Former president Jacob Zuma’s ghost loomed large at the ANC KwaZulu-Natal conference as party leaders fell over themselves to show him sympathy and condemn President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national executive for how he was treated.
Provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli and chair Sihle Zikalala painted a picture of a leader who was hung out to dry by his party.
Both were facing stiff challenges for their positions yesterday in a room full of staunch Zuma supporters.
In an organisational report delivered behind closed doors, Ntuli said the ANC had failed to claim its victories and instead had been hell-bent on scapegoating Zuma for its problems.
He said the party sacrificed Zuma in an effort to clean its image in society.
“Wittingly or unwittingly, projecting him as the face of corruption and everything wrong that happened in the ANC and government, the ANC could not even combatively contest the wrong narrative of the 'nine wasted years'.”
In dissecting the failures of the national leadership as it relates to KwaZulu-Natal, Ntuli's speech centred on the July unrest sparked by the arrest and imprisonment of the former president.
The provincial executive has remained adamant that the chaos could have been avoided, and Ntuli said it highlighted the hard stance that the national leadership took over Zuma.
“In the final analysis the trigger event was a culmination of blunders that could have been avoided. The ConCourt judgment induced anger and frustration from millions of people across the country, resulting in a rollout mobilisation against the arrest of president Zuma.
“Leading up to and on the day president Zuma was supposed to hand himself in to the authorities, scores of people from different parts of the country descended on Nkandla to demonstrate their support,” he said.
The day after Zuma was imprisoned the “free Zuma” operation was launched with a huge social media campaign leading to blockaded roads, soon followed by mass looting, destruction of property and death.
The ANC provincial leadership expressed its deep concern with the national narratives which started and evolved from characterising the situation as a coup, ethnic mobilisation and, later, an insurrection
— Provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli
The outgoing provincial secretary said the unrest compounded internal problems in the party.
“Unable to make coherent sense of the situation, the leaders of the movement and government have found themselves talking past each other and sending confusing messages.
“The ANC provincial leadership expressed its deep concern with the national narratives which started and evolved from characterising the situation as a coup, ethnic mobilisation and, later, an insurrection designed to topple the ANC-led government and ... President Cyril Ramaphosa,” said Ntuli.
He warned that a year later it is still the province's view that the ANC should not mis-characterise the events.
Ntuli attributed the vandalism, looting and killing to criminal elements.
“The world witnessed incidents of looting, vandalism of property and rising racial tensions resulting in senseless killings, particularly in areas of Phoenix, Chatsworth and Northdale.”
He also shifted some of the blame to state security.
“This happened in a context where the state security forces were either being overstretched or caught flat-footed. There was mobilisation of private security, taxi owners, vigilante groups and civilians protecting their residences and shops.”
Adamant that the unrest was not an orchestrated coup against Ramaphosa by Zuma allies, Ntuli said the images of people looting told painful stories about socioeconomic conditions that remained a ticking time bomb.
“It is perfectly clear that there are those who participated in the looting driven only by a criminal intent and conduct. Equally it is true that there are those who participated driven by their daily suffering and only saw an opportunity to secure that which they need but cannot afford. The resilient fault lines of poverty, unemployment and inequalities were more pronounced in all the incidences of anarchy.”
Ntuli said a revolutionary movement worthy of its name should be able to scientifically dissect the events.
“Failure to do so will lead to a simplistic argument that arresting every participant in the looting will be the panacea for the problems at hand.”
Ntuli delivered his report a day after delegates delayed Paul Mashatile’s opening speech by singing a pro-Zuma song “Wenzeni uZuma”.
Ntuli’s ally Zikalala, in his political report, expressed similar sentiments about how Zuma was treated.
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