By Vusi Gumbi
The ANC Youth League of Antony Lembede and Nelson Mandela and pivotal characters in the struggle for freedom like Lillian Ngoyi, Albertina Sisulu, and Winnie Mandela provide examples of how young people and women have historically been at the centre of revolutions.
Over the years, however, the ANC has not created a political environment where both women and its young cadres are given the responsibility to lead the organisation, this despite it having some of the most prominent and generally accepted women and young leaders in society within its ranks.
The party is gearing up for its 55th national conference where it will reflect on five years since Nasrec; the reality that its hegemony in the political landscape of the country has declined – with the party garnering less than 50% of the national vote in last year’s Local Government Elections – with some sections of the country predicting a coalition government in the future; adoption of resolutions and most importantly, the election of national officials (also known as the Top Six) and the National Executive Committee members.
In 1997, Winnie Mandela was asked by the NEC of the ANC to decline nomination from the conference floor to allow Jacob Zuma to be elected party deputy president unopposed. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, with one of the most impressive political CVs – a seasoned member of parliament who has held a number of portfolios and has done remarkably well, in addition to being the first female leader of the African Union Commission – was reduced to being merely the ex-wife of the outgoing party leader when she contested the position of party president five years ago.
Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, despite being a former Deputy President of the Republic and serving as United Nations Under Secretary-General for Women, has never been elected into the Top Six of the party.
Since the dawn of democracy, the party has held several elective conferences: the conferences of 1994, 1997 and 2002 saw only one woman elected into the top 6 – Cheryl Carolus, Thenjiwe Mtintso and Sankie Mthembu-Mahanyele (all three occupying the position of Deputy Secretary General.
The 2007 elective conference saw two women in the Top Six for the first time with Baleka Mbete elected national chairperson, the most senior position to be held by a woman in the ANC to date; and Thandi Modise elected deputy secretary-general. Baleka Mbete was re-elected five years later and Jessie Duarte replaced Thandi Modise as deputy secretary-general.
Five years ago, Jessie Duarte was re-elected into her position and is the only women in the leadership of the ANC currently. The anomaly here is that unlike their male counterparts, women in the ANC have risen both through government and party structures – whereas male leaders have risen to their cabinet posts through party ranks, and not both. This means that women in the ANC generally have more experience than men in the party.
Lindiwe Sisulu is likely to challenge Cyril Ramaphosa for the position of party leader and chances are, that bid will be unsuccessful. Earlier this year, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was reported to have entered the race to be the party’s second-in-command while Minister of Defence, Thandi Modise was said to be considered by the Ramaphosa camp as Deputy President of the party. All three, while seasoned politicians, are over the age of 60.
This brings me to the second point – the absence of young people in leadership positions within the party. The late Peter Mokaba, arguably the most prominent ANC Youth League leader, had never been elected into the Top Six of the ANC. Malusi Gigaba, once touted as future party leader, was never elevated within party structures, until his unceremonious departure from government and Fikile Mbalula led an unsuccessful bid to become Secretary General in 2012 – all three are former leaders of the ANC Youth League.
Others such as Febe Potgieter and Rapu Molekane have also been overlooked. Today, all six national officials of the ANC are in their 60s and their average age is 64, with party leader, Cyril Ramaphosa – who’s likely to be re-elected in December – turning 70 later this year.
“Peter Mokaba waited to be the one of the officials of the ANC comrade, Fikile Mbalula waited, comrade Malusi Gigaba waited… we are also told that we must wait in this queue. It means that we are going to wait forever because all those that came before us are still waiting in that queue and there is no hope that they will one day make it to the other line,” lamented Ronald Lamola (38), at an ANC rally in Mpumalanga, who has been touted for a potential position in the Top Six come December.
When compared to the second and third biggest political parties in the country, the DA and the EFF, the ANC is nowhere close to gender equality and intergenerational mix: Helen Zille, now Federal Chair of the DA had two terms as party leader and was first elected when she was 56 years old and the youngest member among the national officials of the DA is 34 years old, Ashor Sarupen; the EFF has a three-a-side with three men and three women in its Top Six, with party leader, Julius Malema 41 years old.
The ANC – once hailed for its role in the struggle for liberation and best representing the dreams and aspirations of the society, now has patriarchy and ageism rearing their ugly heads, making it difficult for the party to evolve, arrest the declining electoral support and adapt to the changing dynamics of the country. If the ANC is to reclaim its place in South Africa as a vehicle for social transformation, it cannot ignore the gender and age demographics at its forthcoming elective conference.
* Vusi Gumbi is a Research Assistant at the Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation and a Master’s Candidate in Politics – University of Johannesburg.