ANC NEC admits governing party is on a ‘downward spiral’

The ANC’s (African National Congress) national executive committee (NEC) admitted the governing party is on a “downward spiral”.

And unless the ANC renews and rebuilds itself, it will fail in its “mission to fundamentally and radically transform society and build a better life for all.”

ANC NEC meetings

This is according to a statement released by the ANC on Saturday evening on the outcomes of the party’s NEC and NEC Lekgotla meetings this month.

The NEC is the ANC’s highest decision-making body in between conferences, while the NEC Lekgotla brings together the party’s alliance partners and leagues to assess the government’s performance against agreed policies and targets.

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the NEC meetings recognised “decisive and different actions” – not just lofty pronouncements – were needed in every pillar of the party’s programme to turn around its electoral decline.

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“The NEC in its regular session noted that the call for the renewal of the ANC, as it engages on its mission to rid the country of the legacies of apartheid colonialism and patriarchy and battles the sins of incumbency after the breakthrough of 1994, has been a consistent echo since the 50th national conference, and all subsequent national conferences,” Mabe said.

“The current NEC was elected on an explicit mandate to drive a consistent programme for the renewal and unity of the ANC, restore the relationship between the ANC and the people, its integrity and role as an agent for change and leader in society.”

Deepening divisions

The ANC has been riddled by factions and infighting over the years, which saw the party’s electoral support, for the first time since the dawn of democracy, dipped below 50% during last year’s local government elections.

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, in his closing address of the two-day Lekgotla last weekend, warned that deepening divisions and factionalism remained the biggest threat to the party and the country’s democratic gains.

To turn this around, the NEC said it would focus on modernising the ANC’s “internal systems and practices as well as ridding it of practices that disregard or distort organisational practices, ethos and discipline”.

“We must be an organisation whose existence is based on values of integrity, honesty and discipline,” the statement read.

The party committed to also strengthening “the ANC’s ability to influence society and making sure its progressive and developmental values, actions and practices become more hegemonic”.

NEC decisions

Below is a summary of the interventions the NEC took on urgent organisational renewal tasks for 2022:

• To serve and focus on the people, engage with them and increase participation and ownership of ANC programmes in government and communities.
• To address the erosion of ANC principles of non-racialism and non-sexism, and attend to these issues in a concrete and systematic manner.
• Actively build cohesion and action to achieve a non-racial and non-sexist society and to combat tribalism and narrow nationalism.
• Actively engage with people on problems and conflicts on the ground and become again the leader of society through consistent engagement with citizens.
• To win back the confidence of key organisations that mobilise the motive forces and sectors of society in every municipality and ward.
• To build a coherent programme of action towards conference that focuses on building cadres, proper structures and real interaction with the people.
• Deal with outstanding issues of candidate and mayoral disputes, discipline and integrity and strengthen ANC disciplinary structures.
• Respond positively and change “our behaviour where the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has made recommendations”.
• Set up a permanent election capacity with a budget and strategic, message, research, by-election, monitoring and training capacity backed up by a call centre that monitors implementation of municipal plans and ANC programmes.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe

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