ANC commits to renewal project, but problem lies in quality of cadres

President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to “urgent and decisive action” to put “the interests of the people first” in his annual 8 January statement that commemorates the founding of the ANC.

On 8 January 1912, the South African Native National Congress was formed by the likes of writer and historian Walter Rubusana, Josiah Gumede, John Dube, Pixley ka Isaka Seme and Sol Plaatje at the Waaihoek Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein.

In 1923 that organisation was renamed the African National Congress.

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With only about two years before national elections take place, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday committed to “urgent and decisive action” to put “the interests of the people first”.

Amid renewed calls by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the SA Communist Party (SACP) for the reconfiguration of the Tripartite Alliance – due to factionalism within the governing ANC and corruption levels in government – analysts have described the party’s January 8 Statement as a departure from the past.

Delivered in the Free State by President Cyril Ramaphosa, marking the ANC’s 111th anniversary celebration, the statement, reflecting the collective thinking of the party’s highest decision-making organ, national executive committee (NEC), has been seen by Nelson Mandela University political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast, as setting the tone for what could be expected from Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address in Parliament next month.

Breakfast said the statement was the clearest indication of how the ANC leadership under the Ramaphosa presidency, intended to deal with its challenges and shortcomings, ahead of the 2024 national polls.

“I think on the whole, the president did his level best to set the scene for what may come up in the state of the nation address, because there is a symbiotic relationship between the ANC January 8 Statement and what we may expect government to implement as priority,”

“The fact that the ANC has set itself a 10-year target for renewal and dealing with domestic problems, should be welcome.

“If you want to change something that is deep-rooted, you need a plan and that has a 10-year timeframe.

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“The question is on how you define a good cadre, because the problem with the ANC lies in the quality of comrades it produces.

“There are three characteristics of a good cadre: acquiring local and international political knowledge, agitation and an ability to propagate ideas about what the party stands for.

“While it was good to stress on the renewal of the ANC, it becomes pointless in the absence of political education, to address ill-discipline.”

Outlining key priorities for ANC to achieve, Ramaphosa said the 55th national conference resolved to:

• Deepen the renewal of the ANC.
• Accelerate the resolution of the energy crisis to end load-shedding.
• Boldly mobilise social partners around economic reconstruction and recovery, to increase job creation, investment and empowerment.
• Improve delivery of basic services and maintaining infrastructure.
• Strengthening the fight against crime and corruption.
• Building a better Africa and world.

Ramaphosa said the conference “affirmed the historic mission of the ANC to emancipate South Africans from all forms of oppression and build a better life for all”.

“We adopted a roadmap 2032 to define the ANC of the future as it prepares for its 120th anniversary in 2032. Central to the ANC roadmap, is the understanding that the ANC will only succeed in realising its strategic objectives when it confronts its subjective weaknesses and successfully transforms itself into a renewed, responsive, modernised, well-governed, well-resourced, ethical, caring and effective political formation,” Ramaphosa said.

“As we build an outward-looking ANC, with a clear programme that is responsive to the needs of the people, all ANC structures must focus on putting people and solutions to their daily struggles first.

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“The journey of renewal has to begin in earnest and become unstoppable and irreversible so that we pay attention to and direct all our energies to the resolution of the pressing problems facing the people of South Africa.”

Calling for the reconfiguration of the Alliance, Cosatu president Zingisa Losi said workers were “tired of the factionalism and corruption, dividing the movement and that many leaders are guilty of”.

“Dismantle the factions, remove incompetent deployees, unite the ANC and rebuild its structures. We are deeply worried that whilst workers support the step aside resolution, it appears that we are backtracking on it. We cannot compromise on matters of principle and the rule of law,” Losi said.

“We cannot have leaders with criminal convictions and expect society to take us seriously. If we are to rebuild the state, then we need a sane, credible and clean ANC.”

brians@citizen.co.za