PODCAST | Are we living through the decline of the ANC?

There can be little doubt that the ANC is negotiating its way through a crisis. Consistent infighting, ideological rifts and corruption allegations seem to be the norm for the party these days. 

In the ANC's time of need, it has called on a party elder, former president Thabo Mbeki, who typically stays out of the limelight.

While addressing the Eastern Cape ANC's extended provincial executive committee meeting in East London on Monday, Mbeki claimed that the party needed to solve the problem of careerists within its ranks.

“Has that problem been solved of people who entered the ANC, wear the ANC T-shirts and say, 'Viva ANC, viva,' and know all of the songs, and they toyi-toyi very well and do all of that. But are they ANC?” questioned the former president. 

In this episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we consider what it means to be an ANC member, what turmoil in the ANC means for the rest of SA and whether the party has any viable leaders to take it into the future.

We also discuss the fiasco that unfolded at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, where chaos broke out — not over the advancement of our continent, but over power and positions. Should it shut up shop for a while?

Join the discussion: 

What you will hear: 

(01:30) The sad state of the ANC. Does it still have a good story to tell? The party's former president Thabo Mbeki thinks not.

(20:59) The embarrassing happenings at the PAP this week and what is says about the state of politics on the African continent. 

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