Flags of the African National Congress (ANC). Picture: Michel Bega
The infusion of a large number of young members into the newly elected ANC national executive committee (NEC) is not going to rejuvenate the party because activism has died in the ruling party, according to an expert.
But, they were needed to lure young voters to the polls in order to enable the ruling party to revive its electoral fortunes, another expert said.
Political analyst Piet Croucamp, a politics professor from North-West University’s Business School, said instead of the ANC worrying about injecting youth into its top structure, it should be concerned that the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) had been nonexistent for years.
Several attempts to revive it had failed, even with the establishment of two national youth task teams. “The problem is the lack of trust that the people have in the party,” Croucamp said.
“I don’t see much being contributed to the renewal of the ANC by the infusion of youth in the party. “If there was, they would have done something more serious to revive the ANCYL so as to rejuvenate the ANC politics.”
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The statements by political experts came as the older generation, including ANC deputy president David Mabuza, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr Naledi Pandor and Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, among others, were not elected onto the ANC NEC at the party’s national conference last month.
Some attributed this to the need for change – to infuse youth dynamism into Africa’s oldest liberation movement. Another political analyst, Sandile Swana, said the ANC needed a young leadership to attract voters.
However, while the new NEC could be a start towards that goal, they were far from being dynamic because the ANC’s young leaders were not known for innovation.
Swana said time was up for the older generation. “The older generation is worn out, tired and probably dying,” he said.
“Yes, the younger generation will be copycats of the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters], although the EFF is much better educated and more ideologically articulate.”
Asked if it was now time for the ANC youth to grab the reins from the old guard, Swana said the older generation had run its course and, in the process, made many mistakes that contributed to the ANC losing support.
He cited the fact that some of them supported former president Jacob Zuma and watched him destroy the party and the country.
“The ANC wants a youngish leadership that can attract younger voters. Dynamism is a challenge. “[Fikile] Mbalula and his cohort are not known for innovation.
ANC documents have neither ideas of improvement nor outright innovation,” Swana said. “Mbalula and Gwede Mantashe are not embracing the festival of ideas but are nursing a Stalinist approach to detractors.
Some detractors will be co-opted and given nice positions; others will meet the sword.”
Swana added his voice to several observers who believed the idleness of the old generation of the ANC had been replaced by Stalinism, contained in the leadership styles of Mbalula, the party’s new secretary-general, and re-elected national chair Mantashe.
They argued the Mbalula-Mantashe combination was double the dose to opponents of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Stalinism is a leadership approach used by former Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, who purged and even killed his political opponents.
Although he implemented Marxist-Leninist ideology and policies, his style was frowned upon by Marxist-Leninist ideologues, who were concerned more about class relations and social conflict in society than a hegemonic leadership of an individual.
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