While considered and probably the best move to thwart a hungry opposition, the recent decision by the ANC to announce its mayoral candidates before the local government elections could fall flat if the party doesn’t consider the moment.
In the past months, the ANC brand has suffered enormous damage. From its lacklustre metro mayors, to the recent revelations from the Madlanga Commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee, the ANC does not just need to pull out all its tricks to gain the momentum towards the elections, it needs a miracle.
Two weeks ago, the ANC said it would announce its candidates for the most desired metros before the elections, an unprecedented move by the former glorious movement. There’s no doubt this is a move to counter the DA, which has announced Helen Zille as its candidate for Johannesburg.
In a media briefing, elections committee head Kgalema Montlanthe told journalists the ANC had tightened its rules, claiming that the minimum qualification is mandatory.
“The mayoral candidates for the metros and secondary cities will be handled by the national officials to ensure they select people who bring expertise and the requisite qualifications to occupy these positions,” Motlanthe said.
But this is not enough to convince South Africans to give the ANC yet another chance.
The consequences of not course correcting in the next elections will be disastrous. The ANC will suffer further losses if it chooses yet again to field candidates like Dada Morero against titans like Zille and Herman Mashaba.
With Zille in Johannesburg, the DA has a knockout campaign. Peter Bruce, one of the most recognisable names in political journalism, has described Zille as a “tough-as-nails” opponent who has the potential to resurrect the City of Johannesburg.
Zille has several notable achievements to her credit. She was a successful mayor of Cape Town and Premier of the Western Cape. Under her stewardship, the DA has been able to get a seat at the table of national government.
The ANC needs more than its regional players to outsmart the DA and other opponents if it wants to claw back support. So what are its options?
The ANC of old understood that local government, as the sphere of government closest to the people, required leadership with organisational experience. Mayors were selected for their universal appeal.
The party also reflected on the size of the budget for metros in its decision to select mayors. The budget of a metro is almost equivalent to that of a government department, and this reality was respected by the ANC.
It begs the question that if the ANC can pick ministers from its national executive committee, why has it abdicated this responsibility to regions?
How did it go wrong?
Many have attributed the decay to the infamous 2007 Polokwane conference. In ANC circles, some claim that the institutionalised arrangements which were set during the Thabo Mbeki days have experienced a process of decay, in large measure because the ANC’s principle of privileged competence over popularity was not sustained.
The ANC that emerged after Polokwane introduced dynamics that exacerbated the situation, with issues of state capture becoming a salient feature in some metros.
The ANC ceded its responsibilities to provinces and the provinces continued this new tradition by abdicating their duties to regions.
The consequences of not course correcting in the next elections will be disastrous. The ANC will suffer further losses if it chooses yet again to field candidates like Dada Morero against titans like Zille and Herman Mashaba.
The ANC has one chance to get it right. It can either take the best of its cabinet ministers and business elite and produce them as candidates, sending a serious message that it is ready to course correct, or it can choose to continue with a failing formula.
Whatever it decides, this is surely going to change the ANC in the years to come.
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