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THE ANC IN COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TIMES
The ANC is operating in a world engulfed by geopolitical volatility,uncertanty,fluidity and severe contradictions.The process and urgent need to renew and modernise the party is even more imperative than ever.The ANC has been entrusted with the difficult task to produce leadership which is fit for purpose to drive and instrumentalise the ANC as a renewed force, under new circumstances,to transform our society and change the lived conditions of our people for the better.We must be conscious of the tasks facing us sa we ponder to choose leaders who are imbued with the necessary competencies and orientation to tackle the challenges of our this era.
In their article on leadership, Jeffrey Cohn and Jay Moran ask, “Why are we bad at picking good leaders? In response to their own question, they say “because selecting the right people can be very, very hard and sometimes we end up promoting the wrong people through the system.” (Cohn& Moran, 2011) The ANC in the NW and elsewhere is going through very challenging times. The period we are in, could define the future of the movement, unless something drastic is done. Fundamental overhaul of membership, renewal, unity and common purpose, offer some window for the ANC to address the complex issues it is facing in these difficult times. The ANC will need serious and committed activists, motivated, experienced and rooted in the history, traditions and values of the movement, to navigate these complex and challenging times. In reflecting on the need for unity and renewal, the ANC could best learn from, among others, Lee Kuan Yew, who when talking about the renewal of PAP (People’s Action Party), said. “Once you start to get mediocre people, you start a slow slide down from which you can never recover” The center-piece for unity and renewal will be the quality of membership, leaders and cadres, young and old, we entrust the process of Unity and Renewal to.Underpinning this,will be the sustained depth of political education oferred by the best the ANC has nurtured over its existence.
ALL ROUND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
During his delivery of the January 8th Statement in 1980, OR Tambo urged all of us to answer with honesty the question “Are we more united today than we were this time last year? He further warned that “divisions within the ANC inevitably lead to division among the people. He asserted that “Our unity has to be based on honesty amongst ourselves, adherence to what has been agreed upon, and to principle.” The current situation and the deep divisions, corruption, factional and political lying, is akin to a deep crisis devouring the soul and essence of the ANC, leading to the ANC ceasing to be an effective national instrument for leading itself and society., Lenin once said “Nothing is easier than to write the word ‘Unity’ in yard long letters, to promise it and to ‘proclaim’ oneself an advocate of unity and Fredrick Engels noted that some of those who cry the loudest for ‘unity’ aim to ‘stir’ everything up together into one nondescript brew “…or, consciously or unconsciously …to adulterate the movement” Some amongst us, “proclaim” unity whilst embedded in various factions or groupings, fueling and giving credence to the adulteration of the movement and its credibility.
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE
As the ANC reflects on its 55th Conferences Resolutions on Renewal, and its implementation at all levels of the organization are continuing apace, there is little or no comprehension on how to renew and unite and the kind of “new” ANC to emerge post this process. Dissent, in-fighting and shooting continues amidst the chants of Unity and Renewal. The internal antagonisms are sharpening unfortunately. How the ANC will be or look like post 2027 is a matter of wild speculation. The ANC has recognized the urgency and demand of the moment. They assert the following “Since the ANC ascended to power in 1994, it has experienced a decline in various aspects “guided by the 55th National Conference which reconfirmed the Resolution of the 54th National Conference which asserted that “Organizational renewal , is an absolute and urgent priority, and we may go as far as to say, to the survival of our great movement.” They therefore content that the process “will entail the implementation of sustainable programs for the effective functioning of the renewed ANC” and they further invoke the Freedom Charter, which says “And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.” The courage to change and chart a new path for a new ANC is an indispensable quality for unity and renewal.The Cadre Policy of the ANC demands,therefore,that the ANC”develop political education cells to sharpen the ideological,theoretical,policy and organisational skills of members to empower them for the complexities of the new era.
WHY WE MUST PICK GOOD LEADERS FOR UNITY AND RENEWAL
Unity is a deep and essential feature of political consciousness. The dearth of sustained political education in the ANC, allows for capture of the movement by those whose interests are at variance and inimical with the established values, morality and traditions of behavior integral to the ANC. But they want to lead the ANC at all costs, despite the fact they are the “wrong people to promote through the organization.” Through money and manipulation, they succeed because it is very difficult and hard to “select/elect the right people “in such a toxic environment. As part of its unity and Renewal effort, the ANC must design mechanism or framework that could limit the impact of such easy assumption and ascendancy to power and infiltration. The late President of the ANC, NR Mandela warned against our lax approach and had this to say at the Mahikeng National Conference in 1997 “Clearly we have to take all necessary measures to purge ourselves of such members and organize ourselves in a way that will make it difficult for corrupt elements to gain entry into our movement.” President Mandela must be understood to be calling on us to pick good leaders and those who are not corrupt if the ANC is to unite and renew. Former President Thabo Mbeki calls for a total overhaul and design of the movement and vetting of all members in response to Madiba’s concerns. His famous line is ‘better fewer but better ‘therefore, confirming the theory of “education, selection, integration and unity” as the need to indeed renew the ANC and to achieve its sacrosanct objectives! As Bertolt Brecht warns “Little changes are the enemy of great changes” The ANC must fundamentally change. The ANC in the North West cannot afford mediocrity in these times of complexity and uncertainty .We all know ourselves and our capabilities or lack thereof. We certainly know our good leaders and yet we tend to cherish the opposite.
CRITERIA FOR CONSENSUS LEADERSHIP FOR THE ANC IN THE NW
Through the Eye of the Needle: Choosing the Best Cadres to lead transformation alludes to the fact that as a movement, the ANC regularly has to elect leaders at various levels who are equal to the challenges of each phase of struggle. The choices we make must ensure that the ANC unites and transforms society and entrench service to the people.Our programs can only be subverted if we fail to embed unity underpinned by our political consciousness to function as an effective machinery in the service of those who are truly ANC and society on whose behalf we govern. Building active branches not as a menace to society, but purveyors of hope and confidence. That is the role of all members of the ANC in the NW and across the country, which we must pursue with vigor an unequalled dedication and commitment. We must strive not to undermine our own efforts through toxic leadership contestation and brazen campaigns, which are politically damaging and antithetical to the renewal of the ANC and the prosperity of our country in particular and Africa in general.
As we go to conferences in the North-West Province and elsewhere, we must equally weigh our conduct against the challenges our movement faces, and respond accordingly. Therefore, as we prepare for conference and strive to build and emerge with a new leadership,we must be motivated by the correct values and principles undergirded by a strong desire,politically,to build unity and common purpose to build an ANC capable to serve and work better for the people.
There is no moment which calls for real leadership under the current challenges, besetting our movement, then now. If we fail, Morogoro ,Kabwe etc. will cease to be lessons of reference, but footnotes of history. We must refuse to concede space to the forces Madiba warned us against, in 1997. As Thabo Mbeki is fond of saying “better fewer but better.” We were warned, advised and encouraged. It is in our hands to build a province stronger and capable with a united and renewed ANC which can and must contnually enjoy respect and admiration of society.There are no other options available now.
Darkey Africa-Former ANC PEC member, former member of the PEC of SACP, Former Trade Union organizer for SARHWU/GAW,former President of SAYCO in the then Northern Cape. An ordinary member of the ANC in good standing.He writes in his personal capacity.This is an updated version of a previous article.
25th February 2026
