Can ANC survive the protest marches?
Michael Dingake | Tuesday April 11, 2017 16:57
When the ANC was banned by the Apartheid regime in 1960, a social acquaintance from among the Alex sages, came to console me by telling me: ‘Mlike, don’t worry, relax! The Boers cannot kill the ANC; the ANC is rooted among the oppressed of SA.’ He went on to explain why and how the ANC was an integral part of the oppressed of South Africa. I disabused his mind of the utopianism in his head, and told him the ANC won’t sit back and expect history on auto-pilot. No, I told him ,the ANC will go underground and mobilise a revolution to overthrow the apartheid regime. Feigning nonchalant confidence was not going to work; it would only help the enemy consolidate the upward scale of oppression.
My acquaintance , nevertheless had a point. South Africa’s oppressed, were unlikely to swallow their oppression and forget ANC committed role for their freedom struggle. From the time of its formation, the ANC was known as, ‘Parliament of the people,’ the oppressed, not only of South Africa but the High Commission Territories: Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland protectorates. The Southern African Native National Congress (SANNC), as officially known at its inauguration, counted people of these territories as members. When dikgosi/chiefs in these areas, and it was the majority of them, joined the organisation, all tribespeople under the kgosi became members. The SANNC was an inalienable tradition of the Southern African colonised and oppressed natives. Moderate, modest and loyal, SANNC in its own courteous way, tried to endear itself to the foreign rulers by good manners hoping to be recognised in time. Jaw-jaw, not war-war was the wisdom of dikgosi. The Native Representative Council (NRC) was devised by the powers-that-be and for a while appeased some, until Paul Mosaka one of the firebrands then, pronounced it as a “toy telephone “ and advocated withdrawal!
At the next hurdle, the ANC threw up the Lembedes, Mandelas, Sisulus and Tambos, who radicalised the organisation by the 1949 ‘Programme of Action’ to hasten achievement of emancipation. ANC ban precipitated formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the armed struggle. Prospects of David and Goliath match or mismatch, galvanised the international community, which promptly declared Apartheid a ‘crime against humanity’ and a pariah! Prisoners were freed, CODESA ensued and Mandela magic inaugurated a new democratic SA. Victory highlighted ANC’s never-say-die resilience.
The ANC, now the ruling party, stands at crossroads. Called upon to implement the Freedom Charter vision, it finds itself frustrated by quality of its leadership. Under the circumstances, can the ANC revive its resilience, tenacity and motivation to take the bull by its horns and jump-start its stalling engine to move full steam ahead? New political parties have emerged, in the wake of the demise of reactionary dinosaurs, flaunting nuanced policies that nonetheless advocate a safety valve of some sort from the momentarily doddering ANC. These opposition parties promise to better the implementation of ANC policies. They range from the DA on the right to the EFF on the left. The parties recognise the liberation credentials of the ANC, have nothing substantial against the Freedom Charter and swear by the iconic ANC leaders : Madiba, Sisulu,Tambo, et al! Can they beat the ANC at its own game? Incidentally, they don’t sound to have anything significant against the ANC, except its retention of its leader, comrade Jacob Zuma!
Friday protest marches, April 7, 2017 expressed public disappointment with the President on the one hand, and a misguided concept of unity by some sections of the ANC who are behind President Zuma. Intriguingly, the ANC itself is palpably polarized. The so-called top-six is divided; there’s division within the ANC: the ANCYL , ANCWL and MKMVA on one side versus ANC veterans rallying around late Ahmed Kathrada’s letter to President Zuma, on one side; the Tripartite Alliance of the ANC, SACP and COSATU is on the rocks: the SACP marched with Save SA Movement while COSATU remnants, condemned Zuma while concurrently condemning the marches aimed at dethroning him! “Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer. Meer anarchy is loosed ..” upon South Africa!
Whatever the ANC does or doesn’t do, between now and the 2019-general elections, except disowning Zuma, won’t redound in ANC favour. Only a major shake-up can avert a downward spiral of the ANC into the abyss. Downgrading to junk status by two ratings agencies, S & P Global and Fitch has further complicated the mix of woes currently staring at the ANC. The junk status will hit the South African poor through inflation; ‘basic survival stuff’ prices will go up, unemployment will assume dire proportions, protest marches against the President may turn uglier; the ANC image won’t improve when violent protest marches substitute peaceful marches as austerity conditions begin to bite; foreign direct investments will dry up and government borrowing from world financial institutions will come at a hefty price if at all. The 2019 general elections will be held under a dark cloud, if held at all!
On 18 April 2019, the DA tables a Motion-of-No-Confidence against Zuma. Commentators view this as DA tactic to belabour the ANC. They are right. DA knows motion won’t succeed and they then can use this ANC indecisiveness to finish it off. Tactics! By failing self-correction, ANC has dug own grave!