The incapacity to withstand rebuttal from branches of the ANC to lead it has introduced a new breed of politicking. Why is it that questions of who is this are asked of comrades that served it at almost every conceivable level, but an elected position is all of a sudden driving dirty campaigning? The African National Congress has had several criteria for who ascends to its leadership at all levels. Fundamental to these criteria, with the eye of the needle coming as an emphatic second, is a leader's ability to be preferred by the ANC's basic units of organisational existence. The 55th Conference might go into history as one driven by the valid will of ANC branches. In its democratic heritage, which remains one of the most elaborate by a political formation contesting for state power, the institutionalisation of branch nominations and ultimately being elected at a national conference by branch delegates is, apart from enfranchisement, the best expression that ANC members shall govern the ANC. Because of this, and to ensure that the democratic character of the ANC has out of its members a pool of cadres to lead it, the ANC has built itself as a nurturant institution of leadership development.
Its history has thus been about raising leaders in underground structures and open spaces, and it went further to harvest leadership of society from the platforms of many organisations. In fact, the strategy and tactics document of the ANC declares, "for it to exercise its vanguard role, the ANC puts a high premium on the involvement of its cadres in all centres of power. This includes the presence of ANC members and supporters in state institutions. It includes activism in the mass terrain of which structures of civil society are part. It includes the involvement of cadres in the intellectual and ideological terrain to help shape society's value systems. This requires a cadre policy that encourages creativity in thought and in practice and eschews rigid dogma. In this regard, the ANC has a responsibility to promote progressive traditions within the intellectual community, including institutions such as universities and the media". This declaration was one of the critical pillars of ANC leadership development without everybody having to serve in its structures.
Only after its unbanning did its sophistication of leadership nurturing become visible to the country and the world. The first ANC candidates to Parliament in 1994, most of whom were in the Constituent Assembly and thus shaped the current constitutional framework, came from diverse backgrounds, and yet ANC members who could be accounted for. The strategy of nurturing leaders outside of active involvement in official positions of the ANC continued, and several individuals became beneficiaries of this strategy; when the time to ascend came, there were no questions of who they were and where they came from, and where did they serve.
The brute reality is that since 1994 the character of the ANC has started to operate through a duality of processes. Where its revolutionary character was still relevant, it conducted itself as a revolutionary movement, still obligated to its liberation movement ideals. Where the exigencies of being a governing party and therefore managing the interplay of acting on behalf of all South Africans, including those that will not go to bed without plotting how to remove it from power, it served as a party leading the evolution of a democratic order for posterity's sake. In entering this evolution terrain of still pursuing the National Democratic Revolution, the ANC enrolled into its formal aspects of evolving into a modern political party, its cadres who would engage with new roles and ways of doing politics.
Given that evolution is sometimes mistakenly seen in terms of survival of the fittest, there is a fair chance that such a view will ignore its nurturance. As this nurturance was happening in all political spaces, many found themselves in active politics, and they were elected into positions of democracy according to the will of those that were delegates from branches. Unfortunately, in that cohort that was 'allowed' to lead, some abrogated to themselves the right to leadership of the ANC without due regard to the truism of the power of branches. This condition had grown to pathological levels where the 'judgement' of branches is subjected to this erroneous belief that when you were 'allowed' to lead by ANC branches, you have now been anointed to be a traditional comrade, and must be elected even if you don't make the grade of the moment.
The stirrings of this breed of politicking appeared for the first time when the current President started to close in on the malfeasance of 'traditional' comrades and in terms of the ANC's own adopted member integrity management system. It again surfaced when nominees of the top six were announced, and there were names preferred by branches in the modern period of party politicking, which were questioned within a 'we are traditional comrades' that should lead. The debate should be about the correct form of leadership we want in the ANC and for every specific position. That should come down to the suitable model of renewing, rebuilding and fostering unity in the ANC. We should therefore reject any notions of traditional comradeship but rather be respectful of who is tried and tested to meet the exigencies of the moment for every specific position in the ANC. This should permeate through to the NEC, NWC and ultimately, Ministerial appointments.
In the parlance of the ANC's own strategy and tactics document, "the primary task of the ANC remains the mobilisation of all the classes and strata that objectively stand to benefit from the cause of social change. The dictum that the people (in the case of the ANC as an institution, branches) are their own liberators remains as relevant today as it was during the days of the anti-apartheid struggle”. To do this, every member of the ANC with the requisite skills and experience, not necessarily gained while occupying only ANC positions, is fit enough to lead it at every level. CUT!!!
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