our gripe with the ruling party for the past seven years. It was clear to Motlanthe that if he “continued serving in that leadership it would be a constant battle just to get them to operate on the basis of the constitution." We fully appreciation that thought because it was exactly the same conclusion we had come to. That is why COPE continues to make such a big issue of adherence to the Constitution all the time.
Lack of internal democracy in the ANC has become externalised in the wider political sphere. Mr Motlanthe’s warning about the “bullying tactics adopted by the ANC in the National Assembly”, for instance, have indeed alienated people from minority race groups. The great work of Nelson Mandela is being undone by the Zuma administration. The present ANC is putting South Africans onto a path of conflict with one another once again.
Let Sdumo Dlamini and Gwede Mantashe plug their ears however much they want, the country will listen to Motlanthe because many citizens are coming to the same conclusion. As for those who remain defiantly deaf to what he is saying, like Dlamini and Mantashe, an old adage holds that “there are none so deaf as those who will not hear”. Let their deafness not compromise our future. Let us heed the words of former President Motlanthe.
Isssued by Dennis Bloem, COPE Spokesperson, 2 November 2015
