Factionalism, patronage and vote-buying were leading the African National Congress astray, the party's secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe told delegates in Polokwane on Sunday.
The rot had spread to the upper echelons of the party, he said in presenting the ANC's organisational report at the party's 52nd national conference.
"When elected leaders at the highest level openly engage in factionalist activity, where is the movement that aims to unite the people of South Africa?" Motlanthe asked.
Where was the ANC when lists favoured by certain groups were "rammed down the throats" of the party's branches, without discussion?
He also questioned the influence of vote-buying on the party's ideals.
"When money changes hands in the battle for personal power and aggrandisement, where is the movement that is built around a membership that joins without motives of material advantage and personal gain?"
Motlanthe denied that the ANC was divided.
However, he acknowledged that the "Mbeki/Zuma template" had become a frame of reference within the party. - Sapa