Perhaps this leadership is the alchemy of the ANC’s elixir. It is a far cry from the motley crew based on the illusion of unity that gave its 54th elective lecture in 2017, he writes Mashupye Maserumule.
Now that the ruling party has decided on its new leadership, is the nation’s anguish easing?
I ask this question because, in the run-up to the ANC’s 55th elective conference, the struggle for party leadership has been internecine, with some throwing themselves into the fray pursuing their ambitions in a way that had all the hallmarks of being all-out. cost, even for reasons of greed. And this was strange, especially since the country is in a sorry state, where society looks for leadership and not fights in the ruling party.
In many ways, the competition for leadership has been about jostling each other rather than forging ideas for plurality of policy options to move society forward. This should be an appeal to our conscience, to paraphrase the American writer Isaac Asimov, to completely eliminate “the cult of ignorance” among us, including “the tension of anti-intellectualism (which) has been a constant thread working its way through of our policy”. and cultural life, fueled by the false notion… that one’s ignorance is as good as the knowledge of others”.
He showed his mettle
That Cyril Ramaphosa has been retained as ANC chairman, and thus set to continue as the country’s president, gives a glimmer of hope, but his leadership should be running to ease anxieties about the future.
That the market responded positively to his re-election is a good sign of possibilities. Paul Mashatile as his deputy is a pair of hands for Ramaphosa to strategically leverage his presidency. The congruence of his strategic ingenuity and a shared sense of what is at stake for the ANC to reassert its historic position as leader of society is key.
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As vice-chairman of the ANC, Mashatile is posted to the Union Buildings as Ramaphosa’s second-in-command in running the state. And, of course, Gwede Mantashe is still the national chair of the ANC. Who would want to lead the ANC without Mantashe as its chairman? In addition to the nickname of tiger, is it also called a bull terrier or pit bull? Either way, all these endorsements are for a political personality with a maverick streak of not being intimidated despite the level of turmoil in the party. And this is Mantashe.
He has proven himself on several occasions in defusing political tensions in the party and dares to denounce what he sees as aberrations in the party even though he himself might be wrong at times.
And by the way, does the choice of Fikile Mbalula as party general secretary respond to the question of generational mix, including that of Maruping Ramokgopa as his second deputy? Maybe I will.
Yearning for younger leadership
But wouldn’t it have been more in tune with the hopes of the particularly young population of this country if Ronald Lamola and Mamoloko Kubayi had been part of the top seven of the party leadership?
Lamola’s support for the ANC vice-chairman post was woefully paltry, while Kubayi fell short of the threshold during the nomination process for the same post. Well, this is now water under the bridge, isn’t it? In other words, all we can say is that if horses were desires, beggars would ride. But how Lamola and Kubayi fared in the ANC leadership race does not change the yearning for younger leadership.
The ruling party must focus its succession strategy on this. But Mbalula has snatched the jewel in the crown. His is one of the powerful positions in the ANC leadership, but one that requires political maturity, sophistication and integrity. This is because he is now the pulse of the party machine at Luthuli House.
And this comes with great expectations.
Will you modernize the party’s membership system, taking advantage of the opportunities created by the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution? And, as a former leader of the youth league, can you revive youth activism in the ANC, which has since been moribund after Julius Malema was sacked from the ANC?
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Malema was the president of his youth league and has since formed his own political party EFF, which often gives the ANC a run for its money.
In all of this, the big question is, can the ANC’s electoral fortunes, which have been in steady decline for several successive years, ultimately change, including improving the party’s tainted image? The jury is still out. But Mbalula has the political exuberance and the ability to display enthusiasm in election campaigns. He can change the fortunes of the ANC if he applies all this skillfully. But he needs to work on his decorum on social media so the lack of him doesn’t put many off.
Changing ANC’s financial woes will be a tall order
And those who don’t read the ANC closely may ask, who is Maruping Ramokgopa? But perhaps this cannot be in the same way that many curiously joked when Bejani Chauke’s name appeared in the nominations for ANC general treasurer despite her hidden political personality. She got the fewest votes in the elective conference.
ANC spokeswoman Pule Mabe, who was also running for the post, led her in the number of votes, but Gwen Ramokgopa got more to become the first female treasurer general in the history of the post.
But changing the financial problems of the ANC is going to be a difficult task. Among the reasons for this is legislation that has introduced a “strict regulatory framework for the private financing of political parties.” a way around this.
Along with Nomvula Mokonyane, who was elected as the first deputy secretary general, Maruping became the second deputy secretary. Her position was just added to the ANC leadership structure at the same conference in which she was elected. Maruping, the youngest among the top seven, caught the attention of the ANC and country presidents for deployment of him in various strategic assignments. Among others, she has been the youngest mayor of this country in 2006 and chief of mission in 2016 in Mumbai, India. This suggests capacity and talent there, ready to be of use to the ANC renewal project, which has been so much discussed to the point of political commonplace.
Life line
As the ruling party, the ANC has disappointed many times, with a plethora of blunders in running the country, as manifested in rising inequality, unemployment and poverty. Add to this the energy crisis, the deplorable state of state companies and local governments, where corruption is the cardinal sin. All this hurts society. But, as the American author Robert Schuller says, “Let hope, and not our wounds, shape the future.”
Perhaps this leadership is the alchemy of the ANC’s elixir. He is a far cry from the motley crew based on the illusion of unity that gave its 54th elective lecture in 2017. The Ramaphosa presidency now has a lifeline to turn the page. It is poised to be reinforced by cohesive leadership.
– Mashupye Maserumule is a professor of public affairs at Tshwane University of Technology and writes in his personal capacity.
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