‘Make young leaders ANC’S top six’

Ronald Lamola, who is angling to become the party’s deputy president, was quick to add that there should be a generational mix in leadership

ANC deputy presidential hopeful Ronald Lamola has reiterated that it is for young leaders to assume the top positions in the ruling party — with or without him.

Lamola said at the beginning of the year that he would avail himself for the position of ANC deputy president, and his name has been punted in some ANC regions in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Lamola, 38, who is South Africa’s justice and correctional services minister, is said to enjoy the support of the dominant faction in the ANC Youth League ahead of the party’s December conference. The former deputy president of the youth league received his first public endorsement from its leaders and those of the women’s league in the Ehlanzeni region earlier this month.

Lamola, who has spoken passionately about how the ANC should pronounce a clear succession plan, said this had nothing to do with his personal ambitions. In an interview with the Mail & Guardian this week, he said the party should be dominated by young people after the December conference, adding hastily that there should be space for the old guard to use their institutional memory and experience to help new leaders.

“In my view, with or without me, that programme must be implemented by young people, because the generational mix is not Lamola. It’s a programme that they must identify,” he said.

“We are not saying the old guard must be washed out, washed away. Generational mix just means that you need the old guard, you need the middle-aged, you need everyone, but you must be able to strike a balance. And my view is that in the generational mix, the current way we are practising is not really taking us forward. Because the dominant generations are mostly the old guard, particularly in the upper structure. I think that the dominant generation must be the middle-aged and the younger ones.”

Having studied China’s Communist Party and its evolution, Lamola said a key component of its renewal was to identify young and middle-aged comrades who were professionals, competent, ethical and espoused the values of the party, which they termed a meritocracy.

Lamola’s choice of Ehlanzeni earlier this year to make his bid for deputy president public signalled he wants to elbow out current ANC deputy president David Mabuza as a contender for the post in the slate loyal to president Cyril Ramaphosa’s slate. The region is historically a stronghold of Mabuza, who has remained silent about his prospects of returning to his position as ANC deputy president or even for president. He previously said “it is the branches that choose leaders and not the individual leaders themselves”.

Lamola’s quest for the job of ANC second-in-command will not be a walk in the park, with other party leaders including those in his faction indicating their availability. These include Paul Mashatile and Nkhensani Kubayi-ngubane.

Mashatile is said to be the frontrunner to become deputy president and has used his position as interim head of the party’s Luthuli House headquarters, which includes the secretariat, to consolidate support in provinces.

Those who backed Lamola at the last ANC national conference in 2017 and his election as an additional member of the national executive committee were concerned when he was appointed justice minister, because he could oversee the jailing of comrades, including those who might be instrumental in his rise in the party.

Lamola’s cabinet position will undoubtedly be in the spotlight as the Zondo commission’s report on state capture, which has implicated ANC leaders, heads to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Some of his responsibilities will be to study the report and make recommendations on those implicated, including high-ranking ANC members Gwede Mantashe, Nomvula Mokonyane and Zizi Kodwa.

Lamola said that “sometimes you will see your friends, your comrades being prosecuted or being arrested; it is not a nice thing. No one celebrates when you see your friends or comrades being arrested, but the law is the law. It must be upheld.”

He noted that although he is the justice minister, his role in prosecuting his comrades will be limited because the law precludes him from interfering. Lamola believes he must execute his role as per the Constitution and his oath of office.

“This is what also the ANC expects me to do — to serve the people of this country — because the objectives of ANC, almost all of them are about the people of the country and that is what I must do. My job is about the people. It does not matter whether it will end up sacrificing me in the issue of leadership of the ANC,” he said. “I must do my job ... to the best of my ability, irrespective of political factions, views and all that. Even the members of ANC, if they want to elect me for whatever position, must elect me for what they believe I can do for the country, not what I can do for them individually when they are in conflict with the law.

“The rule of law must be executed without any fear or favour or prejudice as per what the Constitution says. And as the NPA Act says the law must be blind. It must be blind, it must work for everyone and everyone must be equal before the law and these claims that we direct the NPA or anyone to do their job are unfounded because the NPA Act clearly states that you cannot improperly interfere with the work of the NPA.”

Lamola’s comments contrast Mantashe’s insistence against the prosecution of leaders implicated in the Zondo commission report.

Mantashe is on record as having told members of the ANC during an event in Polokwane that the party should guard against using the report to hunt each other down and destroy everything that is the movement.

He said the ANC should look into the mistakes and weaknesses reflected in that report and try to correct them.