PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted that the African National Congress (ANC) is at its weakest point since the dawn of democracy, and fractured by internal divisions driven by scrambling for positions and proximity to state resources.
Addressing delegates at the opening of the policy conference at Nasrec outside Joburg on Friday, 29 July, Ramaphosa said the weakness was evident in all spheres.
He said this was reflected by the party’s poor performance in the recent local government elections, where it got under 50% for the very first time.
“Our weaknesses are evident in the distrust, disillusionment and frustration that is expressed by people towards our movement and government. They are reflected in many of our branches that are not involved in the lives of their communities, but activated only for the purpose of electing delegates for conferences or nominating for public office,” he said.
In reflecting on the party since the 2017 conference, where he was elected its president, Ramaphosa said there was a distance between public representatives and the people they were meant to serve.
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“Perhaps most strikingly, our weaknesses are evident in the divisions within our ranks. These are not divisions about policies or ideology, but are driven by the competition for positions, contestation of structures and pursuit of access to public resources,” he said.
He said that led to patronage, vote-buying and manipulation of organisational processes. And this tendency had spread to alliance partners and the broader democratic movement.
Ramaphosa said the policy was a perfect opportunity for delegates to come up with ideas and develop policies that would shape the trajectory of the country.
He urged them to use the conference to send a clear and positive message about the party’s determination to address the challenges facing the country and its people as the national democratic revolution was under threat.
His frank assessment of the state of the party followed laments from alliance partners SACP and Cosatu, who in their messages of support, spurred on it to be firm on policies aimed at benefitting the masses.
Newly elected SACP general-secretary Solly Mapaila said the conference should be used to address the internal and reckless public spats by ANC leaders.
But more importantly, said Mapaila, the conference should review the micro-economic framework of the economy that was not suitable for a developing country.
Mapaila said the country needed a radical economic approach and questioned why the governing party, after so many years, could not get the land question right.
The conference enters its second day on Saturday, 30 July, where delegates will be attending commissions to debate and discuss policies.
