People’s power has to re-manifest itself

THE myth that the ANC is governing the country for the benefit of all its people has been smashed.

It has become a party of the elites who have one agenda, which is using their position to loot the state for as much as each can get away with.

The broad sweep of antiZuma marches in all major cities on Friday, April 7, sent a powerful, if skewered, selective message: change is imperative.

They called for the removal of a president they believe is terminally corrupt, not for an ending of the vice-grip of a neo-liberal economy or land distribution or changes that will fundamentally address the creation of a truly equitable society.

The opportunism was glaringly present.

Whites turned out in great numbers for the first time in South African history to protest against anything.

As many persons of colour have wryly remarked, they turned out to protest the downgrading of South Africa into “junk status” because their pockets are being hit.

Yet this passive past cannot exclude whites from joining the ranks of the democratic forces challenging the status quo.

One cannot forget the ANC was the midwife that delivered the ending of apartheid and the birth of democracy; that it was the one organisation, which, however falteringly, co-ordinated the growing resistance inside and outside the country.

Nor can it be forgotten that in the initial euphoria, some progress in providing basics to the people was successful.

Then came the sell-out to the IMF and the big banks.

The ANC led the country into the neo-liberal economy trap.

In essence, this meant the status quo would remain, namely, the economy in white hands and the multinationals, little emphasis on fulfilling the demands of the Freedom Charter, as limited as this was. The new black elite had to be accommodated with shares and directorships in the mega white corporates.

The new black elite would be there to fend off black demands for an economy that allowed for full participation and economic justice.

It is also very transparent that the ANC of today has little moral connection with the liberation movement and the lofty ideals of the Tambos, the Sisulus, the Mbekis and the Kathradas.

The 105-year-old movement has been sold out for 30 pieces of silver.

The mantle of its great Struggle legacy lies in shreds, tattered by the very people who claim to hold sole rights over its history.

The sad reality is that there is no ANC anymore; just the decaying remains of a body feasted upon by the Gupta maggots and their captured state friends.

It took over a 100 years to build a powerful organisation that vanquished apartheid.

It took less than 10 years for its leaders to bring it to its knees as it tasted the fruits of victory.

And this was done, not by the forces of apartheid, but by its very leaders in collaboration with reactionary forces.

This reeks of a betrayal of all those who pinned their hopes for a better life, for a solid constitutional democracy, for an equitable society and happiness after 340 years of every misery imaginable.

The elephant in the room whose presence is being ignored by seemingly paralysed South Africans who turn to other equally perplexed countrymen. What is to be done? Can the ANC be saved? Can it be revived under a new leadership?

My unequivocal answer is: No, it cannot. The rot has settled deep into its core.

The paralysis is so widespread that every excuse trumped up in its defence is done so by a moribund National Executive Committee (NEC), fearful of its own complicity in state capture and corruption being exposed.

Those in the MK Veterans Association, the ANC Women’s League and Youth League, the Tripartite Alliance of the Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party are scrambling to plug the huge cracks in the dykes, or are deserting the sinking ship.

Is a revival of the ANC possible? No, for the simple reason that it has chosen not the path of a sustainable constitutional democracy, but of a treasonous connivance of the leadership with external forces, like the Guptas, the Bell Pottingers and others yet to be named, to capture the state for purposes of mass looting and to cover their tracks by deflecting criticism to other quarters.

More than that, we are fully aware of the devastation the apartheid education did to generations of our children, yet the ANC government has allowed the “capture” of education by a union that has not the interests of our children, but solely that of its members. This is perhaps the cruellest betrayal. Another generation lost, and a second on the way.

It has been astoundingly suggested that mathematics pass for grades seven, eight and nine be reduced to 20% for promotion purposes. South Africa is already ranked next to last out of 138 countries in maths education. In effect, this reduces our education to “junk status”.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s highest post was given to a braggart (who forged his matriculation certificate), who expelled its best talent and replaced them with sycophants, who sang his praises. The SABC became as trashy as its leadership, all bluster with no substance.

Each of South Africa’s parastatals: Eskom, Transnet, Denel, South African Airways were simply run to ground by incompetent leadership. Only 17 municipalities across the land are functioning in accordance with their mandates. The remainder are relics of plundered resources.

Over 100 incapacitated pensioners were moved from government care and handed over to private NGOs, with no checks on the background of the new service providers.

The result was that more than 90 died of thirst, starvation or neglect of the provision of medication. Yet, no heads have rolled. Why?

Crime is out of control. It has to be when the minister of police calls for security guards to protect police and police stations from attack by the same criminals it is supposed to keep in check.

The ANC has selfdestructed.

People’s power has to re-manifest itself through civil society organisations that call for a national convention to chart a new way forward so that we can reclaim our dignity as a nation.

Prithiraj Dullay is an academic, author, columnist, environmental and human

rights activist.