Ramaphosa, who took office in February with promises to jump-start the economy and stamp out graft, had been attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.
The ANC is going “back to the future” through invoking the heroes from its past to bring about much-needed unity ahead of the 2019 polls.
Reviving the “authentic” ANC – where integrity and community service, rather than enrichment and corruption, are the watchwords – is a campaign spearheaded by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Pursuing his mantra of a “new dawn” in South African politics, along with his Thuma Mina (send me) call for volunteerism, Ramaphosa is rolling out party stalwarts and veterans to recall the history of the ANC. These stalwarts and vets were among the first to oppose Jacob Zuma when he was president and corruption and state capture ran rampant.
Ramaphosa made a point last week of hailing 93-year-old veteran Andrew Mhlangeni as “Comrade Integrity” at Mhlangeni’s birthday celebrations. He did this a week after meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu – a staunch anti-apartheid player – and apologising for the ANC having gone off the rails.
The president has invoked the spirit of Nelson Mandela on a number of occasions, saying he is inspired by the liberation icon.
And the unity drive is having some success, with even structures that did not see eye to eye within the ANC now discussing ways of achieving what they call “unity of purpose”, which would help restore the ANC to its former glory.
Even some of Zuma’s ardent followers, such as Kebby Maphatsoe, chairperson of the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) have jumped on the bandwagon.
Maphatsoe told The Citizen they had no choice in the matter, according to the Nasrec conference mandate.
“We went to the national conference last year as two groups of MK veterans – MKMVA that I am leading and MK National Council under General Siphiwe Nyanda and Thabang Makwetla. But Nasrec resolved we must unite. It mandated the NEC to facilitate for us to find unity.
“Obviously, negotiations are about give and take, but all of us are committed to unity, even if we have different approaches,” Maphatsoe said. But the MK Council’s Nyanda said there had been no progress.
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said it was never going to be easy for the ANC because even Mandela never achieved full unity.
“It will take a seismic shake for division to end. Even the dramatic lessons of the municipal defeats did not seem to have shaken the ANC in the manner one expected,” Fikeni said.
The ANC unity efforts suffered a psychological setback when reports of a pending party breakaway emerged. The Citizen reported on Friday that former President Jacob Zuma’s supporters, with Zuma’s knowledge, were planning to split from the ruling party and establish the African Transformation Congress.
Members from Zuma-supporting provinces KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Free State have been holding regular discussions about the new party. Zuma shocked many when he publicly warned his critics in the ANC that he was ready to deal with them appropriately. His statement sparked fears that some of his followers, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, might take his words as a public instruction to start violence against his enemies.
ANC Veterans’ League president Snuki Zikalala said the unity mission would not be derailed by “irresponsible statements” from individuals who threatened other top leaders. “You can’t throw stones at each other, because the ANC is bigger than any individual.”
Fikeni said the ruling party, leading up to the 2019 elections, would have to satisfy the voters, who wanted to see a corruption-free leadership.
– ericn@citizen.co.za
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