Lessons from ANC55: It’s time to purge this entire party

No matter who will lead the ANC – and, at the time of writing, an expected Cyril Ramaphosa landslide had been downgraded to a close finish – the reality is that the fundamental change which needs to happen probably never will. 

That fundamental change is to the present makeup of our ruling party which has become careerist, greedy, arrogant and uncaring for the problems of an increasingly impoverished and divided country. 

The way the long knives were whipped out for Ramaphosa at Nasrec yesterday, as delegates headed in to vote for the party’s new top executive positions, was a crystal clear indication of that “me first” venality. 

The flip-floppers included high-profile people like Gauteng’s Lebogang Maile and ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe, who announced they were voting for Ramaphosa’s opponent, former health minister Zweli Mkhize, for the presidential post. 

They also urged delegates to do the same. Maile went further in saying that Gauteng would support KZN in return for that province supporting Gauteng’s candidates for lower positions. 

Similarly, other provincial top cadres from North West and Limpopo claimed their provinces would no longer be backing Ramaphosa and would support Mkhize. 

This, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of branches in their provinces had nominated Ramaphosa. But that is how the ANC rolls: Democracy, to the party, is something for speeches, something to be ditched, though, for convenience or personal benefit. 

There were, thankfully, some delegates who objected to their provincial chairpersons blatantly overturning the mandate they had been given for the province. 

What is worrying about this whole chaotic farce is that this country can be held to ransom by 4 000 people – people whose sole focus is getting close enough to the trough to “eat”. Maybe it is time that we, as a country, purged this entire party. And 2024 is not far off…

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