ANC faces real opposition
Steven Motale
Editor
For more than two decades, the ANC has monopolised political power in South Africa, securing landslide victories in every national poll since the dawn of democracy. The party’s electoral success has been understandable, since the party boasts a very rich history. The ANC, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, produced John Langalibalele Dube, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela, among other legendary freedom fighters.
However, over the past few years, the governing party has been its own worst enemy, undoing the great work done by the likes of Mandela, who demonstrated selflessness and principled leadership are possible in a continent renowned for corruption and notorious for producing some of the world’s worst despots. The party has been infi ltrated by careerists and a corrupt bunch of men and women whose only agenda is to use public office to enrich themselves.
Corruption and patronage got worse after Jacob Zuma took over as president of the country in 2009, leading to radical decline in the ANC’s support. During last year’s general elections, though it secured victory, the party lost significant support, especially in Gauteng, where it dropped by more than 10%, receiving 54.92% of the votes, down from 64.04% in 2009.
In the City of Johannesburg the ANC share of the vote dropped 10 percentage points from the 2009 election. The only real growth in ANC support over the past decade has been in KwaZulu-Natal, and that is largely thanks to Zuma, who comes from the province.
Moreover, recent developments in the coun- try are giving the ANC sleepless nights – and the party is fully aware the second coming of Christ might come sooner than expected.
The DA, which the ANC has branded a white party, is about to elect its fi rst black leader. If Mmusi Maimane is elected as Helen Zille’s successor, this will deal a severe blow to the ANC’s scaremongering tactics, and possibly help the DA make significant gains in the ANC’s traditional constituencies.
The split of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), the country’s largest trade union federation, is another huge blow to the ANC, and will seriously harm the ruling party’s electoral support. For years, Cosatu has been in alliance with the ANC, with millions of its workers giving their votes to the ANC.
But Cosatu is now torn apart and indications are several of the labour federation’s affi liates will go their own way and form a workers’ party led by Zwelinzima Vavi, Zuma’s ally-turned-foe.
Though tainted by a sex scandal, Vavi, is no political lightweight. Any party he leads will infl ict grievous damage on his former political home. The rise of Julius Malema’s EFF is another headache the ANC has to deal with. Since getting the endorsement of more than a million voters, Malema’s red beret brigade has been a thorn in Zuma’s side, waging a fierce battle to force Zuma to pay for millions of taxpayers’ money irregularly spent on his private home in Nkandla.
With wholesale looting of public resources proceeding unabated, and with Zuma continuing to discredit his office and his party, the honeymoon might soon be over for the once mighty liberation movement.