ANC drops to 40% as Zuma’s MK
Opinions differ wildly about whether the umkhonto Wesizwe party and its leader, Jacob Zuma, should be taken seriously. Some believe its manifesto is a joke, but others say it will attract many voters. One thing is certain, though: in Kwazulu-natal, all be
Thirty years after Nelson Mandela swept the ANC into power, the former liberation movement is being torn apart by its fourth major splinter group, which threatens to imperil South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
Saturday 27 April was the 30th anniversary of freedom from apartheid, but a month before the elections, the ANC is scrambling against former comrades in its most serious battle yet.
Since the ANC has been in power, disaffected leaders have broken away to form the United Democratic Movement, the Congress of the People and the EFF.
Now, the umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, is eating the ANC from within as its members defect to him or silently hedge their bets.
This week, the man synonymous with State Capture continued his dogged legal fight with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) over his participation in the elections.
Reports that he had collapsed from fatigue didn’t stop the online launch of
MK’S controversial election manifesto, described as a “crazy” document that harks back to apartheid-era executive government. The widely criticised manifesto favours “parliamentary supremacy”, extensive state intervention in the economy, land expropriation and increased powers for traditional leaders.
Former minister Roelf Meyer, who helped to usher in South Africa’s post-apartheid
Constitution with Cyril Ramaphosa in 1996, described MK’S manifesto as “mindless”.
“It is ridiculous. In fact, it is plain stupid. It would take us back to apartheid when there was parliamentary sovereignty. It is totally crazy. It is hard to think who advises Zuma and where his money comes from. That would probably explain the content of the manifesto.”
Constitutional expert Professor Karthy Govender said: “This Constitution, signed
by Nelson Mandela in Sharpeville, is a recognition of the sacrifices that people made to bring us democracy. The Constitution is South Africa at its best. It is world-renowned
and was central to transforming our country from a racist oligarchy.
It helped us avoid a cataclysmic race-based conflict.
“The Constitution allowed for the Zondo Commission and other remedial measures to deal with corruption and abuse of power.”
A former ANC minister, who was one of the architects of the Constitution, told Daily Maverick: “If it wasn’t for the Constitution, MK wouldn’t be participating in the elections or have the opportunity to publish this stupid manifesto. “It’s a bit of a joke, but unfortunately, it will attract people because nasty stuff appeals to tribalists, rabid bigots, the type of right-wingers who are emboldened around the world right now – people who are anti-gay, anti-minorities, anti-immigrants.”
Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, called the manifesto “ludicrous” and “mind-boggling”.
Govender said threats to the Constitution have to be resisted. “It is one thing to sound off, but these things can gather momentum and we should not allow politicians to try to change the Constitution because it doesn’t suit their behaviour when it is corrupt, inept, slothful and inconsistent with the Constitution. Rather, they should change their behaviour to suit the Constitution.”
Nolundi Luwaya, a senior researcher at the University of Cape Town’s Land and Accountability Research Centre, said some parts of the MK manifesto “made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end”, particularly those related to traditional leadership.
“The ANC, especially under Zuma, advanced notions of customary law that were not aligned with the people living under those systems, and sometimes imposed traditional leaders. You ended up with situations where human rights were violated.”
MK’S manifesto relies on a wishful model of a benevolent leader who acts for the people, she added. “This is naive and mimics the same kind of limited world-view held by the apartheid state that carved up neat little harmonious tribes. [It is] an ubuntu, Bantu identity that is problematic. It talks about
a bygone era of chauvinism that is deeply patriarchal. Try being an independent woman or gay in that world.”
Meyer equated MK’S manifesto with apartheid, when individual rights were not protected. “The Constitution is a safeguard against that. The people who drafted the MK manifesto have no understanding of what we went through to transition to a constitutional framework that is the supreme law of the land. We assumed Zuma supported that constitutional process.”
But will the incendiary document hinder Zuma’s chances at the polls next month or prove a masterstroke and deliver an election bonanza for him in jittery Kwazulu-natal?
Though MK’S manifesto might be outlandish, its opponents are divided on its impact.
This week, global polling company Ipsos said its latest survey showed May’s elections would be marked by “a desire for change”, with uncertainty matching 1994 levels.
MK had “a profound effect on the distribution of support” among parties, and the ANC was “struggling to impress voters”. Ipsos put ANC support at 40.2%, DA at 21.9%, EFF at 11.5%, MK at 8.4%, and Actionsa at 3%.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said MK is a significant threat. His party’s polls give MK about 30% support in Kwazulu-natal and 13% nationally. “They are taking over whole structures of the ANC. People are scared of MK for good reason. This is the radical economic transformation that Zuma tried to bring earlier, but on steroids now. The manifesto is Chavez-style,” he said, referring to the Venezuelan military dictator.
“It is a joke, but the problem with political jokes is that sometimes they get elected. MK should terrify people. Zuma is not a fringe politician. He is a formidable campaigner