Falling back on the kind of populist political opportunism that got him elected as ANC president ten months ago, Jacob Zuma this past week shifted his rhetoric decidedly to the left in his attempts to fight the rising tide of dissidence in the ANC led by former national chairman and Defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota. He also tried to rally mass emotion in the ANC to his side by attacking Lekota and others on a personal level rather than addressing the issues raised by the dissidents. His fellow leaders in the ANC and the alliance did the same.
Addressing the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) national congress last week, Zuma used language usually only associated with union and SA Communist Party (SACP) leaders, accusing Lekota and other dissidents of being motivated by “class differences”, that they pursued “class realignment” with the proposed new party, that the ANC this past year adopted “pro-poor policies” (implying that Lekota and company are anti-poor) and that the “ANC was a disciplined force of the left”. This certainly is not the language the fork-tongued Zuma has been using in ANC forums till now or in charm-offensive meetings with businessmen, foreign leaders and others till now.
Uttering these statements at the Numsa conference, Zuma was flanked by the leaders of his left-wing allies who were instrumental in his ascendency to power in the ANC. These included the usual Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and SACP boss Blade Nzimande. One cannot help wondering on such occasions whether it is a case of the leader being supported by his faithful henchmen on either side, or whether the henchmen are actually there to make sure the puppet leader does as told.
Nonetheless, in the typical intolerant style of the left Zuma warned of dire action against anybody who wanted to split from the ANC. Previously another of his most loyal maverick cohorts, the much-ridiculed and very vocal ANC Youth League (ANCYL) leader, Julius Malema, threatened that the ANCYL would “crush” Lekota and any new party, and that a new party would not be allowed to operate. So much for upholding the democratic principles of the constitutions of both the country and the ANC. Zuma also last week warned that “we will act very decisively to rid the movement of factionalism” – a mouthful for a man who was both the cause and the originator of the factionalism that is currently tearing the ANC apart.
If one does not accept at face value the reasons offered by Lekota for his current campaign, it is difficult to tell at this time exactly what does then motivate him. Sour grapes? Hardly, as the end of his terms both in government and in a senior ANC leadership position were approaching anyhow prior to Mbeki being forced into retirement and Lekota leaving with him. Power hunger? Not the Lekota that I know. Besides, if that motivated him he could simply have nailed his colours to the Zuma mast more than a year ago when he saw which way the political wind was quite obviously blowing. Loyalty to Mbeki? Again a negative: Lekota is no friend of Mbeki, is not really close to him in any way, and in fact he was initially never popular with either Mbeki or Zuma – when these two were still very close – in the ANC leadership structures or in government. Sheer hard work, discipline, skills and integrity eventually earned him his previous positions in the ANC and government. Lekota also came from a UDF/Robben Island background, while Mbeki came from an exile background – two camps that for years struggled to integrate seamlessly. And Lekota has not once used Mbeki’s humiliating exit as the reason for what he is doing now.
Lekota himself makes a compelling case for what motivates his current actions, all of it based on what he sees as the ANC having lost its soul, moving away from its commitment to democracy as enshrined in the Freedom Charter. Without repeating all the detail here, he lists, with clear rationale and persuasive argument, a large number of areas in which the ANC has deviated from its Charterist path under Zuma’s leadership and the high-jacking of the ANC by the left.
These are also the issues he raised in his letters to the ANC leadership and in other forums – as well as in direct one-on-one talks with ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa. In every instance the ANC, and its left wing allies whose leaders serve in the ANC’s leadership structures, have failed to answer a single one of Lekota’s very legitimate concerns and have instead repeatedly chosen, like Zuma this past week, to attack the person of Lekota and other dissidents. Typical too of a left with a strong Stalinist past, those that usually shout “democracy” the loudest are the poorest of democrats themselves. In fact they often display symptoms of being despotic tyrants.
And that brings one to the core of the current developments. These are not just the symptoms of a family squabble that should be left to the ANC to sort out in the privacy of its own home. It affects everybody in this country. Lekota and others have laid bare what opposition parties have for some time been at pains to point out, namely the systematic erosion of democracy in and by the ANC. This is exemplified by –
· the alliance-controlled ANC allowing with impunity the instigation to violence against political opponents by its Youth League leader and others;
· the attacks on the judiciary in general and on certain judges in particular where their independent performance of their Constitutional judicial duties did not compliment the political agenda of those now leading the ANC;
· the fact that Zuma has been elevated above the law and has used every means possible, including the mass force of his party and state resources to avoid facing his accusers in court;
· legislative attempts to further erode the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution by bringing the judiciary and the media under direct government control a la the resolutions adopted by the Zuma ANC at Polekwane;
· statements and actions that underline the growing positioning of the ANC as being above Parliament, above government and above even the Constitution;
· the absolute intolerance in the ANC and the alliance towards anybody holding an opinion not shared by the current masters;
· the gerrymandering of provincial borders that lies ahead to prevent opposition parties in the future perhaps controlling one or more of the current provinces;
· the fiesta of self-enrichment and corruption which is tolerated within the current ANC leadership with an unacceptable number of people convicted of fraud and other criminal charges not only serving in the leadership structures, but actually increasingly being put into positions of trust and public responsibility; and more.
These are the issues Lekota too points out, the ones on which he is seeking dialogue with the current ANC leaders. Instead of being given a chance to be heard, or instead of answering his very serious and legitimate concerns, Zuma and the other ANC leaders have chosen to attack him and other concerned ANC members personally, viciously and with threats of harm. These same people are on the verge of running this country. There can be little doubt that the moderate, gentle and balanced Kgalema Motlanthe – who has tried to keep his distance from the current ructions in the ANC – will be sent on his way before June next year and that Zuma will install himself as king, cupboard skeletons and all.
