Political commentators at the Sowetan Dialogues held at the University of South Africa (Unisa in Pretoria have lamented the lack of intellectual capacity within the African National Congress (ANC) which can take the country and the party forward. Political analyst Ebrahim Fakir said the ANC had failed to evolve and stop seeing itself as an underground movement and rather think about what happens when it has the power to rule.“The ANC has to think very carefully about what it wants to do in a society. When we capture power...does not matter. The question is what do you do once you have political power? That is the questions that citizens have to ask‚” said FakirThe Sowetan Dialogues are aimed at discussing whether the outcomes of the August 3 local government polls are an indicator that the ANC will lose power after the 2019 elections.During the discussion‚ there was a consensus that the ruling party had serious leadership and intellectual problems which disabled it from seeing beyond the now.Dumisani Hlophe‚ governance specialist at the Unisa School of Governance‚ said the apartheid government had sustained itself with an intellectual base which drove its vision.“If you look at the apartheid establishment‚ it was sustained by a highly intellectual body called the Afrikaner Broederbond‚” Hlophe said.“I don't know when last did you have a very highly intellectual document coming from the ANC that determines the way forward....I don't think that ANC is enjoying that intellectual base. I don't think they are investing in that.”Hlophe also told the gathering that the ANC doesn’t control the political game in the country."What the apartheid masters have been able to do‚ they have been able to determine the rules of the political game – during apartheid and... post-apartheid.”– TMG Digital..