LIMPOPO – In his address at the ANC’s two-day Economic Transformation Summit held at the weekend, ANC National Executive Committee Member, Joel Netshitenzhe, called on party members to uphold the party’s tradition which decrees that a deputy president must succeed the sitting president.
The event took place at the Hans Merensky Golf Club in Phalaborwa over the weekend.
“It is the tradition of the ANC, why change it now after so many years?” Netshitendzhe, a former key-policy maker, said.
He went on to accuse the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) and the Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) of jumping the gun on the party’s much talked about presidential succession debate.
The three structures are believed to have thrown their weight behind the outgoing Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on her presidential bid.
“They know they are doing something that is wrong. Why they are doing it I cannot tell as the organisation has very clear processes on how nominations and ultimately, elections, should take place.”
The ANC is yet to open the succession debate.
Netshitenzhe, who was the head of policy for nearly a decade under former President Thabo Mbeki, further warned factionalism within the ANC was slowly but surely digging a grave for the party. He said factionalism was embedded within the party and that if something is not done about it, the ANC stands a chance of losing massive votes to opposition parties in 2019.
“The manifestation of factionalism doesn’t seem to relate so much to substantive issues of policy, they relate to matters of self interest of using the ANC as a stepping stone to get positions in government,” Netsitenzhe said.
He said factionalism within the ANC hampers the effectiveness of government – be it at national, provincial or municipal level.
The ANC, according to Netshitenzhe, did not lose votes in the August polls because of the EFF or the DA. He said it was simply because people did not turn to the polls with Limpopo and North West performing dismally.
