The negative impact of factionalism, which at times is characterised by infighting in ANC structures during elections and nominations for deployment, has been going on for decades without a solution coming forward.
Former ANC presidents from Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and the current President, Jacob Zuma, have used various platforms, including political reports in conferences to bemoan the negative impact of factionalism, slates and vote-buying ahead of conferences. All these negative tendencies are done in an attempt to influence the outcomes of ANC elections.
It is a common practice for some comrades to use money to buy votes of delegates to ANC conferences. This is the behaviour that the ANC leaders mentioned above have decried but to no avail.
The alliance formations and other organisations within the mass democratic movement have consistently called on the ANC to effectively deal with these growing tendencies that always have adverse consequences for the organisation and also our National Democratic Revolution.
As we are gearing to discuss policy proposals at this weekend’s provincial and later the national policy conferences, we need to ensure that we use these two important gatherings to explore possible ways to end factionalism in the ANC.
We should review the method of voting when electing ANC leaders in all constitutional structures of the organisation, such that it reflects the true democratic nature of the ANC.
I have a strong belief that to fight factionalism, careerism and manipulation of membership in the ANC, the policy conference in the Eastern Cape must engage other provincial structures and advance the argument that audited ANC members of the organisation be allowed to vote directly for who becomes the leader of the ANC. That must be done in the same way we conduct general elections.
When leadership is elected by all ANC members, we will kill the kingmaker syndrome and the use of money to influence leadership outcomes. This will make it difficult, if not impossible for those with loads of money to buy the entire one million membership of the ANC. This method of voting will also assist in ensuring that leaders grounded in their constituencies get to lead and also affords members the power to make their own informed choices – without the manipulation of membership by gate-keepers and the buying of votes by factions.
This policy proposal will also make leadership understand they are accountable to the masses, and by that we don’t mean conference delegates or branch executive committees. Rather, we are referring to the entire membership of the ANC.
I am of the view that this proposal, which should be enriched by the broader wisdom and further discussion of ANC members in all our structures, will empower our members to determine the character and quality of leaders elected to ANC structures as described in the Through the Eye of the Needle document and the ANC constitution.
As things stand, the current method is vulnerable to lobbying methods that encourage the debilitating factionalism that is sometimes exhibited in bruising contests for positions in ANC structures and other areas of deployment within government.
Speaking at our 50th national elective conference, our late former president, Tata Rolihlahla Mandela said the following about the tendency: “A number of negative features within the ANC and the broad democratic movement have emerged ...
“One of these negative features is the emergence of careerism within our ranks.
“Many among our members see their membership of the ANC as a means to advance their personal ambitions to attain positions of power and access to resources for their own individual gratification. They work to manipulate the movement to create the conditions for their success.”
Engaging delegates at the 52nd national elective conference, former president, Thabo Mbeki said: “We have been exposed to the pernicious practice of people buying others membership cards of the ANC to guarantee themselves a captive group of voting cattle, whose members had and have absolutely no desire to join the ANC.
“All of us are aware of the poisonous phenomenon foreign to our movement, which many of us have characterised as the ownership of some members by other members. These are people who, while holding ANC membership cards, do not belong to the ANC but belong to those who paid their subscriptions.”
Dealing extensively with these issues, the Imvuselelo Campaign document listed the danger of institutionalised factionalism, ill-discipline and disunity. These are fuelled and inspired by the battles over the control of state power and resources, which the Imvuselelo document refers to as one of the three main weaknesses that have persisted in the ANC post- 1994.
The ANC constitution mandates all its members to take a full and active part in the discussion, formulation and implementation of the policies of the organisation and to submit policy proposals or statements to the various structures – from the branch up to the national executive committee.
In line with our duty to play an active part in the life of the ANC, and as mandated by the ANC constitution, we should engage with this policy proposal at the Provincial Policy Conference, and if we develop consensus around it, then submit it as part of the policy proposals to the National Policy Conference.
We have a duty to engage with this and many other policy proposals in our branches ahead of the upcoming policy meetings of the ANC so that we address the challenges we have raised in numerous conference resolutions and policy documents, as we recommit ourselves to our declaration of 2017 as the year of OR Tambo.
