The next phase of the ANC’s evolution is rapidly taking shape under the stewardship of energetic secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who is often mistakenly dismissed as a buffoon.
The recent dialogue on coalitions convened by deputy president Paul Mashatile came after a string of developments that saw Mbalula bring his renowned derring-do into what had become a somnambulant office.
The “Lula moment”, refers to the first presidency of Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil from 2003 to 2011. It was an extraordinary point in the recent history of progressive movements, when a worker’s party took over the reins of a huge country.
Is Mbalula helping usher in such a moment for the ANC when many had begun writing its obituary, or will it just be another damp squib on its downward spiral to ignominy, unable to overcome its internal demons?
With the previous incumbent in the position, Ace Magashule, distracted by his legal and disciplinary woes, and his deputy, Jessie Duarte, battling with, and then eventually succumbing to, cancer, it was left to a small coterie of incredibly hard-working group of cadres, oft unpaid, to hold the organisation together.
It was inevitable that the party’s 55th conference, held in December 2022, faced many organisational challenges. Having Mbalula and two deputy secretaries-general, Nomvula Mokonyane and Maropene Ramokgopa, elected in December has been a fillip to the ANC’s machinery.
No sooner was Mbalula unleashed as the newly elected secretary-general than there was a discernible spring in the corridors of Luthuli House. Resolutions emerging from the ANC conference at Nasrec were published rapidly and workshops were held with provincial leaders so all branches could be briefed on them.
The ANC strengthened its operations by, inter alia, appointing seasoned leaders to reinforce the office of the secretary-general. This included the appointment of former Gauteng premier and ANC provincial chair David Makhura to head political education and spearhead talks on coalitions, while former ANC general manager Febe Potgieter was moved to head up research, and the highly articulate Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri was made national spokesperson.
Perhaps the best indication of the ANC structures getting their mojo back is the successful hosting of the youth, women and veteran leagues’ conferences, as well as the election of new leadership to these bodies. The first two structures had been mired in the ANC’s fratricidal factional battles, resulting in years of delays.
The ANC Veterans League conference was carried out with the dignity and wisdom that comes with age and the minimum 40 years’ unbroken public service required to be a member of this venerable body. The election of a truly nonracial and gender-balanced leadership should be seen as a stern rebuke to the mother body, as well as the other leagues.
What has all this got to do with coalition dialogues, you may be asking by now? One of the key challenges the ANC has faced with local government coalitions has been its internal discipline. Local leadership would often override directions given by those higher up. Or such coalitions would be allowed to collapse on the basis of the flimsiest excuses.
The discussion paper released before the dialogues argued that “coalitions are an unmistakable expression of choices that the electorate has made”. It identified “indifference from both administrators and politicians, and the substitution of the public good with self-interest” as key challenges. Coalition partners, and all South Africans for that matter, need to see the ANC’s commitment to stable governance and the prioritising of the interest of the SA public.
In his opening speech, Mashatile said at the coalitions dialogue that “our pursuit of national consensus on how to approach coalition governments is a matter of national interest”. Apart from addressing all the parliamentary parties (with the exception of the EFF) present at the conference, he may as well have been speaking to errant members of his own party.
• Abba Omar is director of operations at the Mapungubwe Institute.
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