The DA will not stand with the ANC

Gap between the party and the people has led to abandonment of the national democratic revolution

● The ANC’s 55th national conference is a fortnight away yet no-one is seriously interrogating whether the national democratic revolution (NDR) is still on track. A lot has been said and published, nearly all of it focused on who must lead, which structure supports whom and which way the numbers game is tilting.

With a justified sense of nostalgia, one could say had it been 1997, Joel Netshitenzhe and Jeremy Cronin would have robustly engaged not only on the content of the struggle but on the progress made on the execution of the NDR.

First, they would have emphasised that the N of the NDR represents the national character of the liberation struggle. Seen in that sense, the content of our revolution is neither federal nor regional. Those revolutionary intellectuals would have pointed out the dangers of those elements of federalism that can easily gravitate towards mobilisation on the basis of tribal affinity or ethnic identity. There is no doubt that such mobilisation would undermine the founding principle of unity on which the ANC was established. The call for the formation of the ANC came against the backdrop of the divide-and-rule policy by white settlers who exploited ethnic divisions to conquer our land.

Fighting as different ethnic groups against the white colonisers, be they Afrikaner or British, proved ineffective as they were united against Africans regardless of their tribal or ethnic groupings. In forming the Union of South Africa in 1910 after the Anglo-Boer War, whites were united in the idea that they were going to contain the “black danger” or swartgevaar.

Had it still been the era of 1997, the movement would have been concerned with whether the D for democratic revolution still held sway, and whether the creation of a democratic society was gaining more traction. As a movement that seeks to create democracy, the ANC had, especially under the leadership of OR Tambo, evolved to become a microcosm of the democracy we strive to obtain.

In examining the R, which stands for the revolution, cadres would have been preoccupied with the progress made since the last conference.

Traditionally, the conference of the ANC has three tasks. First, to assess the progress on implementing the resolutions of the last conference. Second, to identify new policy interventions required to advance the revolution and, finally, to elect the leadership. The last task should not overshadow the first two.

Much has transpired since the 54th national conference, affecting the geopolitical landscape and the country. These include the pandemic, fluidity in the global balance of forces and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Domestically, we have been affected by the unrest of 2021 in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the unprecedented calamities of climate change, economic decline, and worsening unemployment and poverty.

In the public domain we continue to witness contestations among elites, resulting in the neglect of ordinary people who have become disillusioned as democracy becomes meaningless to them. This segment of society has become vulnerable to dangerous propaganda and political manipulation.

There is no glue binding all the progressive forces in pursuit of the revolution; only a growing belief that those in authority lack direction.

South Africa’s democratic breakthrough brought hope not just for the attainment of freedom but also for the socioeconomic emancipation of the poor.

While the movement has achieved a great deal socially, its leaders must accept there has been serious regression on the economic front.

Primarily, the failure to alter the economic structure has sustained the economic system built by British colonialism which continues to serve oligopolies. The 2007/2008 economic meltdown was the first indicator of the threat of sustaining that economic system.

The movement, at least since 2007, has emphatically resolved on the need to unbundle monopolies and focus on re-industrialisation. The three conferences since then have resolved on:

● Import substitution by stimulating industry. Protecting and encouraging industries that have potential to create jobs;

● Banning the export of strategic minerals and redirecting focus to industrialisation for the export market;

● Growing new industries in areas such as the blue economy, tourism, creative industries and services; and

● Unbundling monopoly industries such as the financial sector to allow new entries and encourage competition.

To enable economic growth and redistribution the three previous national conferences — especially the most recent one — resolved to fast-track land reform, even through expropriation without compensation. That conference further resolved to review public procurement to enhance transformation. It specifically called for a framework that allows state organs to provide capacity for those who were previously deprived of economic opportunities.

The current shortcomings in implementation call into question the ANC’s commitment to its own cause, and whether it is still engaged in a revolutionary cause or is taming itself into conformism. The revolution is about bringing fundamental change and progress in the living conditions of the people.

The failure to transform the economic structure has rendered the revolutionary cause meaningless as livelihoods are obliterated by poverty and unemployment. This failure, coupled with weaknesses such as corruption, careerism and the social gap between the organisation and people, has beset the ANC in a way that diminishes its hegemony.

Towards the 1994 democratic breakthrough the

ANC not only claimed to be a leader of society; it was able to galvanise other liberation movements and parties on its side. Its current rigidity and failure to engage and reach consensus on tactical issues with other parties caused it to marginalise itself and further derail transformation.

The poor of this land must come first.

The coming conference should mark a turnaround on the execution of a revolutionary programme focused on addressing the real plight of the people.

Failure to transform the economic structure has rendered the revolutionary cause meaningless

Zikalala is the former premier of KwaZulu-Natal and candidate for the ANC National Executive Committee