Oscar Mabuyane is the provincial secretary of the ANC in the Eastern Cape
Factionalism fuelling ANC’s demise
Former ANC presidents from Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and the current President, Jacob Zuma, have used various platforms, including political reports in conferences to bemoan the negative impact of factionalism, slates and vote-buying ahead of conferences. All these negative tendencies are done in an attempt to influence the outcomes of ANC elections.
It is a common practice for some comrades to use money to buy votes of delegates to ANC conferences. This is the behaviour that the ANC leaders mentioned above have decried but to no avail.
The alliance formations and other organisations within the mass democratic movement have consistently called on the ANC to effectively deal with these growing tendencies that always have adverse consequences for the organisation and also our National Democratic Revolution.
As we are gearing to discuss policy proposals at this weekend’s provincial and later the national policy conferences, we need to ensure that we use these two important gatherings to explore possible ways to end factionalism in the ANC.
We should review the method of voting when electing ANC leaders in all constitutional structures of the organisation, such that it reflects the true democratic nature of the ANC.
I have a strong belief that to fight factionalism, careerism and manipulation of membership in the ANC, the policy conference in the Eastern Cape must engage other provincial structures and advance the argument that audited ANC members of the organisation be allowed to vote directly for who becomes the leader of the ANC. That must be done in the same way we conduct general elections.
When leadership is elected by all ANC members, we will kill the kingmaker syndrome and the use of money to influence leadership outcomes. This will make it difficult, if not impossible for those with loads of money to buy the entire one million membership of the ANC. This method of voting will also assist in ensuring that leaders grounded in their constituencies get to lead and also affords members the power to make their own informed choices – without the manipulation of membership by gate-keepers and the buying of votes by factions.
This policy proposal will also make leadership understand they are accountable to the masses, and by that we don’t mean conference delegates or branch executive committees. Rather, we are referring to the entire membership of the ANC.
I am of the view that this proposal, which should be enriched by the broader wisdom and further discussion of ANC members in all our structures, will empower our members to determine the character and quality of leaders elected to ANC structures as described in the Through the Eye of the Needle document and the ANC constitution.
As things stand, the current method is vulnerable to lobbying methods that encourage the debilitating factionalism that is sometimes exhibited in bruising contests for positions in ANC structures and other areas of deployment within government.
Speaking at our 50th national elective conference, our late former president, Tata Rolihlahla Mandela said the following about the tendency: “A number of negative features within the ANC and the broad democratic movement have emerged ...
“One of these negative features is the emergence of careerism within our ranks.
“Many among our members see their membership of the ANC as a means to advance their personal ambitions to attain positions of power and access to resources for their own individual gratification. They work to manipulate the movement to create the conditions for their success.”
Engaging delegates at the 52nd national elective conference, former president, Thabo Mbeki said: “We have been exposed to the pernicious practice of people buying others membership cards of the ANC to guarantee themselves a captive group of voting cattle, whose members had and have absolutely no desire to join the ANC.
“All of us are aware of the poisonous phenomenon foreign to our movement, which many of us have characterised as the ownership of some members by other members. These are people who, while holding ANC membership cards, do not belong to the ANC but belong to those who paid their subscriptions.”
Dealing extensively with these issues, the Imvuselelo Campaign document listed the danger of institutionalised factionalism, ill-discipline and disunity. These are fuelled and inspired by the battles over the control of state power and resources, which the Imvuselelo document refers to as one of the three main weaknesses that have persisted in the ANC post- 1994.
The ANC constitution mandates all its members to take a full and active part in the discussion, formulation and implementation of the policies of the organisation and to submit policy proposals or statements to the various structures – from the branch up to the national executive committee.
In line with our duty to play an active part in the life of the ANC, and as mandated by the ANC constitution, we should engage with this policy proposal at the Provincial Policy Conference, and if we develop consensus around it, then submit it as part of the policy proposals to the National Policy Conference.
We have a duty to engage with this and many other policy proposals in our branches ahead of the upcoming policy meetings of the ANC so that we address the challenges we have raised in numerous conference resolutions and policy documents, as we recommit ourselves to our declaration of 2017 as the year of OR Tambo.
Oscar Mabuyane is the provincial secretary of the ANC in the Eastern Cape
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