Africa-Press – South-Africa. ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has sounded the alarm bells, warning delegates at the party’s national policy conference that deep divisions within the ANC have left it at its weakest point in 30 years.
“The ANC is today at its weakest and its most vulnerable since the advent of democracy.” he said.
He was delivering the opening speech at the party’s sixth policy conference at Nasrec, Johannesburg.
Not mincing his words, Ramaphosa stressed the point that the ANC’s weaknesses were “evident in the distrust, disillusionment, and frustration that is expressed by many people towards our movement and our government”.
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ANC holds policy conference this weekend
He went on to say that the weakness were also reflected in the party’s drop in support during the 2021 municipal elections, where for the first time, it garnered less than 50% of the national vote.
Most strikingly, Ramaphosa said the ANC’s weaknesses were evident in the divisions within its own ranks.
He said the divisions were not even rooted in policy or ideological differences, but were “driven by the competition for positions, the contestation of structures, and the pursuit of access to public resources”.
He continued:
He stressed that the task of transformation depended on the unity, cohesion, and strength of the movement and, as such, what the policy conference needed to do was to ensure that the party emerged more united and not divided.
“Despite trying circumstances, the ANC is showing signs of renewal, and we are continuing to forge unity around several issues.
“We have been able to make progress around the process of organisational rebuilding, where our branches were able to hold BGMs in the midst of the pandemic and undertake campaigns in communities,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that the most significant development in the fight against corruption which was the main driving force behind division, was the establishment of the Zondo Commission.
“The commission finalised its work last month, and the government has embarked on a process to consider all the commission’s findings and recommendations.
“As the ANC, we have consistently maintained that the commission is a necessary part of the broader social effort to end all forms of state capture and corruption.
“We are therefore engaging with the findings and recommendations of the commission to determine how these can help to enhance the process of fundamental renewal and rebuilding within our movement,” he said.
In his speech, that did little to rouse up party members, Ramaphosa also called on delegates to not only excel at diagnosing the problems, but asked that they also come up with solutions to the identified problems.
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