ANC stalwarts bring hope

We attended the national consultative conference convened by the ANC stalwarts and veterans and would like to congratulate the conveners of this special occasion.

It was conducted with comfortable informality and goodwill, which contrasted with the rigidity of ANC national conferences.

There was no back-biting, and no flaunting of egos, just polite and serious discussion of the serious problems facing the country.

It was a meeting of old comrades, many of whom had not seen one another for decades, together with participants entirely new to ANC meetings.

What a contrast to the preparations for the ANC’s December national conference, with its bitter rivalries for positions, factional battles and even killings. We are bound to ask whether such a divisive ANC can deliver anything worthwhile for the people of SA.

Njabulo Ndebele‘s keynote address raised important moral questions about the ANC, and these were taken up throughout the conference. He also asked whether the current leadership of the ANC is not fatally compromised.

Speaker after speaker condemned the party’s corrupt leadership and called for president Jacob Zuma’s resignation.

The call for renewal in the ANC is most timely. But there is a suspicion that the December conference will merely see a recycling of the same leaders, preaching the gospel of unity.

This will convince no one and will be treated appropriately by the electorate.

Certainly, the mature participants at the stalwarts conference are not persuaded.

There is now a clear need for voices demanding integrity in addition to those attending the ANC’s December conference.

The fact that top business and religious organisations together with the tripartite alliance partners and civil society met in an atmosphere of mutual trust, even friendship, indicates that the potential exists for a new mutual understanding across a broad section of our society.

Prof Ben and Mary Turok

Via e-mail