The NGC: The ANC Must Focus on Policy and South Africa, Not Factions

There has been a lot of political squealing about the existence of a powerful faction in the ANC, the so-called Premier League, which is said to be made up of three Premiers of North West, Free State and Mpumalanga. Strangely, there are those who have come out, guns blazing, characterizing this as the worst thing that has ever happened in the ANC. The SACP even issued the proverbial ‘death warrant’ against the Premier League, calling it a divisive form of factionalism that must be confronted and destroyed wherever it is seen in the movement. The ANC NEC also weighed in against the Premier League, calling on Premiers in other provinces to pronounce themselves clearly against this faction.

The question that must be posed is, why this much hype, frenzy and anger around the existence of the Premier League faction in the ANC? I mean factions have become the order of the day in the ANC for some time now. Those that advocate against the Premier League are themselves products of factions that were crystallised in slates. The Premier League itself is a product of those slates. So clearly the problem here is not the faction itself, but the power that surprisingly seems to be commanded by the Premier League, as was evidenced in the Women’s and Youth Leagues’ congresses.

In the political jockeying for power within the ANC, different factions will fiercely contest each other’s influence over the membership. That is normal practice that has for centuries fossilized itself in political organisations, and not least in the ANC. The Premier League cannot be any different. It’s just that the main problem of those that are opposing the Premier League is that as factions themselves, they have been caught off guard by political realignments in favour of the Premier League within the ANC. They now see the real possibility of losing power and influence and are now panic stricken.

We mustn’t undervalue the dangerous use of money to subvert internal ANC democratic practices by whichever faction. However, we should not have our intelligence insulted by those who themselves introduced this culture of money bags, and now behave like the typical paragons of virtue advocating against the eating of mice whilst the tales of those mice protrude off their mouths. We demand consistency in dealing with this matter otherwise nobody will take it seriously.

The truth here is that those who had claimed President Zuma as their Trojan horse - that they would always count and rely on - are now no longer sure about his stance on the succession battle in the ANC. In fact some are now accusing him of forsaking them for the Premier League. They charge and bemoan that the President used them in his personal battles in the ANC and against the law enforcement agencies, only to dump them now that they no longer seem to be of any use to him. This sounds like a familiar cry doesn’t it?

We submit here that the problem with all of this is that the ANC is now hegemonising the fight against the Premier League faction over and above important socio-political challenges of the day. Everywhere you go in the ANC you hear talk and condemnation of the Premier League. The whole organization is getting consumed by this matter as if our very organisational life depends on it.

This preoccupation with the Premier League is a diversion that takes our focus away from the critical issues of the day. The ANC has far more and bigger challenges such as the astronomically high levels of unemployment and the attendant poverty than a faction called Premier League. Our economy is looking like third world economy that is on the verge of collapse and needs innovative and decisive leadership from the ANC to fix it. Our social fabric is disintegrating right in front of our eyes whilst the ANC overly concerns itself with the Premier League.

The ANC goes to the National General Council diluted and precarious due to its focus on diversionary activities of some individuals, instead of focusing on the real work of policy formulation urgently to arrest our slide into the unknown, perilous future. Rigorously and uncompromisingly focusing the organization on the real challenges facing the country would be a good way separate the chaff from the wheat.

We further submit that unfortunately, during this moment of diversion, the general membership of the ANC and South Africans continue to be neglected. We are now starting to see people deserting the ANC for other organizations. In the light of hostile or unproductive ANC branch meetings, our own personal resources as ordinary ANC members are now over stretched in our efforts to stem the tide of people leaving or contemplating leaving the ANC for demagogues and neo-liberals. The large scale desertion of ANC by its members and supporters to other organisations has now become a real possibility.

Ordinary South Africans that are predominately ANC supporters are starting to characterize the ANC as an inwardly-looking and a self-serving organisation that takes care of its own leaders at their expense. These South Africans are particularly scathing in their attack of what they term the double standards perpetuated by the ANC where there is law for ordinary South Africans, and ‘law’ for ANC leaders. They tell us that the ANC is now so corruption-infested that they doubt it if it can renew itself to address their plight.

As our teachers, these ordinary masses have been reminding us of the great deeds of such great leaders as Oliver Tambo and Chris Hani. With great political enthusiasm they have pointed out to what Chris Hani and others said in what became known as the Chris Hani Memorandum (1969), where they say:

“It is very alarming that double standards as regards to health of the members of the Organisation are maintained. Whenever leaders are sick arrangements are made for them to receive excellent medical attention without delay but this sort of concern is hardly shown to the rank and file of the movement. We maintain that all of us are important in so far as the Revolution is concerned and should thus be accorded the same treatment”.      

it is indeed astounding that the more things change, the more they stay the same. It is high time that we heed the words by the great revolutionaries of our times to the effect that all of us are important in so far as the revolution and progression of our country is concerned, and should be accorded the same treatment. The coming NGC affords the ANC the opportunity to focus on workable policies that put people first, or face the people’s wrath!

Mzukisi Makatse is a member of the ANC writing in his personal capacity.