President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC renewal project has once again left the country’s political arena divided following his January 8 statement, which on Saturday toasted the party’s 113th anniversary in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. President Cyril Ramaphosa has prioritised six pillars to shape the ANC’s renewal project following his January 8 Statement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town this past weekend. Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
In a speech delivered with yet another promise of the ANC renewal, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s January 8 statement has received mixed reaction from South Africans and political commentators alike.
“Renewal as such, is about fixing the ANC. It is as much, also, about improving the quality of governance and service delivery and fast-tracking the fundamental issues of socio-economic transformation of our country.
“But pursuant to the renewal task, that we set last year, we launched the ANC foundational course to ensure that all members of the ANC go through this course. That includes the leaders as well in order that we foster a culture of ethics and integrity,” Ramaphosa said during the party’s 113th anniversary in Khayelitsha, Cape Town at the weekend.
Once again, the tensions between the SACP and the ANC, in spite of attempts to downplay them, showed up during SACP’s deputy national chairperson, Thulas Nxesi address.
Nxesi was jeered and booed after he used the ANC birthday celebrations to reiterate that the decision by the party to contest elections was made by its entire leadership, and not merely by its general secretary, Solly Mapaila.
Mapaila has come under fire as he has been the most vocal among the SACP leaders and other alliance partners in his criticism of the ANC for including the DA in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe was forced to intervene when the jeers became too loud for Nxesi (who was standing in for Mapaila who was away in Venezuela), who said the party recognised the ANC's leadership in achieving social progress in education, water, electrification and gender equity.
“The SACP acknowledges the ANC’s leadership in achieving massive social progress in the field of education, housing, water, sanitation, electrification, health, social security and gender equity, which has happened since 1994.”
Nxesi pointed to internal and external objective and subjective factors as being responsible for the ANC’s poor showing at the recent elections.
“The material conditions caused by the racialised and genderised, high rates of unemployment, poverty and inequality are among the objective factors that have badly affected the ANC’s performance in the elections.
“Subjective factors such as internal divisions and fragmentation, along state capture and other forms of corruption, clearly impacted the ANC’s electoral and political support with far-reaching implications for the alliance as a whole,” said Nxesi amid jeers.
On the decision to contest the elections independently of the ANC, Nxesi said despite having reached an agreement to reconfigure the alliance, this decision had received resistance.
“As things stand, without the alliance reconfiguration the independence of the working-class partners in the alliance stands to be compromised. This is completely undesirable.”
“To be sure our resolution is to exercise our independence on fronts of struggles — not to leave the alliance. An alliance we have dedicated so much time to building over the last 100 years. Those who say we must go need to analyse and theorise the moment very well. I appeal to all the leaders of the alliance, we must not engage in populist name-calling insults and personal attacks but come together and debate the issues, debate the difficult moment,” he added.
Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi, reacting to Ramaphosa’s delivery, welcomed the six priorities outlined in his speech.
“We are happy that his first priority is around the renewal of the ANC, while also holding deployees accountable... When you are talking about renewal, you must remember and be able to go back to the reasons of your existence and when the ANC is able to understand the reasons of its existence since 1912, it will be able to say how did we lose the 60% margin in the elections,” she said.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said that the ANC’s renewal cannot happen until the party deals with the Phala Phala farm scandal in which millions in American currency were stolen from the President’s farm sometime in February 2020.
“Renewal starts with a leadership that is beyond reproach. It starts with dealing forthrightly with Phala Phala. No amount of cover-up will get rid of the stench coming out of Phala Phala. Had Arthur Fraser not blown the whistle, Ramaphosa could go on pretending that he is an embodiment of political morality. Not anymore. Fortunately, the voters have sent a clear message. They would not be lied to anymore,“ Seepe said.
On the issue of economic transformation, Seepe said it would be difficult for the ANC to effect an economic transformation under the current set up of the GNU.
“With an outright majority, the ANC failed dismally to disrupt the apartheid economic infrastructure. Saddled with parties such as the DA, it is unlikely to achieve what it has failed to do in the last 30 years.The current ANC leadership is ideologically bankrupt. Its’ promises account for nothing,” he said.
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