Does Africa still need liberation parties?

Some of Africa’s well-known liberation parties will meet in Kempton Park this weekend to reaffirm their relevance in a post-colonial Africa. But experts believe this is a futile move.

Liberation parties such as Frelimo, Swapo, Zanu-PF and MPLA will gather for three days at the Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre for the Liberation Movements Summit.

They plan to strengthen historic ties and respond to the changing political landscape.

Political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said most of these parties are dying a slow death.

“Liberation parties’ life span seems to be affected by the institutionalisation of corruption,” he said.

Breakfast said these parties are also losing support because most of their votes come from the older generation, including rural communities.

“People in general do not vote for liberation movements because of their track record and the work they have done; they do so because of their collective memories.

“What we are seeing now is a shift because a lot of eligible voters are young people who do not have historical or liberation attachments,” he said.

He said most of these parties are worried about their declining support,

“You can see that their support has been shrinking, and they know that if they disappear, then there will be a paradigm shift,” he said.

Breakfast said, even though some of them were in charge of government in their respective countries, they still want to identify themselves as liberation parties.

“They do not want to do away with the phasiology of the liberation party because they benefit from that political capital. Their future is bleak, they do not even have the track record of getting the work done in government, they even use the state machinery to accumulate wealth for themselves,” he said.

Breakfast believes that liberation parties also fail in a new democratic order because of corrupt individuals who become members of the party.

“They have attracted all sorts of people, even opportunists, so these liberation movements over the years have been infiltrated by opportunists who did not join for the right reasons,” he said.

Another expert weighs in on liberation parties

Another political analyst, Theo Neethling, also believes that liberation parties on the continent have a poor track record in governance.

“In countries such as Malawi and Zambia, opposition parties have won elections and replaced long-standing liberation-era governments.

“In Zimbabwe, the ruling party Zanu-PF, despite remaining in office, has seen a marked erosion in its dominance. Botswana’s 2024 elections marked a historic shift, with the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) losing power after 58 years of uninterrupted rule.

“Namibia presents a similar trend. Although the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) retained the presidency,” he said.

Neethling said critics may argue that the true purpose of the liberation party summit is to restore legitimacy to the participating parties and to revive public support by drawing on their historical roles as liberation movements.

“Across the region, the waning support for liberation movements is largely attributed to their inability to deliver ethical, accountable, and effective governance after decades in power,” he said.

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Why is this liberation party summit important?

In a statement on Thursday, the ANC said Southern Africa’s liberation movements transformed the region’s political landscape, resisting colonial rule and apartheid, and ushering in people-centred governance.

“Since independence, these movements have implemented landmark policies on land reform, education, housing, infrastructure and social protection.

“However, these gains now face erosion due to renewed imperial pressures,” the party said.

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