The battle for the soul of the African National Congress is not fought anew, but rather a long continuation and tradition within the governing party of how issues of principle, leadership and power are wrestled. The battle lines have been drawn often between those fighting for a “New Dawn” or “Radical Economic Transformation”, albeit the latter platform is riddled with a mixed bag of politicians focused on the glory days of State Capture, and rekindling their grip on power. The “New Dawn” has been bogged down by Covid-19 procurement malfeasance, inaction and the lack of commitment to make the hard choices.

The soul of the ANC continues to be eroded not simply by those who seek to hold on to the political machinery and the public purse, but also by the sheer incompetence, indifference and missteps by the administration of the New Dawn. Governing a country and managing a political party is proving to be both a thankless task and also seemingly impossible to effectively manage for President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa and his supporters and compatriots within the ANC.

Proxy battles have long been fought within the ANC, and most strikingly between Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Zuma and Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, with the inevitable outcome that South Africa was thrust into a lost decade with the scale of corruption and malfeasance that continues to cripple our future and possible opportunities.

The alignment of those within the Zuma camp at the time has shifted dramatically with many of those ANC leaders since having shifted to the New Dawn, except many of them were complicit in the corruption and malfeasance of the State Capture years. The alliance that secured the presidency for Ramaphosa is riddled with compromised ANC leaders, and the expediency of politicking and deal-making has hampered the effective realisation of South Africans’ expectation of the New Dawn.

Ramaphosa has been cautiously creating space for the government to rebuild, but at the same time burdened by ineffective colleagues in Cabinet who were complicit in State Capture and corruption, or are either incompetent or ill-suited for their high office or simply unable to serve the interests of the republic. The internal proxy battles within the governing party continue to spiral with the entrenchment of both bad policy and bad people within our government.

It is not surprising that mayors, implicated in corruption and tender fraud trials, are shifted from one government post into another lucrative position within a provincial legislature — an issue not only well publicised but also highlighting the deep flaws within the governing party, and its inability to hold its leaders accountable or subject them expeditiously to processes internally.

The outcomes of the ANC’s Integrity Commission as well as its local, regional and provincial leadership are unable to effectively manage a leader who is criminally accused of having committed corruption, fraud and malfeasance instead of servicing the residents and people of eThekwini. Zandile Gumede and those of a similar ilk continue to hold on to both political power and public office at the expense of South African taxpayers, while the promise of the New Dawn continues to be undermined while those in media, civil society and political parties (noting the Inkatha Freedom Party has brought a court application for Gumede’s removal from the KwaZulu-Natal legislature) attempt to bring reason to this madness, and begin the long-needed accountability of the governing party.

The inaction within the governing party that has frustrated millions of South Africans will only be exacerbated by the recent theatrics performed by Zuma and his legal team, as well as the upcoming battle lines on which Elias Sekgobelo “Ace” Magashule and his camp are focused.

Ramaphosa may believe that the ANC “always lands on its feet”, but the patience and endurance of South Africans has long been exhausted. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ensuing economic crisis, more South Africans have been made poorer, pushed further into poverty and despair, while millions more have been shifted onto the fringes and forced to coexist in a purgatory existence.

South Africa is on its knees not simply because of the lost decade or Zuma, but rather through the enabling vortex that enabled the ascent of Zuma and his camp and continued to protect and enable the entrenchment that ripped through South Africa.

The governing party continues to pose the greatest risk to South Africa and our futures. This risk will endure beyond the rhetoric of Ramaphosa and his camp for as long as the ANC enables criminality, corruption and malfeasance. It is not surprising that various structures of the ANC continue to support, enable and protect those implicated in criminality.

The battles within the governing party continue to restrict progress for South Africans. Now is not the time to simply take cautious steps against criminality within the governing party, but rather time for a bold programme to confront these structural dynamics.

Now is not the time for rhetoric and sloganeering around unity and stability, but rather a focused renewal and recommitment to principles of the rule of law, service to the people of South Africa and doing everything to eliminate weaknesses in that commitment. Half measures can no longer be tolerated and accepted, and this must be true as the standard for all those seeking public office.

South Africa’s body politic remains unimaginative and unable to maximise on the missteps of the governing party. Leaders across the political spectrum have been unable to mount a counter-campaign to this toxic rot and will have to work much harder and with more focus as we head into 2021, and towards 2024.

Our collective efforts must be focused on increasing participation, accountability and the voices of a generational silent majority in order to ensure that we force out those who are both ill-suited and incapable of serving the people of South Africa. DM