NOMUSA DUBE-NCUBE
The increasing reliance on courts instead of the collective wisdom of our membership needs to be strongly discouraged. The ANC has a right to regulate its own internal affairs including deciding when to host conferences.
Without pointing fingers at any comrade, we need to speak out strongly against the judicialisation of politics.
The judicial means of addressing internal political matters is like a wildfire that is leaving a trail of destruction. There are leaders and ordinary cadres of the movement who must be held accountable for this destruction.
The judicialisation of politics is not only affecting the ANC but there are capable comrades who have been destroyed in the process.
It is a matter of public record that as much as the ANC has been attacked in the public media, some of us are also responsible for accelerating the demise of the ANC.
There are many ANC leaders and cadres of the movement who have unashamedly acted in a manner that has opened the organisation to bad publicity.
Foremost among those are the few ambitious and unscrupulous ones who sought to leak internal debates and documents of the ANC and distorted the contents and spirit of confidential party engagements to the media as sources.
Comrades, you have the power to stop this behaviour.
The ANC is a broad-church with different views
I wish to point out that in the ANC, there will always be different views.
I am saying this because there are thousands of members. It is therefore natural to anticipate that there will be many different views on any matter.
These views represent the richness of the movement and as such the movement needs to emphasise the necessity of frank internal debate.
Each member is important, precisely for the unique contribution they bring to the movement and the debate that injects life into the organisation.
Matters need to be discussed thoroughly to allow for the best point of view and the most logical position to emerge as espoused by the majority of participants in that platform or structure.
This position is then adopted as the resolution that has to be accepted by all as the resolution behind which all members have to rally. This then means that the other different minority views are subordinated to this decision since it has been arrived at democratically.
This we refer to as democratic centralism.
Membership of the ANC embodies in it the willingness to subject themselves to this concept of democratic centralism – always utilising existing structures to raise issues wherein all points of view are tolerated during the debate.
We need to discourage members from using inflammatory language, hate speech, name-calling, incitement, or intimidation in meetings and other platforms.
Such behaviour does not only tarnish the image of the ANC but it reduces the confidence members of the public have in the organisation as the leader of society.
It is through our conduct that we will ensure that the ANC remains an undisputed leader of society.
We have taken our eyes off the ball
The reality of the matter is that we have taken our eyes off the ball.
The changing socio-political and economic environment, allowing the ANC, supported by its alliance partners, to control the levers of power and preside over massive resources has created a number of fault lines in the entire alliance.
We are no longer focusing on the real issues of service delivery and improving the lives of the people. Instead, we are consumed by fighting internal political battles, corridor gossip, and jostling for positions.
We have forgotten what is our role as the ANC and the role of each alliance partner.
The alliance was born out of necessity to pursue the National Democratic Revolution. It remains a unique alliance in which each component has a distinct role and character but together have the effect to complement one another rather than compete with one another.
While there is an overlap in membership with the leader of the alliance, the ANC, it is essential that the roles of the components are understood as they define the strength of the Tripartite Alliance.
Focusing on the mobilisation of the working class to create a future socialist state guided by the scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism is the South African Communist Party (SACP).
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is the progressive voice of the workers fighting for the improvement of working conditions while participating as an integral part of the liberation forces.
The ANC is a multi-class organisation that has as its mission being the achievement of unity of all South Africans, black people in general, and Africans in particular.
The purpose of this unity is to effectively mobilise different strata of society and hence lead the alliance in the creation and implementation of the programmes that will further the ideals of our National Democratic Revolution. The NDR represents an agreed programme of transformation of society which all the components of the alliance are committed to.
Much later in the history of our revolution, another component was added in the name of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), to unite civic bodies and take up their struggles and unite their effort in the furtherance of our democracy.
Because they are formed with different objectives in mind and they represent diverse constituencies, it should hardly be surprising that alliance partners display contradictions and will differ on many issues from time to time.
These are however minor contradictions that are possible to reconcile. None of the partners can be replaced by another nor can each partner be wished away.
Each partner has a role to play and the roles cannot be reversed. Our focus should be on how we provide a platform to reconcile and resolve these contradictions.
The differences are minor and manageable; and all partners are united in their commitment to the National Democratic Revolution for which the alliance is the driving force.
The essential feature of the Tripartite Alliance is respect for and recognition of the autonomy and independence of each partner to maintain different membership, structures, and constitution and take decisions to conduct its own programmes that are separate from other partners.
Over the years, strong organisational discipline, the overlap of membership, regular interaction, and participation in joint programmes have assisted to deepen the bond and understanding within the alliance.
Adding to the above was the fact that the leaders of the alliance were men and women of integrity who respected each other and their relationship was characterised by humility.
