'ANC's Renewal Will Remain a Fantasy Until it Purges Parasites'

Zamikhaya Maseti

Last week, Dr Naledi Pandor shook the African National Congress leadership and its rank and file when she said, unapologetically and fearlessly, that the ANC has lost its glory and that many South Africans view it with disdain, horror, and shame. Three heart-piercing operational words indeed. 

Words that slice deep into the consciousness of a Movement once revered, now stumbling under the weight of its own contradictions. She further called on the ANC to build a new Cadre of Renewal. Did she say anything new? Certainly not.

South Africans have been saying this for years, in whispers, in protests, in ballot box rebellions, and in the silence of those who no longer even bother to vote. The ANC’s reputation has been tarnished, not by its enemies, but by its own members. Pandor’s words sting because they come from within, from a seasoned intellectual who has walked the corridors of power and yet dares to hold a mirror before her comrades.

Her statement resonates because the ANC today is no longer viewed as the moral custodian and vanguard of the national liberation struggle. It is seen, instead, as a Party at war with itself, consumed by factional battles and incapable of inspiring the Nation with a clear programme of transformation.

 The Cadres who once carried themselves with dignity in the face of oppression have been replaced by careerists, deal-makers, and opportunists who loot the State and then march to conferences draped in struggle songs.

To be fair to the ANC, in February this year, it unveiled its Renewal Framework. This document ought to be rigorously interrogated and subjected to both intellectual and political scrutiny within the Movement’s basic units, the ANC branches.

The Framework is clear on how the ANC should recruit members, approach those community leaders who are respected in their localities, and draw in people who are making a difference on the ground. 

According to this Framework, anyone seeking to join the ANC will be subject to a rigorous admission process. Fair and square. On paper, it is an admirable step, one that speaks to the recognition that organisational renewal begins at the level of membership and leadership credibility. 

The ANC must resolve the dialectical imperative of praxis, align the unity of theory and practice, and carry out its Renewal Framework with unflinching resolve, offering no apology to anyone.

 The question that inevitably arises is whether the ANC has the requisite will, political wherewithal, temerity, discipline, and organisational capacity to implement its Renewal Framework with the seriousness and urgency it demands. 

There is, however, the biggest challenge facing the ANC. It is the whole lot of those who are currently carrying the membership card of the ANC but are not living by the values of the organisation. 

How should the ANC address rogue elements within its own structures? The only meaningful path is to flush them out in large numbers, cleansing the organisation of those who corrupt its soul.  

Having done that, it must prioritise the cultivation of a New Cadre of Renewal that Pandor has called for, a Cadre that is distinguished and distinguishable from an enemy agent, from the vigilant, to paraphrase Oliver Tambo’s famous characterisation of an ANC Cadre. Such a Cadre must embody discipline in conduct, humility in leadership, and integrity in service. 

ANC members must carry themselves in a manner that sets them apart from opportunists and parasites, standing always as servants of the people and as custodians of the Movement’s moral traditions. This is not a marginal issue. It is the heart of the ANC’s crisis. The presence of these rogue elements contaminates the political culture, demoralises the faithful, and discredits the Movement in the eyes of ordinary South Africans.

 What is worrying and disturbing are the public reports or rumours of ANC leaders associating with and socialising alongside criminal syndicates and the greedy sections of the lumpen bourgeoisie. True or false, these rumours, of course, ought to be tested in the courts of law; yet in the meantime, they are destroying and bludgeoning the image and good standing of the ANC. 

Equally, the mere association of criminals with the ANC does immense harm. Why is it so easy for criminal elements to draw closer to the ANC, to the extent that they finance and attend its gatherings? This is not accidental; it is the direct outcome of the rise of money politics and patronage networks inside the ANC. 

Over time, access to leadership positions has become tied to access to resources, and the line between political mobilisation and financial influence has blurred. In such an environment, it was inevitable that criminal syndicates and opportunistic sections of the Lumpen Bourgeoisie would seek proximity to ANC leaders, financing factions, sponsoring conferences, and buying influence. 

These practices have hollowed out the moral fibre of the Movement, reducing politics to transactions and exposing the organisation to infiltration by forces fundamentally hostile to its historic mission. The damage is not confined to the inner life of the ANC; it spills over into society at large. 

When communities see criminals mingling with leaders, financing Party activities, or influencing decisions, they lose faith in the ANC’s ability to govern with integrity. The line between public service and private criminality becomes blurred, and the legitimacy of the organisation in the eyes of ordinary South Africans erodes.

The perception grows that the ANC is no longer a shield protecting the people from exploitation, but a gate through which exploitation freely passes. Once this perception hardens, it is difficult to reverse, and it risks consigning the ANC to the fate of other Liberation Movements that collapsed under the weight of corruption and moral decay.

This is not a marginal issue. It is the heart of the ANC’s crisis. The presence of these rogue elements within the ANC contaminates the political culture, demoralises the faithful, and discredits it in the eyes of ordinary South Africans. Renewal will remain a fantasy unless the ANC finds the courage to purge itself of these parasites who chant the slogans of liberation while feasting on the carcass of the State. 

History is merciless to organisations that betray their founding mission. The ANC must decide whether it wishes to die as a cautionary tale of squandered glory or to rise again as a Movement of principle, integrity, and service. The people are watching, the world is watching, and time is running out. Renewal is not a slogan; it is a fight for survival, or a descent into irrelevance.

* Zamikhaya Maseti is a Political Economy Analyst and holds a Magister Philosophae (M.Phil) in South African Politics and Political Economy from the erstwhile University of Port Elizabeth, now Nelson Mandela University.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.