ANC heavyweight Kgalema Motlanthe says the ANC needs rescuing to prevent further damage to its reputation.
In a wide-ranging interview with Sunday World in his offices at Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, this week, Motlanthe, who also served a stint as the country’s president, warned that internal party squabbles, slates mentality and vote-buying were attributes that were destructive, and not helping the organisation to regain its moral high ground – “a trait the ANC was associated with, but which is now becoming elusive”.
Important and valuable as the ANC 600 000 membership may be, it would be far better for the organisation to show more respect to the more than 12-million South Africans who account for the organisation electoral success every five years since 1994.
“We enjoy great respect and goodwill among many South Africans, many of whom are not even card-carrying ANC members. They listen to our message, and routinely vote us into power, yet we disappoint them by engaging in acts that are inconsistent with their desires and wishes of a better life we promised since the dawn of democracy.”
Motlanthe listed the four points he thinks are among issues the organisation has to quickly deal with, if it hopes to enjoy the respect of society “for whom it was created in the first place”.
- The Phala Phala saga, which involves President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- The declining fortunes of the organisation.
- Populism and slates, which weaken the organisation.
- The use of money, patronage to buy votes.
Reflecting on the Phala Phala saga, Motlanthe said the failure to act quickly to address the matter as soon as it entered the public space, was disappointing, and rightly it would have been preferable, “rather than the ducking and diving that has been the order of the day”.
“The masses look up to the ANC for ethical leadership. The Phala Phala matter has raised many unanswered questions.
“There were no disclosures right from the beginning. We hope the agencies entrusted with the matter will bring closure and light to the saga. But for now, it is worth waiting for the truth.”
On the question of declining organisational fortunes, Motlanthe said it all boiled down to the question of values, which meant when leaders of an organisation, such as the ANC, abandoned their core foundational values, the centre would quickly fail to hold, “and the consequences is what is emerging – a weakened ANC”.
He said the temptation to use money as a tool to win over support was a practice that should be frowned upon, and should have no place in the ANC, “as it is tantamount to deviation from the core values of the movement”.
He added it was curious the ANC would be self-absorbed in all the ugly internal squabbles and slate politics, rather than to focus on sound leadership – which ought to be a bigger picture to focus on, “as this is what communities who voted us expect of us”.
“I am concerned about the decline of values of selflessness in the ANC; young people, who are the future of this country are learning wrong things from older members of the organisation, and this ought to be seen as intolerable,” he said.
He said the OR Tambo School of Leadership, the ANC school of orientation, sought to sharpen the ideological, intellectual and organisational capacity of the ANC cadres, “so that the ANC can serve communities with integrity and loyalty”.
“Learning ought to be a life-long enterprise.
“It is an individual responsibility to learn as a first step towards banishing ignorance, and to prepare oneself for a life of leadership.
“This is what we expect from our cadres – to empower themselves with knowledge.
“No one can lead others when they are ignorant,” he said.
He argued that in part, the reason for “things in the ANC going south”, was partly and largely because of ignorance, and the inability by the leadership to read signs of the time, and to interpret the mood of society and communities, and to possess a discerning mind.
“Now we do not know what the future holds for this glorious movement of the Mandelas, Tambos and Luthulis. But we are definitely not where we ought to be.”
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