OPINION
2022 is a crucial yr to South Africa’s ruling social gathering, African National Congress (ANC), as it is going to be the yr the social gathering elects its new management forward of the 2024 elections. Before the December ANC Elective Conference, the social gathering is internet hosting its Policy Conference over the weekend.
The sample typically current on the policy conferences is chatter surrounding potential candidates for the social gathering’s National Executive Committee, particularly the Top 6 – as a substitute of specializing in the precise aims of the social gathering’s insurance policies. The tone of this yr’s policy paperwork seems to be breaking this sample. With constant acknowledgements and contextualisation of the decline of energy the social gathering is going through, the present policy doc shares the pressing want of refocusing on what’s vital – bettering the standard of lives of South Africans.
Policy paperwork are vital as a result of they supply a complete define of what a authorities ministry hopes to realize and the strategies and rules it would use to realize them. What makes the ANC policy vital is, firstly, it’s an try to ‘tidy house’ and refocus the social gathering’s imaginative and prescient forward of the 2024 elections. Secondly, it supplies South Africans with an understanding of what points are of precedence to the social gathering and the way they translate into the standard of governance. Thirdly, typically policy paperwork are the place of inspiration for brand spanking new legal guidelines and legislature. Should the ANC win the 2024 elections, this policy is probably going the place the social gathering will begin to suggest payments for which they strongly advocate.
Interestingly, election projections for 2024 have positioned the ANC able of attainable majority loss. The two-thirds majority the ANC held since Thabo Mbeki’s presidency have declined from 279 to 230 of the 400 seats. Additionally, the social gathering has continued to lose its seats in each the nationwide and municipal elections. In 2014 the social gathering gained the nationwide elections with 62.1% with a 73.4% voter turnout. However, in 2019 each these numbers declined with the win sitting at 57.7% and voter turnout at 66%. By 2016 the social gathering misplaced the financial heartland, Johannesburg, the executive capital, Tshwane and the economic hub of the Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela Bay via the native authorities elections. At the 2016 municipal election, the social gathering gained with 53.9% and in 2021, 45.5% – the primary time the social gathering gained under 50% because it got here into energy.
Almost all the problems that the policy doc addresses are undergirded by the stress of loss that the social gathering is going through forward of the 2024 elections. The doc vehemently expresses the stress and the insurgency by which the social gathering has to behave for the following 24 months. The theme by which all points are mentioned within the doc is, 2022 – The yr of unity and renewal to defend and advance South Africa’s democratic positive factors. Ideas of renewal and unity are available response to the challenges the social gathering faces of factionalism, lack of credibility in management and corruption – points which the doc makes an attempt to deal with.
The policy addresses eight key points:
1. Digital Communications and Battle of Ideas
2. Arts, Culture and Heritage
3. Progressive Internationalism in a Changing World
4. Social Transformation
5. Peace and Stability
6. Legislature and Governance
7. Strengthening Economic Recovery and Reconstruction to Build an Inclusive Economy
8. Education, Health Science and Technology
Legislature and Governance together with Strengthening Economic Recovery and Reconstruction to Build an Inclusive Economy, are arguably the hardest challenges that the social gathering faces. With the excessive ranges of unemployment, South Africa being rated as one of the vital unequal nations on the planet, the power disaster and a looming recession – these two matters have to be mentioned completely throughout the conference. Not solely do they have to be mentioned, however the options have to be critically thought out and clear implementation steps have to be articulated. It is solely not sufficient to specific the issue – it must be solved.
In addition to those eight points, the policy dedicates a while to specific how the ANC sees itself as an agent of change and has considerably self-assigned itself the function of being ideological and ethical agent of the nation. This doesn’t come as a shock. The ANC’s identification as a mass motion, or “revolutionary movement” is rooted in the concept it exists as a political vanguard. A vanguard social gathering is one that’s led by enlightened revolutionary management via which individuals could be led to freedom. This is an concept rooted in Marxist-Lenin ideology. The ANC has known as itself a ‘vanguard movement’ earlier than. In the 2017 policy doc it acknowledged:
“The ANC has to operate as a vanguard movement with political, ideological and organisation capacity to direct the state and give leadership to motive forces in all spheres of influence and pillars of our transformation.”
The African National Congress and Participatory Democracy by Heidi Brooks, warns in regards to the risks of vanguardism. Brooks argues that it prevents residents from being empowered and retains the social gathering dominant. Vanguardism holds {that a} motion (or social gathering) is important to supply ideological, ethical and mental management via a strategy of conscientisation. Lenin argued that the vanguard sees itself as a real consultant in a position to interpret the favored will. People ought to see the vanguard’s aims as their finest pursuits and see the management of the vanguard as vital for the safety of these pursuits. There must be a want for political management above and in style initiative under. The policy doc nonetheless echoes these vanguard sentiments. Marxist philosophical concepts and even language tone is prevalent. However, concepts of ‘class consciousness’ and ‘liberation’ could sound empty from a celebration rampant with corruption and abuse of workplace – one that’s dropping in style initiative and political management.
This conference comes at a vital time for the ruling social gathering. It has a bucket crammed with key challenges and social gathering tensions to deal with. Numerous analytical concepts are proposed of what’s anticipated to be mentioned, from policy proxies, political place campaigning and deal with the street to 2024. Regardless of what’s mentioned, what stays vital is that there are actual challenges recognized within the policy doc that require complete and sustainable resolutions.
Yanga Malotana is a political analyst, Andrew Melon scholar and analysis assistant