Pallo’s analysis of ANC policy ‘dicey’

Former ANC Cabinet minister Pallo Jordan is being criticised within the party for presenting a “flawed interpretation” of historical ANC policy positions in his opposition to former president Thabo Mbeki’s paper on ANC land policy.

Former Umkhonto we Sizwe member Ike Moroe said in his response to Mbeki’s paper criticising the ANC’s deviation from non-racialism in its current policy of land expropriation without compensation, that Jordan’s response had no “discernible argument” to refute Mbeki’s paper.

Instead of differing with it, Jordan had supported it – except he misrepresented the ANC’s historical position.

In criticising Mbeki’s stance that the ANC is deviating from its policy of non-racialism, Jordan wrote that no white minority governments had concealed that they were pursuing the sectional interests of whites.

Jordan further implied that taking land from whites was justified as “the ANC’s support continues to be predominantly African”.

Taking Jordan head-on, Moroe said that unless he mistakenly believed the ANC should do “what white racist parties did”, he was wrong in his assertion.

He added that the ANC’s “strategic perspective” had always been to unite South Africans against racism and for democracy.

All the people of South Africa were the motive force for the revolution and “any policy amendment could only occur through the will of the people”.

Moroe added that the manner in which Jordan made his claim bordered on rejecting that the ANC had to be serious about its policy position on non-racialism.

“It portends that the ANC uses non-racialism as a tactic rather than as a policy position ...

“Others view Pallo’s response as a personal attack on Mbeki, I view it as a flawed interpretation of ANC historical policy positions.”