Will the ANC’S bones come together?
An analysis of the resolutions taken at the party’s policy talks shows it will take good leadership and bold action to restore it
‘We plead, o Lord. Members of this organisation stand apart from each other. With your word, o Lord, let the bones come together … please let us leave this place as one body, intact.” So Bishop JS Luphuwana prayed at the opening of the recent ANC policy conference.
Likening the difficulty faced by the ANC to Ezekiel in Babylon, the bishop appealed for divine intervention. Ezekiel had “followed a vision that led him to a valley that was dry with bones. The bones were scattered and lifeless, lying without any hope of ever coming back to life.” Hearing the voice of God urging him to pray, Ezekiel complied and soon “heard the sound of bones coming back together, one bone getting closer to the other”. Did the ANC leave Nasrec with its bones joined back together? Amathambo ahlangane na?
Luphuwana couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate analogy to describe the state of the ANC. The organisation itself admits that it faces “an existential threat”. Death looks more imminent now than it did a few months ago. Then, party president Cyril Ramaphosa still held some promise that he might be able to pump life into the organisation. Although the ANC dropped below 50% in the last local government elections, his own approval ratings remained better than his party’s. That was because his image was in contrast to his party’s. He was seen as trustworthy and honest, whereas the ANC represented the opposite. The revelation that he kept stacks of cash in foreign currency — possibly amounting to millions— might have sullied that pristine image.
Until the police provide a convincing explanation for why Ramaphosa kept so much money at his home, stashed under mattresses as if it was stolen loot, the public is unlikely to be persuaded that he’s different from the corrupt many in his party. And that is exactly what the reform-minded in the party fear most.
The fear was palpable at the conference. The party will not have Ramaphosa’s positive approval rating to neutralise its bad reputation, thereby minimising electoral losses in 2024. What is even worse for them is that there isn’t a candidate in the fold who enjoys better ratings than the party president. This is partly the reason why there were few calls for his suspension or sanction. Carl Niehaus, who waved a placard calling for Ramaphosa’s resignation, was a solo act.
Beside the lack of hostility directed at the president, what we have heard of the resolutions suggests the comrades are finding each other. The “bones” seem to be moving closer towards each other. This was evident on matters related to the integrity of the party and its leadership. Rather than open up membership to everybody, there’s to be emphasis on screening applicants to ensure their character is aligned to ANC values. The focus has shifted back to quality, instead of quantity.
Those aspiring to be elected to leadership positions will go through a similar process for approval. The organisation remains resolute in holding those fingered in the Zondo commission accountable for their improprieties.
A similar pragmatism was evident in economic policy. Underperforming parastatals will be sold. This previously contentious subject has gone beyond debate. It is now a firm decision. Those that are retained will be run with a private partner, which will inject new capital to revive them.
The arms manufacturing company Denel is among such entities. The armament industry remains profitable, and Denel has the expertise to meet the demand not only globally, but locally. One of the proposals for a revived Denel is that it should manufacture drones to help with monitoring the border. This will obviate the need to have every part of it guarded by soldiers.
A similar kind of resolve prevails regarding Eskom. There’s just no money to pay off the billions that Eskom owes and to sustain its capacity to generate electricity. It makes no sense for the state to retain Eskom when it can no longer make the entity perform its primary function — generating electricity. Dividing Eskom into different entities is now an accepted concept. Private partners will take over the cash-demanding generation part, while the government will be in charge of distribution.
That said, the meeting of minds is not quite the same thing as bringing those unanimous ideas into life. The problem of the party in government is implementation. It remains doubtful if the ANC machinery is sufficiently equipped, and the leadership has the resolve, to carry through its decisions. Being led by capable local leaders, for instance, is just part of the solution. What is required further is ensuring that those leaders remain focused on their objectives.
This is where central monitoring is necessary. The recently formed unit to monitor local government, based at headquarters in the president’s office, doesn’t appear to be functioning optimally. The public continues to hear about municipalities wasting money. Millions are purportedly spent on fields that are presented as stadiums. One hardly ever hears of punitive action by the party. And there have been promises to act on such wayward behaviour.
Failing to act on decisions reflects tentativeness on the part of leaders. It’s a weakness the leadership of the party has not managed to shed. Consider, for instance, the ambivalence around the Reserve Bank. There’s no money to buy the bank nor is doing so a priority, given all the other challenges. And, doing so appears mindless when it’s not even apparent what it is that the government cannot achieve with the bank with its current ownership.
That the decision to buy the bank was a conference resolution is not sufficient grounds to insist on something that is undoable. This is disingenuous. This conference abandoned the effort to amend legislation on the expropriation of land without compensation because it is undoable. The party simply doesn’t have the numbers in parliament to pass the amendment. Why not abandon the central bank resolution and focus energy on things that are feasible?
Ultimately, therefore, whether the “bones of this body come together”, enabling it to be fully functional, rests on the courage of its leaders. In fact, the attempt to amend legislation on land was an unnecessary escapade that betrayed a lack of courage to use existing tools to achieve this.
Justice Dikgang Moseneke reminded the public years ago that the Constitution, in its present formulation, doesn’t bar expropriation. It’s simply that the government has never had the guts to do so.
This has, in turn, triggered unnecessary belligerence against the Constitution, with calls to ditch constitutional democracy in favour of parliamentary democracy. This would never have happened had the government simply used existing constitutional means and had the guts to defend that against any backlash. Otherwise, what was the point of adopting a Constitution just to not implement it for fear of a backlash?
Luphuwana might be pleased that the bones of this organisation seem to be coming together. Whether it returns to full life, however, remains uncertain. It requires bold leadership to get back to a full life. There’s much talk of boldness, but little action to back it up. For now, the organisation remains stuck in the “valley of bones”.
Mcebisi Ndletyana is professor of political science at the University of Johannesburg.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the