The wrap (for now): We either deal with corruption or we perish as an organisation – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa and newly appointed deputy president Paul Mashatile during a walk-about around stalls within the Nasrec precinct at the ANC's 55th national conference at Nasrec in Johannesburg, South Africa on 20 December 2022. (Photo: Leila Dougan)

By Marianne Merten

20 Dec 2022

ANC renewal and unity on Tuesday remained perennial as the governing party, unprecedentedly, adjourned its national conference without adopting policy commission reports and resolutions. However, second-term party president Cyril Ramaphosa gave a few hints in his closing address to a hall that was barely half-full.

Better and quality service delivery with a focus on energy and water security. Quality education and healthcare regardless of the ability to pay, as envisaged by the National Health Insurance (NHI).

Economic transformation through accelerated spending on infrastructure, fibre provisioning in rural areas through, for example, incentives, tax rebates and private sector compacts, and a focus on rural and township economic development.

Dealing with the “turmoil of load shedding”, as President Cyril Ramaphosa put it in Tuesday’s adjourning of conference address, was another policy point. As was redressing “the original sin of land dispossession” through measures to accelerate land reform and support productive land use.

From Ramaphosa’s signals, the ANC’s policy direction fundamentally remains on track, including pledges to fight corruption, and economic transformation for inclusive growth. So no surprises there, nor in the briefing by rapporteurs of the various policy commissions, who gave what was described as the “flavour” of discussions.

No real details could be provided as commission reports and resolutions must first be adopted. This can only happen after the conference, which was adjourned to provincial hybrid sessions, on 5 January. It’s now part of the lead-up to the January 8 statement that traditionally sets the ANC’s policy priorities for the year.

A delegate gets up on stage and congratulates Ramaphosa on his second term on the last day of the ANC's 55th national conference at Nasrec in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 20 December 2022. (Photo: Leila Dougan)

The 55th ANC national elective conference ended on Tuesday as it started on Friday — messily, fraught and unresolved.

The plenary hall was mostly empty by the time Ramaphosa started his address; transport pressure by delegates in distant provinces was cited as a reason, along with the messy registration process.

Given the nature of the heavily contested leadership, Ramaphosa pledged to pursue party unity — and lay down the unity line for everyone to toe.

“The branches have spoken by choosing the leadership that emerges from here. Once the branches have made their choice all of us are expected to fall in line and embrace and accept the decisions that are taken here,” said Ramaphosa.

Such renewal and unity were needed even if tense moments would arise in the fight against corruption within ANC ranks, which was “a dire threat to the continued existence of the ANC”.

Despite progress made over the past five years, more needed to be done to end corruption and reverse the effects of State Capture in the state, society and in party ranks.

“We have no choice: we either deal with this problem [corruption] or we perish as an organisation,” said Ramaphosa.

It was one of the harder points in the presidential speech. Much of it was also about how the ANC had astounded opponents and critics.

“As always, we’ve ended up as a united organisation, much to the surprise of those who do not wish us well,” said Ramaphosa, adding the party he leads for a second term now followed the “path of principled unity”.

Messy and dysfunctional

But the 2022 Nasrec ANC elective national conference had been messy, and in many respects dysfunctional.

Delays came right at the beginning with a messy and drawn-out registration process that left some delegates with upside-down photos and wrongly placed party logos and names on their conference tags. That up to a quarter of branch delegates designated to attend the conference were substituted by others, did not help. A bunch of Free State delegates’ tags were snatched in a heated moment, according to the credentials report to the plenary.

Delays also arose from and caused the horse-trading, cajoling and slate deal-making which continued messily right to the start of the voting.

That meant votes were split.

It worked against supporters of ex-health minister Zweli Mkhize, who lost his presidency challenge, when Mzwandile Masina, the former Ekurhuleni mayor, only withdrew in favour of ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe while voting was under way.

It worked against Ramaphosa’s side for the deputy president post, now held by Paul Mashatile rather than the preferred candidate, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, and on the first deputy secretary-general post that went to Nomvula Mokonyane by a narrow 50-vote margin.

The margins were also slim for the post of national chairperson, which incumbent Gwede Mantashe held on to by 44 votes, against Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha, with 280 going to David Masondo, the deputy finance minister and second deputy secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), who was also on the Ramaphosa slate.

Questions would be raised about the Ramaphosa slate’s tactics, and the delays in releasing its preferred names for additional National Executive Committee (NEC) posts only on Tuesday morning. The votes for the 80 NEC members ran past the presidential adjournment speech — at that time around 3,000 or some 70% of delegates had voted — and would be released after the conference was adjourned.

That the margins were this tight indicates the fluidness of factional dominance and that Ramaphosa cannot ease his guard despite a sweep of five of seven top officials’ posts.

https://youtu.be/-ftBnpLS95M?t=154

But supporters have argued the elective conference outcome boosted the President, who can now act against critics, and those deemed ineffective in government. A Cabinet reshuffle is loading, possibly as early as January.

And although the ANC conference discussed severing ties with its alliance partners, the SACP and labour federation Cosatu, both indicated approval of the ANC deliberations and leadership elections.

A reconfigured alliance was crucial to the renewal of the ANC, according to an SACP statement, while Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi said workers could not afford a divided ANC or an ANC leadership compromised by corruption.

“The [elective] results provide a chance to renew the ANC, rebuild the state, grow the economy, slash unemployment and provide relief and protection for workers.”

It’s a tall order. But the unprecedented kicking for touch of the policy side of this 2022 Nasrec ANC conference which really only fully dealt with the leadership contest, has created some breathing space. For now. DM

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Messy and dysfunctional