Factionalism has cost us‚ says Zuma

Factionalism‚ slate politics and ill-discipline have cost the ANC a lot of members‚ President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.

“Factionalism is the biggest threat to the organisation. It is because of factionalism that we have seen the emergence of splinter groups over the past 10 years which negatively affected our movement quantitatively and qualitatively. Slate politics‚ another manifestation of factionalism‚ has cost us many capable members in who our movement has invested significantly‚” Zuma said at the ANC national conference.

“Ill-discipline has continued to afflict the ANC‚ which has taken a new form in the recent past‚ bordering on publicly challenging the authority of the organisation. There have also been worse incidents of ill-discipline where members openly side with and work with opposition parties and other formations that are hostile to the ANC‚ against the position adopted by the movement.

“We need to reaffirm the authority of the African National Congress on its individual members.”

Zuma called on delegates to deal decisively with members who take the ANC to court. He reminded delegates that the ruling party had taken a decision that any member who takes the organisation to court‚ has forfeited his or her membership.

“If we are satisfied with the decision we have taken before‚ let us take a decision to implement. If the leadership does not implement‚ then the leadership itself must face consequences. You could argue that as branches we gave you [leadership] an instrument in your hand‚ why are you not using it? I think it is important that we deal with this issue‚ so that we are out of courts‚” Zuma said to loud applause.