They always carried themselves as selfless servants of the people not driven by the pursuit of power and wealth. They never saw their membership as a passport to amassing material possession and elevation to positions of personal importance.
What must occupy our minds in this conference is to ask ourselves the question:
How can we collectively as the Tripartite Alliance work jointly to deepen political development among our members to produce cadres of high calibre and integrity?
Such cadres should possess a high theoretical capacity for scientific analysis to give principled leadership, energy to tirelessly work for the development of our people, honour, integrity and a deep love for humanity to be dedicated to improving the conditions of squalor and poverty without falling prey to the trappings of power in their hands.
We need a joint programme for political education and development to achieve this.
The alliance partners must face up to the unintended consequences of the successes of the NDR; that in transforming society, the ANC-led alliance, as the agents of change may similarly undergo changes that may accentuate the contradictions among the alliance partners; by virtue of changing circumstances and aspirations of individual members of our various organisations.
We must correctly analyse this change and its impact on the relationship of alliance partners.
In whatever manner we may gauge the progress in transforming society, defeating poverty remains fundamental.
The majority of our people are poor and the apartheid legacy of rural and peri-urban squalor and apartheid-era human settlements and disease patterns remain visible features of our society.
These must change. We must explore different strategies to eradicate poverty, achieve this change and make our people the centre of the discussion of the Programme of Action of the alliance.
Deployed cadres need to be transparent and accountable and in return, they must receive full support as long as their deployment lasts. Casting aspersions, creation of doubt, and questioning of bona fides without concrete evidence of wrongdoing may result in demoralisation that may defeat the intended purpose for deployment.
Importance of ANC conferences – branches are the final arbiter
Comrades, the conference is one time wherein the power of delegates prevails over any leader of the party. At conferences is where branch delegates are the real boss, described in the constitution of the ANC.
At any given moment, the ANC delegates carry the concerns of our communities.
As leaders elected in conferences by cadres of our movement, we must be seized with the work of eradicating poverty through radical economic transformation, a clear policy of the ANC.
In all that we do, we must make the cadres of our movement and original members of society the centre of our Programme of Action.
As deployed leaders, we must make sure that our structures remain in touch with issues of service delivery and mobilise the masses to continue to participate in the process of transformation.
ANC branches in touch with issues of service delivery
The monitoring of the performance of our deployees and our municipalities has been a challenge.
The ANC led provincial government has on several occasions had to intervene to deal with cases of poor governance, dysfunctional municipal councils and alleged maladministration.
In the past, we have also noted sporadic public protests in some local municipalities. We know that some are as a result of the feeling of neglect where communities have been left behind in development programmes.
Some communities have been encouraged by the negative attitude of some of our deployees; while others have been due to stoking of conflict as part of the contests for deployment as councillors and other positions.
People have been mobilised into mass support for those who seek election into positions. We need to discourage these tendencies as they are both undesirable.
They are very destructive to the ANC.
Comrades, once deployed or elected into office, internal or ideological differences should be placed on the back burner.
All mayors, speakers, chief whips, and councillors need to act in unity in order to fulfil the mandate given to all of us as elected public representatives.
Delegates to this conference, as members of the ANC, have a responsibility to hold the leadership accountable for successfully or failing to advance the agenda of the ANC where they are deployed.
The ANC led government and ANC-led municipalities are expected to be central in championing programmes aimed at ensuring the creation of wealth for indigenous people.
You need to assess the performance of the deployees of the ANC in this conference.
Equally, you are expected to elect leaders who will guide all spheres of the ANC-led government.
ANC cadres’ capacity to analyse utilisation of the Provincial Government Budget to ensure service delivery
Comrades, the ANC-led Provincial Government recently allocated a total of R143.3 billion to provincial government departments.
We have received positive messages from the people of this province, entrepreneurs and captains of industry.
They have supported this budget as they believe that it will promote entrepreneurship, create massive job opportunities and help indigenous people to participate in the mainstream economy.
This budget focuses on ensuring micro-financing of co-operatives and SMMEs in the township and rural areas. This will help ensure radical economic development in its true sense.
You are therefore expected to be closer to such programmes as cadres of the movement.
The ANC government is determined to ensure that we don’t only have a nation of consumers but a nation of manufacturers of products and providers of services.
One of the important tasks of local government during this term of office is lifting millions of people out of grinding poverty. It is becoming abundantly clear that a democracy can only survive if it is founded on a thriving economy.
A thriving economy in a national democratic society requires efficient markets that address the racial and gender exclusions of the apartheid past as well as address the peri-urban squalor and grinding rural poverty.
As ANC cadres, at all levels, we must strengthen the support base among all communities. We must make the organisation of Rev John Langalibalele Dube the party of choice and home for all.
We must work hard to ensure that the ANC remains an organisation of equals!
Amandlaaaaaaaa
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