MBOMBELA, September 16 (ANA) – The African National Congress now needs “time-tested cadres – the best among us – who will lead without fear or favour”, ANC Gauteng chairman Paul Mashatile said on Saturday.
Addressing the ANC’s Mpumalanga special provincial general council (PGC) in Mbombela (Nelspruit), he said: “Since we are approaching the national [elective] conference in December with nominations having been opened, our day-to-day work must not be a fixation on names of those whom we want to be elected into the NEC [national executive committee] but policies and programmes that will ensure that the ANC remains the leader of society.
“The stark reality is that the ANC is in trouble and it needs women and men who can rescue it. The question is what kind of leaders do the ANC need to be able to reclaim its role of being the leader of society and parliament of the people. As ANC Gauteng, we believe that we should get time-tested cadres – the best among us – who will lead without fear or favour.”
Factionalism had destroyed the ANC. “Hence, we should abolish factionalism from our approach and as members agree on a collective of cadres who will not only appeal to us as members but also have traction with society. We have to agree on names of comrades who will contribute to the ANC winning back the confidence of our people,” he said.
People were angry that the ANC was no longer sensitive to their needs and concerns and this they had shown by not voting in numbers for the ANC during the past local government elections. Their message was clear: the ANC they saw today was not the one they knew before.
With the nominations for leadership at the national conference now open, several candidates had raised their hands for the position of president of the ANC. While campaigning enhanced intra-party democracy, it was unfortunate the campaigns underway currently had been characterised by acrimony and destructive lobbying including dirty tricks.
“The campaigns [are] not contributing to building unity and cohesion within our ranks as they have been characterised by heightened factionalism and driven by winning at all costs. We seem to be disregarding time-tested approaches to ANC leadership in our insatiable quest to lead,” Mashatile said.
“Some among us seem not to care about what happens after the conference. If we are to save the ANC we have to caution against this self-destructive approach of winner-take-all as the outcome might as well mean the end of the ANC as we have come to know it, and this includes being dislodged from power in the next general elections. Given this destructive nature of the campaigns, it is time that all the candidates should start talking among themselves so as to agree on the best way possible that takes into cognisance the future of our movement. They must place the interests of the movement above narrow, selfish interests.
“We must urge members to consider the option of a consensus leadership where we will persuade one another to agree on the best possible candidates who can lead the ANC’s turn-around project. The leadership collective must also reflect the demographics of the ANC membership including generational mix. We should avoid committing the mistakes of Polokwane and Mangaung if we are to not only survive but to reclaim the ANC’s former glory and standing within society.”
The elected leaders should have qualities that included a high level of integrity, honesty, discipline, and moral uprightness; who would protect the state from all forms of state capture; determined to fight all forms of corruption and ensure good governance; that reflected the “national question (inclusiveness across national groupings, professionals and academics, religious sector, sport, business, and young people etc)”; and who were not part of factions and slates.
“While working on this consensus leadership, we must continue to not only speak out against the ills of corruption, nepotism, self-centeredness, and arrogance that are inflicting irreparable damage on the soul of the ANC, but must take practical steps to rebuild our people’s confidence in the ANC and these efforts should include not neglecting another important aspect of our work, ie ensuring that ANC-led government, including municipalities, continue to provide quality services to all our people,” Mashatile said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
