‘The ANC must renew for its own survival’ – Jeff Radebe

The ANC’s Head of Policy Jeff Radebe says political careerism is one of several issues that have contributed to people’s mistrust in the ANC as well as the party’s poor performance at the polls.

“This has resulted in the breakdown of people’s trust in the ANC and many of the institutions of state and despite various measures the ANC and the democratic government have taken to combat corruption, there is a widespread perception that little progress has been made to ensure accountability,” he explained.

Radebe was leading a media dialogue on corruption and state capture at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, ahead of the party’s Policy Conference at the weekend.

He warned that the issues currently dividing the part run the risk of not only derailing the ANC’s vision, but that of the country as a whole.

“The 54^th National Conference in December 2017 recognised that worsening corruption, factionalism, dishonesty and other negative practices seriously threaten the goals of the ANC. It said that these practices contradict and damage our mission to serve the people and use the country’s resources to achieve development and transformation.”

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Jeff Radebe

Radebe said the fundamental renewal of the ANC as an effective agent of transformation requires that the organisation confronts corruption in all its forms, whether it’s in government, society and within the movement itself.

“As part of this effort, National Conference resolved to support the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into state capture.

“The terms of reference of the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture were in the main to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud,” said Radebe.

The commission of inquiry was established in January 2018, chaired by then Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The final report of the State Capture Commission was submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa in June this year before it was released to the public.

ALSO READ: State Capture: Final report deals with SABC, SSA & Gupta’s Waterkloof landing

Ramaphosa has until October this year to formally submit the report to Parliament together with implementation plans on the Commission’s recommendations. 

Impact of state capture

According to Radebe, the impact of state capture on South Africa’s social well-being and economic prospects have been devastating.

He said in the period between 2010 and 2018, joblessness and inequality worsened with minimal progress in dealing with poverty. 

“One of the key targets of the state capture project have been the State-Owned Entities (SOEs) and these national assets have been significantly weakened and broken down.

“State Capture has weakened the operational capability, financial position and skills base of SOEs and to this extent, they cannot perform their developmental and commercial roles. They are not playing their rightful role in the reconstruction, growth and development of the economy,” said Radebe.

Despite the findings of the state capture report, some in the ANC, especially those aligned to former President Jacob Zuma, have questioned the report and have suggested that it’s sole purpose was to deal with Zuma.

At the ANC’s provincial elective conference last weekend in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), some vowed to push for the ANC’s ‘step aside’ rule in the party to be scrapped in its entirety, saying it is being used to target some individuals.

The ANC in KZN has vowed to raise the issue at the party’s Policy Conference this weekend.

ALSO READ: More provinces echo KZN’s call for end to ANC’s step aside rule

Corruption

Radebe says corruption is not a new phenomenon in South Africa, as the apartheid system was morally and systemically corrupt.

He says while the ANC is of the view that as much as such corruption had a corrosive effect on the state, the economy and society, it was also deeply harmful to the ANC.

“The 52^nd National Conference in 2007, for example, noted that our accumulated weaknesses include an inability to effectively deal with new tendencies arising from being a ruling party, such as social distance, patronage, careerism, corruption and abuse of power.

“It is clearly not sufficient to recognise the problem and the task of any organisation like the ANC, especially with its history of principled struggle, its values and its mission, is to address the problem.”

How to address corruption within the ANC

Radebe said members who choose not to abide by the rules contained in the ANC Constitution or the decisions of its structures are free to leave the organisation.

He said any member who is involved in corrupt activities or seeks in any other way to use their position for undue self-enrichment is in violation of the party constitution.