Is it possible to return ANC branches to a vibrant, vanguard of the community? Yes it is, writes Mcebisi Ndletyana.
What a birthday bash the ruling party put on last Saturday! That hasn’t happened in a while. The ANC has battled to fill-up stadiums lately.
Remember Port Elizabeth? Empty seats embarrassed party chair Baleka Mbete, prompting her into issuing repeated announcements that people were still on their way. They did not arrive. That didn’t happen this last weekend.
The stadium was not only full on a rainy day nogal, but there was a significant crowd gathered outside as well. Of course, it helped that Orlando Stadium is relatively small, making it easier to fill than the massive FNB Stadium. It was a superb public relations exercise.
Appearances aside, the composition of the crowd was indicative of how the ANC’s elective conferences are settled. The most organised provinces dominate conference proceedings and determine leadership contests.
That’s what happened at the Orlando Stadium. Reports say 80% of the crowd came from KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West and the Free State - all four provinces that apparently support Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the presidency. Durban alone is said to have sent more than 100 buses.
The four provinces co-ordinated to arrive early in order to take up much of the stadium, drowning out whatever disgruntled voices there might have been. It’s quite possible that those stranded outside the stadium were locals from around Soweto, who took it easy that morning thinking they’d still find seats by 10am. I haven’t managed to confirm the accuracy of the aforementioned reports. They’re possibly true, however, even without formal confirmation.
Consider, for instance, the location of the best and biggest branches of the ANC. They’re located in one of the four provinces that support Dlamini-Zuma. That’s why they won all those awards on the day. It’s unlikely that they rigged the award selection process. I’m assuming of course the process was handled by secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, who’s not part of the so-called “Premier League”. They won on merit, through effective organisation and possibly providing “incentives” for attendance.
Late former ANC president Oliver Tambo’s memory was the appropriate theme for the birthday message.
He embodied the unity that the ANC so desperately needs today. Even when Tambo disagreed with a view, he wouldn’t say so upfront. Rather, he would paraphrase the contrarian point, and only thereafter offer his own differing view. The idea was to assure the person that she’s been heard and her view matters. Even though one’s point didn’t prevail, but the person still felt validated. People don’t always want to be right, but are content with validation.
In other words, Tambo’s leadership style was all-embracing. He was careful not to alienate anyone. For this Tambo earned the trust of his comrades, including the rank and file. He wouldn’t ask comrades to do what he wouldn’t do himself. His was exemplary leadership. That’s why his decisions were not second-guessed, for he was an honest broker who prioritised organisational interests above all else.
In keeping with Tambo’s memory, Zuma was embracing of everyone last week. Even the veterans got some love from the ANC president.
You wouldn’t say that was the same Zuma who was disdainful of the stalwarts in his address at Dumbe just earlier. But he still made the point that the veterans cannot take priority over the branches.
Mantashe was even more scathing, saying that some of them might even be proxies for outside interests. I obviously disagree with Mantashe. The veterans are more trustworthy than most ANC branches. That is why the consultative conference, if it is ever held, must take place way ahead of the Policy Conference scheduled for June.
The veterans are correct that the resolutions of the Consultative Conference must guide the subsequent Policy and Elective Conferences. The role of branches, for instance, is one subject crying out for re-consideration.
Numerous reports by the ANC itself admit that quite a number of its branches are bogus. They’re moribund most of the time, but only come alive on the eve of a conference to choose delegates. Those that revive branches often seek to influence the electoral contests.
That usually involves manipulating who comes to the branch meeting. If they’re unlikely to yield a desired outcome, they’re sabotaged. The local party bosses that make the desired nomination are rewarded with patronage. What I mean here is that the ANC is a patronage-party machine.
Patronage is unavoidable in politics. It is a problem, however, when it is all consuming.
Members do not consider the character of a leader, but are swayed by a reward. They’re available to the highest bidder, however compromised the person might be. This is what has become of the ANC. If it stays unchanged it will inevitably drop even further.
Is it possible to return branches to a vibrant, vanguard of the community? Yes it is possible. The catalyst, however, will have to come elsewhere. Presently that spark is absent internally.
Already members are defying organisational discipline. Mantashe has been trying to shut down the leagues from pronouncing their choice of president before nominations officially commence. They’ve all ignored him. Things might get worse as branches convene to make nominations. Ultimately, Zuma’s successor may not be the person of great character, but the highest bidder with disastrous results for the ANC in the 2019 elections.
The catalyst for party reforms lies outside the organisation. It begins with party members surrendering control over the election of leaders to the people. Leaders must be elected by the electorate instead of the party bosses. This will remove the reward for manipulating nominating processes within branches.
The party will cease being an instrument that secures patronage.
And having the public elect its leaders will not be entirely novel in the ANC. The ANC already has some version of this practice at local level. It was prompted by the recognition that party processes did not necessarily yield the best candidates.
They were manipulated and as result, yielded unpopular candidates, subsequently leading to an electoral decline.
Unlike the practice now, however, the new electoral system must allow for the electorate to elect leaders directly to office. Popular choices should not be subjected to final approval of the party bosses, as is the case. What I’m proposing here obviously is a change in our electoral system from a proportional representation to a constituency-based system.
Of course proportional representation has other virtues, such as allowing for inclusivity and gender-representation. I doubt though if these qualities will necessarily be erased by a constituency-based system.
For the ANC to revive itself, members must surrender the organisation to the people.
* Ndletyana is an associate professor based in the Institute for Pan-African Conversation and Thought at the University of Johannesburg.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.