Emulating Tambo’s astute leadership a tall order for ‘weak’ ANC leaders

By Professor Bheki Mngomezulu

The year 2025 will be eventful. With the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGEs) coming up in 2026, both political parties and individual candidates will have their work cut out.

As a party that has been governing South Africa for thirty years, the ANC will do itself a favour if it uses 2025 to reflect on its successes, failures, and questionable decisions. If it fails to do that, it will dig its political grave.

Ramaphosa is the current leader of the ANC and the leader of the ten-member multiparty coalition government. The onus is on him to be truthful to himself, his party, and the country.Since Ramaphosa will vacate his position as ANC President in 2027, it would be wise for him to start setting his legacy. Thus far, his so-called “New Dawn” has not yielded positive results on the country’s endemic triple challenges. Unemployment, poverty, and inequality have continued unabated. Importantly, corruption has continued to ravage the country under his leadership.

The Phala Phala saga will forever hang over Ramaphosa’s head. The fact that he was unfairly cleared by several state institutions and defended by Members of Parliament against Section 89 of the country’s Constitution did not remove the cloth that incessantly hangs over him.

In the ANC tradition, every year begins with the January 8 Statement which sets the ANC’s agenda for the year ahead. Until the sixth Administration, the January 8 Statement was used to set the government’s agenda – which was reiterated in the State of the Nation Address (SONA).Things have changed in the country since the May 2024 general election. The ANC did not win the election. Consequently, it was forced to put together a multiparty coalition.This development derailed the ANC’s plans somewhat. It also deprived the party of its political independence. Since July 2024, the country has been run through a multiparty coalition. This means that the 2024 January 8 Statement will not only praise the ANC for its successes. Instead, it must also comment on the work that has been carried out by this coalition, as well as the challenges it had to contend with.

At the centre of the Statement must be honesty. The ANC must admit that it has deviated from its original mandate of being ‘the leader of society’ and the mouthpiece of the previously oppressed masses of this country.

The ANC must admit that it has estranged itself from the electorate. This includes factionalism and a failure to run functional constituency offices, and being allergic to welcoming divergent views and constructive criticism.

Secondly, the ANC must admit that the calibre of its leadership from the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) down to its Provincial Executive Committees (PECs), regions and branches leaves a lot to be desired.

Thirdly, the ANC must admit that its membership has become weak – with some members being less informed (if at all) about the culture and policies of the ANC. Such reflection must consider constructive criticism levelled against the ANC by leaders such as Former President Thabo Mbeki and others.

Fourthly, the ANC must be sincere about why it performed so badly in the May 2024 general election, and what it is doing about this failure.

Fifthly, the party must ask itself if it has led the Tripartite Alliance diligently and honestly. In so doing, it must ask itself if it handled the results of the 2024 general election with dexterity and vision or if it acted haphazardly and irresponsibly thus unwittingly upsetting its Alliance partners.

As for Ramaphosa, he must be sincere in his reflections on the promises he made to the party, the country, and the globe when he gave false hope about his activities which would set the country on an upward trajectory.

The main question he must ask himself is the following: Has South Africa reversed what he called “Nine Wasted Years,” which he was part of and oversaw in his capacity as Deputy President of the country? Has his so-called “New Dawn” descended on the country or does it remain a piped dream which will never come to fruition? If this “New Dawn” has not yet come, what have been the impediments and how does he plan to overcome them?

Indeed, the January 8 Statement is not about the ANC’s current leader. Instead, it represents the view of the ANC and the Alliance’s collective. It is supposed to reflect on the work already done, concede where things went wrong, and map the way forward.

Oliver Tambo used this moment to deliver a clear and concise message devoid of any ambiguity. He did not invest his time talking about opposition political parties or any individuals outside of the ANC and the Tripartite Alliance.

Is the current ANC collective ready to be honest and truthful? Is Ramaphosa as the ANC’s current leader honest enough to admit the party’s and his own mistakes? Is there a clear agenda that the ANC has crafted to present to the nation or will it be fixated in the affairs of the multiparty government?

These questions are critical on many fronts.

Firstly, the ANC must begin to see itself outside of the multiparty government. For that to happen, both its leadership and membership must undergo reinvention. In the absence of truth, honesty, and rational thinking, this will be impossible.

Secondly, the ANC must present clear plans about the upcoming 2026 LGE instead of wasting time focusing on the party’s elective conference in 2027. It would be foolhardy to vie for positions in a weakened organization. The renewal agenda must be an honest project.

Therefore, the 2025 January 8 Statement will be a test of Ramaphosa’s leadership dexterity. Should he invest his time appeasing himself and his cheerleaders, this would not augur well for the revival of the ANC. Should his focus be on satisfying his coalition partners, the ANC will suffer. Ramaphosa must apply his mind assiduously when crafting the 2025 January 8 Statement.

* Professor Bheki Mngomezulu is the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at the Nelson Mandela University.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.