Who really runs the ANC?

Looking at the numerous factions within the ruling party, the contradictory statements issued by ministers and the many allegations of assassinations, dirty tricks and even poisonings, one needs to ask: Who really runs the ANC?

Not content with adopting a policy of “divide and rule” with the intention of splitting the country into smaller political groups to retain its dominance over them, the party has also adopted the same policy within its own ranks.

Different factions fight for control of the party’s soul while ignoring the massive collateral damage and international fallout this is creating. This is exactly how any criminal cartel or mafia organisation works.

There is apparently no vetting or investigation of credentials when appointing advisors and secretaries. It is astonishing that some unvetted people can be promoted to the highest offices without having been members of the ANC and instead having played soccer, while the so-called struggle years were unfolding.

In the process, better qualified and loyal party members, who have no record of corruption and deception, are ignored. This alone ought to raise many red flags. While proclaiming to be a party that strives for democracy and free speech, it is ironic how quickly dissenting voices are silenced. Disagreeing with a particular faction, or with the party in general, is viewed as a direct threat to the continued direction of corruptness.

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Speaking out against any of its myriad failed marginalisation policies, inept leadership or even the ongoing and endemic corruption, is a recipe for retaliation which can include one or many methods of ensuring silence. Not only does this include banishing members or permanently neutralising them, it can also lead to their businesses and private lives being sabotaged.

Already classified by the Zondo commission as a criminal cartel due to its uncontrolled theft and misappropriation of state funds, along with deeply embedded corruption, this is a direct result of the policy of vote buying, or “power through purchase”.

This approach to clinging to power is deeply disturbing as it makes a mockery of everything the party claims it stands for – and what its founding fathers wanted to prevent. It highlights the question of who is truly running the ruling party and, by implication, the government.

It is no wonder our country is on the decline, daily. Within its numerous factions, along with those in government, there are those who have already been fingered for corruption, and those who are corrupt but claim to be fighting corruption.

Following its policy of divide and rule, the ruling party has exposed itself as a non-entity overseen by cunning “corrupticians” who can do and say as they please. Yet it clings to power as though it is the only party that cares for the people when, in fact, it doesn’t care at all. Its only real care is to remain in power until there is nothing left to steal.

This requires appeasing the voters through deception and bribery. There is no doubt there are party members who are sincere in ending corruption and ensuring good governance, yet they are in the minority, and are frequently collateral damage of the ongoing factional fighting.

But they have neither the power nor the support to clean up this mess. Few have the courage to stand up, make their voice count and do something positive for fear of their lives and their livelihoods.

Investigating the root cause of the problem leads one directly to the process of vote buying. With food in their stomachs and a new T-shirt voters are misled into believing the party will change its ways. But it cannot, as a leopard doesn’t change its spots.

Appointing people who have been fingered for corruption, and oftentimes proven to have been deeply involved in state capture, leads one to believe that within the factions, a large degree of protectionism is offered and agreed on.

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How else can some positions be awarded to those who have already clearly proven why they are members of the ANC? Vote buying ensures the corrupt remain firmly entrenched in their positions of power. Power is a formidable motivator for such people to set their sights more power.

Ultimately, they have become part of the destruction of our country, its economy and its social fabric. But the question remains: who really runs the ruling party? The answer, in reality, is no one. It seems whoever shouts the loudest and protests the most is, for that period in time, in charge. Having a ruling party with no single person running it ought to be very troubling to every voter in South Africa.