THE election of Jacob Zuma as ANC president at the party’s watershed 2007 Polokwane conference had some unintended and unforeseen consequences. One was the penultimate dawn of political triumphalism within the ANC post 2007. Political triumphalism breeds pomposity, arrogance and a sense of invincibility among the electoral victors. The bruising presidential contest between Zuma and Thabo Mbeki poked holes in the unity and coherence of the party. Triumphant Zuma supporters appeared more eager and resolute to sideline tose who rallied behind Mbeki.
In 2008 the ANC national executive committee (NEC) resolved to tackle the tide of political triumphalism and toxic factionalism head on. The NEC singled out premature succession debates as the prime cause of divisions and disunity within the party. Consequently, the ANC instructed all its members and structures to desist from partaking in premature succession debates.
In 2013 the ANC national leadership reiterated its instructive stance on party-political elections and succession debates. Fast forward to 2015, it seems the ANC’s bold instructions on succession debate have fallen on deaf ears. This past weekend the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) convened an elective national conference in Pretoria. In a heated presidential contest, Bathabile Dlamini dethroned incumbent Angie Motshekga. Dlamini urged members to campaign for a female president at the ANC’s next elective conference. That statement has the potential to cause fissures within the ANC.
The ANCWL was established for the sole purpose of advancing the aspirations and dreams of women, girls and children. In all fairness, the current ANCWL is structurally dormant and organisationally dysfunctional. It has lost its historical resilience and a sense of organisational purpose. The organisational dysfunctionality of the ANCWL has reduced it to a toothless lobby group within the ANC. The current leaders within the ANCWL are obsessed with lumpen personality ambitions. Dlamini’s premature call for a female president of the ANC is counter-revolutionary.
The ANC should draw valuable lessons from the political ramifications and repercussions of the 2007 Polokwane conference. The lynch mob mentality that characterised the Polokwane Conference should never again be allowed to hold sway in the party. Premature succession debates will divert the ANC’s focus from governance, service delivery and socio-economic prosperity.
Elvis Masoga
Political Analyst
