Why I say No to The Vukani! Sidikwe! Vote No! campaign.

The launch of the Vote No campaign came as no surprise. There has been talk of such a campaign since the Polokwane Conference of the ANC in 2007. The arguments both for and against the campaign are important for our democracy.

The test for the campaign is simple in my view; does it take our country forward? I think not. It is a rather petulant response to problems we are all responsible for creating, whether by commission or by omission.

Similarly, the talk of forming a workers party, the launch of the EFF and other phenomena, have their roots in the various tendencies that have always made up the broader liberation movement. Populism, ultra-leftism, workerism, anarcho-syndicalism and reformism have always existed alongside the nationalist and democratic socialist ones.

Having witnessed the futility of COPE and witnessing the crass right wing opportunism of the DA, it is clear that keeping the ANC focused on its revolutionary objective and building and strengthening it is the only course of action progressive people can take in this turbulent phase of the consolidation of our democracy.

That does not mean surrendering to corruption, materialism or ditching the ANC's values, principles and philosophy. It means fighting for these. The space exists to do this in the ANC. There is also the space to campaign in the ANC to elect new leaders at the next conference if one does not support the ones in office. To suggest otherwise is to mislead the people.

The divisions that currently run through the ANC, SACP and COSATU are not new. They have their origins in the history of the liberation movement. Various permutations of these have existed since the ANC was formed. The same is true of the DA, COPE and other political parties.

None of them is monolithic. It is part of the sociology of political parties that there will be contestation over their direction, leadership and policies. The suggestion by those in the Vote No campaign that voting for other parties will be a wake up call for the ANC leadership is a cop out, as it basically means that we as progressive people must abandon the liberation movement that we have all played a role in building, because some supposedly enlightened individuals are not in control of it.

I have high regard for many of the individuals identified with the campaign. It is their right to campaign as they see fit. But I do not agree with the arguments they are putting forward as a justification for their position. These do not bear scrutiny.

This was the flawed logic behind the formation of COPE. As one of those who were angry and hurt at the factionalism that prevailed in the ANC at the time, I made the same mistake then. My experience has taught me a life lesson. You cannot out ANC the ANC. Those who leave the ANC and work against it are strengthening the forces opposed to transformation, non-racialism and to a more just and equitable society.

It took a year for me to learn that lesson and to counter my own egotistical response to what had happened in the ANC. But I will not be fooled again easily. COPE quickly went from standing for what it identified as the core values of the ANC, to simply being a crude anti-ANC organisation. This was inevitable, as to try to build a counter movement to the ANC is to work against the interest of the people of the country, for the ANC alone brings redress of the national grievance and initiates policies and programs to ensure socio-economic transformation.

Having returned to the ANC, I can safely say that the space exists to put alternative views and even to disagree with the leadership. There is no impediment to advocating alternative policies and to promoting a progressive agenda.

The fact that there are ANC leaders accused of or allegedly involved in corrupt activities is not proof of the ideological misdirection of the ANC. Similar allegations were made about the ANC under the leadership of Tambo, Mandela and Mbeki. The ongoing corruption in our society, which pervades business (see the collusion cases in construction, insurance and food companies for example), other political parties (the DA and COPE have corrupt leaders in their ranks) is proof that the rot, the corruption and the weaknesses of the society that we have inherited from the NP regime are still with us.

These are the interests of powerful social forces and need a sustained, systematic response from a disciplined, well organized, revolutionary movement. The only potential for ensuring that these agenda are countered is the ANC. To work against the ANC is therefor to weaken it further. It may even cause it to lose power to other parties. This will leave our country rudderless and create conditions for populist, reactionary and even counter-revolutionary forces to prevail.

The recent history of the ANC since 1994 has seen many changes in the country and in the movement itself. Many of these are positive changes, but some are negative. The effects of wealth, power and privilege have certainly changed the character of many leaders in the ANC and its allies.  But such characteristics existed in the NP, PFP/DP/DA and in society generally before the ANC came to power.

We have a difficult challenge to preserve the values and legacy of the ANC of Luthuli, Tambo and Mandela and to ensure these are made hegemonic in the fast changing, contradiction ridden, post-apartheid, racial capitalist South Africa. While it is the right of individuals to campaign for or against whatever they want, including the ANC, it is also our right as members of the ANC, to contest such views and such a campaign.

I do so because the ANC is our only genuine hope. The fact that the DA has adopted all the ANC policies bar BEE and affirmative action is clear evidence of the relevance of the ANC. I urge all South Africans to vote for the consolidation of democracy, for socio-economic transformation and for non-racialism, non-sexism and for a shared prosperity in the future. Do not be misled by those who would suggest that they are to be trusted rather than the collective leadership of the liberation movement.

Dr Phillip Dexter is a post-doctoral fellow at UCT and works for the ANC.

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