President Jacob Zuma has taken a keen new interest in economic policy.
It is not for the first time that “radical economic transformation” will be the theme of the State of the Nation address or the key ANC documents leading up to its national conference in December.
There is, however, something different in the air this time; Zuma appears quite determined to give the phrase his particular flavour.
At a January ANC policy workshop held to discuss and formulate discussion papers for the policy conference in June and the national conference thereafter, Zuma sat in the economic transformation commission.
He contributed robustly, say those present.
He criticised the paper under discussion – put together by the ANC’s economic transformation committee – for not being radical enough and in particular for its failure to address the continued domination of the financial sector by four large banks.
He is also said to have made comments on the transformation of the construction sector and the redistribution of land.
Later, in the reportback to the plenary, when the scribes of the commission reiterated the ANC’s standard economic programme, he again complained about control of the economy by “a few families” – a reference to the pro-Gupta narrative that white monopoly capital is blocking transformation.
In the past, Zuma has not paid much attention to the detail of economic policy. However, at key inflection points he has been astute, intervening to alter a policy stance.
In 2012 at Mangaung, for example, after a long debate in the economic commission over the merits of nationalisation – at that point being fought for by the ANC Youth League – a strained consensus emerged that this could be considered on a case-by-case basis.
But shortly before the commission was due to present its final report on the conference floor, Zuma called the drafters to a meeting.
He pointed at the word “nationalisation” and told them to take it out.
The drafters, who were on the anti-nationalisation side of the debate, were relieved to oblige.
The message was relayed immediately and delegates told of the new formulation.
Nationalisation, which the youth league had been fighting for as a proxy for its bid to influence ANC succession at Mangaung, died without a whimper on the conference floor.
We are now at another inflection point, with another proxy battle about to unfold.
The argument that “white monopoly capital” is the reason for the ANC’s failure to effect greater and more meaningful transformation has been building up steam.
It is advocated most strongly from outside the ANC: by the Guptas and Oakbay executives, as well as four or five fake news websites and a host of paid Twitter intermediaries.
It is also prevalent in the statements of the ANC Women’s League and the youth league.
It is this narrative that Zuma appears to be attempting to insert into ANC policy.
It is not certain that he will succeed.
At the ANC national executive committee lekgotla, held a week or so after the policy lekgotla, the term “white monopoly capitalism” came under scrutiny, with Zuma’s detractors making the argument that the term was not and never had been ANC terminology.
This was followed by an unusual statement by the ANC secretariat two days ago, sketching out what it hoped to see in the State of the Nation address.
It includes a list of 12 tasks that will bring about radical economic transformation, just in case Zuma is considering going off-message.
Both are reminders from the ANC to Zuma that when it comes to ideology he cannot stray too far from ANC orthodoxy.
Carol Paton is deputy editor of Business Day.