Rebel at your peril with mighty ANC

Much as opponents of the ANC don’t like to hear it, the ruling party still has clout and will take some beating in next year’s general election.

Evidence of that is the fact that even those from within its ranks who have rebelled and tried to chart their own political courses – and take away support from the ANC – have failed dismally. All have learned the hard way that it is cold outside the ANC.

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The list of defectors whose own political efforts have stalled is interesting: Bantu Holomisa’s United Democratic Front, Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota’s Congress of the People and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have all failed to pose a serious threat to the ANC.

Despite its rhetoric, the EFF still has only a tenth of the national vote. The radical economic transformation clique within the organisation has been considered by many to be the “real” alternative to the existing ANC and its leaders.

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But it has been sidelined – from its figurehead Jacob Zuma, to Ace Magashule, to Carl Niehaus and sundry other state capture hangers-on – by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his allies.

The ANC is still the location of the feeding trough – and no-one else can compete with that.