ANC must heed call for change
Ignoring discontent will come at a price
THE tail is quite capable of wagging the dog. That happened last week when it emerged that the children of exiles had penned a stinging letter decrying the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) loss of moral and political capital under President Jacob Zuma. The “young pioneers” were born or raised in difficult conditions in exile, where they were imbued with the party’s principles from an early age.
Their call for change comes as the ANC struggles to deal with yet another controversy under Zuma’s rule following the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the Nkandla scandal. These calls have been echoed by many party stalwarts and party branches that are clearly troubled by Zuma’s continuation as president following the judgment and many other scandals including his problematic association with the controversial Gupta family.
Typically, a tone-deaf ANC has misjudged the gravitas and foundation of such calls flowing from the Constitutional Court’s edifying judgment on March 31 that just about described the president as someone who is unfit for the duty of defending and promoting SA’s interests.
While it has dawned on some that Zuma is a destructive force beyond rehabilitation, some of the strategists in the ANC believe removing him just months before the August 3 election would be catastrophic along the lines of the split that ensued after the September 2008 “recall” of then president Thabo Mbeki. Based on the outcome of the ANC’s December 2007 elections in Polokwane — which Zuma won comfortably, Mbeki enjoyed about 40% of the party’s branch support. It was, therefore, seen as a miracle of some sort that the ANC contained the fallout, and the Congress of the People managed to garner about 7% of the votes in 2009.
The latest calls for Zuma’s departure now bring about an eerie sense of déjà vu for the ANC, as it once again finds itself in a position in which it can only lose votes. Ignoring the rising tide of discontent will, without doubt, come at a price. If Zuma stays, the ANC is likely to be punished at the polls, with its traditional voters making a statement in forthcoming local government elections and future general elections. This, in the bigger scheme of things, would not be a bad thing as governing parties respond better when their majority is reduced.
As things stand, and due to its majority, the ANC has shown over the years that it is capable of ignoring sensible counsel, as it is doing now by disregarding the sentiment expressed from within and outside the party about Zuma’s suitability for high office. And it does so with a contemptuous attitude derived from its hegemonic position as a party that enjoys a 63% majority nationally. This attitude confirms that the party has clearly abdicated its dreams of becoming a legitimate leader.
Considering the terrible state we are in as a nation, primarily due to a dearth of leadership, it is time we revisited the debate about our electoral set-up as a way of reclaiming power from a system that continues to fail us.
It has been argued ad
Sprinklings of defiance from within the party … and from civil society formations provided a sense of optimism
nauseam that we need properly representative legislatures as opposed to the system in which MPs come from lists compiled by party bosses, creating “public representatives” who as a result are accountable only to the same party bosses instead of the electorate.
The Van Zyl Slabbert Commission on Electoral Reform Report, which sought to introduce a hybrid of electoral representation that has direct, constituency-based elections as one of its key elements, is a good place to start. But political will is required for change to happen. As a result, it is highly unlikely that the ANC will use its majority to push for a change to the electoral system. In a case such as that, what is required is for strong civic society and vigilant citizens to guard their hard-won democracy jealously.
The sprinklings of defiance from within the party that has also been echoed by civil society formations in the wake of the Constitutional Court judgment, provided a sense of optimism. The ANC ignores such moves at its peril.