MK vets call all-inclusive conference
Maphatsoe says it has no standing
The ANC has attracted “opportunists and careerists” into its ranks.
Members see their membership as a means to advance personal ambition to attain power and access to resources.
This is contained in a discussion document to be presented by former UmKhonto we Sizwe (MK) combatants at an all-inclusive conference in Nasrec, Soweto, this weekend.
The former combatants, who include General Siphiwe Nyanda and Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla, are challenging the legitimacy of the UmKhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) conference which saw Kebby Maphatsoe – one of President Jacob Zuma’s allies – re-elected the association’s leader in June.
That conference discussed the ANC’s policy documents and how to empower ordinary people economically.
“The opportunists and careerists joined the ANC not because they believed in its policies and upheld its values, but because it created the pos- sibility to access positions of state power,” the document says. “These positions would then be abused for self-enrichment and otherwise to promote the interests of opportunists and careerists, against the interests of the ordinary working people.”
The report cites careerism as one of the negative features that have emerged within the ANC in the past three years.
“In reality, during the last three years, we have found it difficult to deal with such careerists in a decisive manner.
“We have also seen the emergence of elitism among some of our members.”
The former MK combatants argue that there is also the emergence of the use of lies and fabrications by members of the ANC to promote their political objectives.
“This goes together with the regular practice of leaks to the media in an effort to create a public climate favourable to the interests of those who use misinformation as their organisational tool.”
The document is proposing urgent action against ANC leaders, members and public officials who are facing damaging allegations of improper conduct. The document also points out that the scramble for positions in the state machinery has encouraged indiscipline in the ANC.
Maphatsoe, however, told Sowetan yesterday that the current MKMVA leadership would not take part in a conference which he described as having no standing.
“We are the legitimate structure up until the ANC national executive committee takes a different decision,” said Maphatsoe.