DD Mabuza sounds alarm to ANC: Shape up or perish

Deputy president says if the party does not get its house in order, the end is near

13 August 2022 - 20:48 By Mawande AmaShabalala and Kgothatso Madisa
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ANC deputy president David Mabuza opened the North West provincial conference held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre.
ANC deputy president David Mabuza opened the North West provincial conference held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre.
Image: Ziphozonke Lushaba

ANC deputy president David Mabuza has warned that if the party doesn't get its house in order it runs the risk of imploding.

Mabuza was delivering the opening remarks at the ANC North West provincial conference in Rustenburg.

He told the more than 1,000 delegates that the level of factionalism and individual leaders' interests have got to a point where they threaten the existence of the party.

An unprecedented number of leaders are vying at the conference for the top position to lead the province.

Among those contesting for the provincial chair position are strongman Supra Mahumapelo, Hlomani Chauke, Kenetswe Mosenogi and Nono Maloyi.

This, according to Mabuza, shows how deep the party has sunk into divisions.

“The ANC has faced challenges before but not the kind of challenges that are so serious to extent that it is even threatening the very own existence of our movement,” Mabuza said.

“Never have our differences of opinion gone beyond our ideological conception of what the character and the soul of the ANC look like. Never have our internal organisational fractures, leadership preferences, tactical differences posed such an existential threat to the life and legacy of such a glorious movement.”

According to Mabuza, the party had become inward looking with a keen focus on positions and forgotten its strategic mission to serve the people of the country.

In his view, ANC leaders are too obsessed with using ANC positions to advance their personal interests.

“We seem to be straying from our revolutionary duty, that of serving our people and that of building a united SA. We are straying towards inward focus caused by factional infighting that is destructive for a movement like the ANC.”

Mabuza said despite the hopes South Africans placed in the ANC for a better life for all, the party continues to disappoint them.

“Despite our organisation's impressive history of selfless struggle for the liberation of our people, the progress that we have registered in improving the lives of our people, everything gets overshadowed by these petty squabbles,” he said.

Among other tendencies that threatened the ANC's existence was the use of money to buy conference votes, Mabuza said.

He concurred with SACP provincial secretary Madoda Sambatha who slammed the “circulation of money” in ANC structures.

Sambatha said: “The extent to which money has commodified each process of the ANC, now comrade deputy president in a BGM [branch general meeting] of the ANC that is quorating, it may not be credited to have quorated if there was no money circulated.”

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