Demons of the past seem to be catching up with the present
“THOSE who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana, a writer and philosopher.
The quote may pretty much resonate with South Africa’s political milieu. As the country has been trying to embark on a “new dawn” – that is, if you are in agreement with the mission and vision of President Cyril Ramaphosa, hopefully we are all prepared to give this mission an opportunity to thrive for the betterment of the country.
The demons of the past seem to be catching up with the present and could dampen the future if the demons are not cleansed. The divisions within the governing ANC, which the party of liberation, at times, has relegated to mere contestations that occur in all organisations, may no longer be as simple as that.
Of course, contestations in the political arena are part of life. And they need to be dealt with through organisational structures and processes. To get a better understanding of what could be at play here, there’s a need to go back to the past and look at where the damage could have occurred.
And when it comes to the pains facing the ANC, it could do well to go through some historical unfinished business internally and in exile. The alleged human rights violations in ANC camps in exile, for instance, which have been powerfully articulated in Stephen Ellis’s book, External Mission: ANC In Exile and Umkhonto weSizwe combatant Stanley Manong’s book If We Must Die, with both books linking senior ANC leaders in exile of either their knowledge in wrongdoing or involvement.
How is this relevant to the troubles facing the governing party today? This could clear any possibility of past injustices from impacting the present and negatively affecting the future.
There may also be a need for a proper study of this period, as it could also reveal that some of the divisions
playing out today possibly emerged during that era, which may not have been dealt with accordingly, hence the fights within the ANC.
On another note, all political formations, particularly those that assume power after liberation, are likely to be ridden with factions contesting for power, from mostly those groups that feel they have been left out of the post-liberation “gravy train”, hence the popular phrase “it’s our time to feed”. The South African version would be: “We did not struggle to be poor.”
Not forgetting to mention that the ideological mix that makes the “broad church”, which is the ANC, can cause clashes during the Struggle period, and can certainly become deeper after liberation, especially as to which direction to take after post-Cold War global uncertainties.
The neo-liberal influenced faction would champion a capitalist-led macroeconomic framework, and another faction could still believe that Marxist-Lenin communism has a future in the world, while another group would feel that a mixed economic system would best cater for all the different constituencies.
And another scenario that could be fuelling a lot of behind-the-scenes tensions in the governing party could be the fact that the two most powerful factions in the ANC today are led and fought by former “exiles” and “inxiles (internal group)”.
The “exile” faction is led by Jacob
Zuma and Ace Magashule. Both are former exiles. And the leaders of the “inxiles” are Ramaphosa and his deputy, DD Mabuza, who is known to have played a prominent role in the Struggle for freedom internally.
Of course, both groups would have a mixture of “exile” or “inxile” at various components of their factions. Therefore, a not-so-favourable situation for the strength of the ANC could arise in the form of the battle for the control of the ANC from these two factions.
The “exiles” unhappiness to be led by the “inxiles” could be behind their resistance in supporting the Ramaphosa presidency of the ANC and the country. The “inxiles” believe that they kept the fire burning while the rest were away in exile with opportunities the “inxiles” didn’t have.
It’s possible that the assertions above are not the reasons for the upheavals in the governing party, or they are, to a lesser extent. Either way, South Africa is led by a party that is divided within itself, and it is necessary to explore all avenues for solutions.
It would be in the interest of all South Africans to pay close attention to what is happening in the governing party, irrespective of whether you support the ANC, and possibly make a positive contribution to heal the wounds of the past and present, from whatever position you possibly can.
However, there could be a promising prospect in the affairs of the governing party and country. It is from a possibility of former president Thabo Mbeki’s contribution to heal the wounds of the ANC and assist Ramaphosa to better lead the country.
Whether Mbeki will play a role of a “convener” in resolving the scuffles within the governing party, which will bring him back to full-time national political action, has been muted in certain circles. This is irrespective of the views some people might have of Mbeki’s style of leadership and whether he was the right leader South Africa needed when he governed.
As a former exile, the bottom line is that Mbeki’s economic record was continentally and globally applauded. He also comes across as more sympathetic to the challenges facing Ramaphosa both within the ANC and government.
At some stage the economy reached the 6% mark, Mbeki was able to create many jobs in the middle sectors and he utilised the Expanded Public Works Programme to give more jobs in many black communities.
These are among the achievements that make Mbeki a promising figure to bring stability and normalcy in a situation that warrants national stability.
Mbeki was also instrumental in the “secret talks” been the ANC and apartheid leaders which eventually led to the end of apartheid. Most of the meetings took place from the mid1980s in London, one in Senegal in 1987 and later a couple in Lusaka, Zambia. They would continue after the unbanning of liberation movements inside South Africa.
A lot has been asked about the agreements and resolutions taken during these talks and how they have come to shape our country as we find it now. Perhaps the negotiators who were part of these talks could report to the nation about what was agreed on or not agreed on.
They could also give their views on where it went wrong and how the situation can be remedied.
Those negotiators who are still alive include Mbeki, Zuma, Ramaphosa from the ANC and Niel Barnard, FW de Klerk and Roelf Meyer, among some from the National Party.
These men must come out and clear the air so that we can get on with the rebuilding of the country.
Will Ramaphosa create the conditions for this process to set forth and steward the South African ship to safer waters? Time will tell.