The adage that people make their own history but not in circumstances of their own choosing proved apt as the ANC marked its 113th anniversary this week, with a much scaled-down event for the release of its traditional January 8 statement. For the past 30 years the ANC has enjoyed the luxury of being able to present its plans as the undisputed majority party. Not this year though.
Stung, but hardly humbled, by its poor showing in the May 29 elections, the party emerged with its support cut down to 40%, its wings clipped and its hubris diluted by a hefty dose of reality.
So even as its top officials gorged themselves on the customarily garish birthday cake, few would not have been worried about what lies ahead this year. This is especially true given that the ghost of former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party hovers uncomfortably, holding out the prospect of a new “revolutionary” chapter, unencumbered by the constraints of a constitutional democracy.
The ANC’s government of national unity (GNU) with 10 opposition parties has shown some signs of pulling South Africa back from the brink of a failing state, but the party finds itself in a dilemma that will require diplomacy and restraint.
Meanwhile, politicking carries on as usual. Deputy President Paul Mashatile pulled no punches in his claim that the DA, the ANC’s main governing partner, overlooks poor black communities in its Western Cape stronghold. President Cyril Ramaphosa apparently agrees. DA federal chair Helen Zille doesn't, and said so in a series of pointed tweets.
It cannot be in South Africa’s best interests if politicking as usual fails to give the GNU a fighting chance to revive our flagging fortunes
While the ANC is in the GNU, it is aware that a significant number of its constituency don't approve, and such attacks on the DA are presumably meant to appease them. The question of whether to remain in the GNU or not is likely to be the most divisive issue for the party and its leaders.
While some may take comfort in the observation that “normal politics” remains even during a time of coalition, it seems unlikely the GNU’s achievements will reach any great heights while the main parties are preoccupied by the destructive blame game that has become a staple of our politics.
The ANC will have to walk two tightropes. The one is in the GNU, with sniping from its own alliance partners, and within the party itself, attempting to erode its claims to still be fighting for a better life for all. This has seen secretary-general Fikile Mbalula reprimanding those criticising its co-operation with its traditional enemy.
The second relates to South Africa's hoped-for economic rejuvenation, with the GNU having injected optimism and raised hopes for greater investment, domestic and international. Without a significant growth spurt (or any substantial achievement), the GNU could falter, and the calls on the ANC to pull out and make common cause with more ideologically-aligned elements will become more insistent.
The party will hope that its January 8 statement will give it a bounce in popularity, and a revitalised sense of direction. It cannot be in South Africa’s best interests to have a majority party and its erstwhile main opposition so distracted from the needs of the people by politicking as usual that they fail to give the GNU a fighting chance to revive our flagging fortunes.
As it celebrates its 113th year of existence, and despite its enfeebled state, the ANC will continue to be a critical factor in the fate of the GNU, and that of the country, for a while still — which behoves its leaders to make choices in the interests not only of members, but the country as a whole.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.