By: Khaye Nkwanyana.
A reply to a letter from Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso.
Revolutionary greetings to you, my leader.
I must admit that your recent letter to me caught me by surprise. Happily, both of us have had a sustained and yet interesting telephonic debates for some time now, especially during the toughest of times at the back of what was the ravaging scourge of Covid-19, and its attendant lockdown. In hindsight, maybe we did this as some form of our own catharsis. Innocuous as it has been, our exchanges have always pivoted on the most critical matters about the path, direction, fluidity and the revolutionary tempo with which the progressive forces –wielding the political power through government (ourselves included) – are prosecuting this national democratic revolution.
To the extent that you have reduced your method of engaging, into a letter albeit open, I am soaked in the hodgepodge of gusto and ebullience!
I say this because – to you I am no match – you belong to that generation of Party leaders that were part of the rebuilding of the Party in the 90s and early 2000s whilst some of us were still wet behind ears. At the same time, you were playing a critical role in the ANC and its government, as its public representative in Limpopo.
In your letter, you are raising so many critical questions, which are strategic and tactical in nature. I am sorry that I offer no solutions than adding to your burden through my own lamentation. From my own lenses, I can discern your frustration and dejection that is running through the paragraphs of your letter. I have no doubt that this is a concern mostly shared by many genuine comrades.
There is no doubt that we are actually in unchartered waters. Unfortunately an outlandish political mob culture has been allowed to fester, for some time in the alliance as a whole, whereby those who dare to venture into constructive criticism and throwing caution to the wind, get verbally attacked, isolated, labeled along factional lines or at worst, sent to the museum of antiquity. The consequences of this culture has given birth to another one, which is, a culture of self-preservation amongst the most advanced cadres, out of the mob fear. Regrettably, the empire is naked within the progressive forces. Critical mass of cerebral and ethical cadres well suited to speak out and reverse this state of flux, are on a retreat out of fear for unassailable lampoons.
Gone are the days where we regarded our ANC led alliance, as indissoluble and preordained to rule until Jesus come. The evolving alternative facts are strikingly pointing us to the contrary; unless we magically thwart the current manner of proceeding; I mean the trajectory that is underway, and win back the trust of our people so to be a true leader of society – sadly the penny will inevitable drop. The original aesthetic of our movement must be returned through a real renewal project. For it to succeed, the renewal process must be an authentic project whose unfolding must leave many causalities lying on the ground, in whatever form it takes, in steamrolling it. There should be no holy cow.
We must accept that, more than anything, the golden goose in the state has been the biggest source of ANC problems. The scale with which swindling of public coffers has, over a period of time, attracted un-ANC elements to creep in, and rose through its ranks and that of government to achieve this outcome, is unparalleled. The paralysis we see in many municipalities across the country are a consequence of this phenomena.
The corruption cancer has became too endemic as to entice even those cadres who were regarded as morally upright, to also stampede for the largesse. In that context, at various levels, we have essentially been putting foxes in the henhouse and have shown little temerity to harshly deal with these elements, upon finding. This inaction remains our quandary; masses are fast losing hope. The masses of our people sees leadership as copped out and at best, nonchalant, in the face of many disturbing deviations and immoral revelations in our watch. Law enforcement agencies are by no means helping either, their tortoise velocity with which they are traveling is not boosting the public confidence.
And so, the political and organizational challenges that we face today are related to the insatiable quest for self-enrichment of the factions. The demon of factionalism, manipulation of organizational processes in branch electoral meetings, the compromised nomination processes towards regional and provincial conferences; the intensity of nominations of candidates for ward councilors and assassinations arising thereto, are linked to the designed schemes of ascendency for particular comrades so that they unlock opportunities to access resources for the core. The power brokers behind those comrades put forward as bait, always have bigger plans, and are merciless against those standing on their grand plans. It is by no accident that the weakest amongst us, are always the preferred for elections so that they can thereafter be manipulated and blackmailed to deliver to the power base, the brokers.
Revolutionary Inertia
Revolutionary speaking, are we still in a revolution (NDR), or we are now in a mere liberal democratic setup that is an end in itself? Are our eyes still fixated to the goals, which we set for ourselves from that broad long-range framework we entered with in 1994?
My submission is that we have disembarked the higher pedestal of our earlier determination to a lower rung. The moral high ground we once had as an unquestionable legitimacy has waned. It may very well be that, in the ebbs and flows of our cause, the tactical detours have supplanted strategic focuses, the consequence of which is our current pivot to inertia without breaking new revolutionary grounds. If this were to be true, that is an act of voluntarism.
Timidity to break new grounds may also relate to fears to stoke fires with global markets and rating agencies’ downgrades and other scarecrow bourgeois western institutions. Someone may as well ask – if, are we not in a position where we are cagelocked by these externalities to a point where we cannot advance in strategic areas in achieving our strategic objectives, as a developmental society through a developmental state?
The 1997 Mafikeng ANC Strategy and Tactics made this interesting observation:
“We have only started along a long road towards justice and true equity. The new constitutional order and the government based on the will of the people express both the immediate and long-term interests of the overwhelming majority of South Africans. They accord with the world trend towards democratic, open and accountable government. But the balance of forces both within South Africa and internationally is such that these interests can be subverted by capitalism’s rapacious license. In this sense therefore, the basic framework of our democratic achievement in South Africa is irreversible: but it can be derailed, leaving us with a shell of political rights without real social content.”
Shared perspective on transition
Comrade Piitso, in your letter, you have raised an important observation and a question:
“The sorry state of affairs within the ranks of our movement and difficult socio-economic conditions facing our people bear testimony. Our revolution is going through a litmus test…
…..The question we must ask ourselves is whether we are on the same page, whether we appreciate the significance of this great civilization in our hands. Whether we appreciate its necessity to contribute towards the revolutionary task of the development of human society”
It could well be possible that, far from the conjuctural inhibitions that are superimposed from without, so that the transition is a watered down than the one that proceed more radically – that in fact – the source of the problem arises from within. That the covenant that has always informed our shared perspective since 1994 with regard to the strategic questions that the revolution must bring about, are no more as collectively shared. I mean others may have arrived to the biblical promise land, whilst the rest us are still trudging in the middle of the red sea. And so, for those who have arrived, with all the influence at their disposal, the task is no more about breaking new grounds to a higher plane in the interest of the primary motive forces. But instead, their task is to manage what is already achieved and that which crops up, so long as it does not tamper with the existing social formation.
The majority of our people are still gazing through the long vistas with sights firmly fixed in the horizon where the sun rises – to rise.
More often on key issues, the progressive forces comes across as off-balance, like a pliable tree that is the subject of the blowing winds, in whatever direction. We vacillate and recoil at the slightest of being threatened. The land question is just but one where we are fudging ourselves without any coherent provision of leadership. Issues around expansion of SARB mandate beyond narrow focus on inflation targeting is at the back banner. We are currently beset by issues of managing our neighbouring citizens and the rise of anti-foreign sentiment. Restatement of ANC policies and nuances which finds expression in DIRCO is not coming out strongly from the ANC to provide leadership. There are just many other areas can be pointed out where we are lukewarm.
What are the core items that are our non-negotiables as SA? What is our storyline?
It is troubling that the demographic and gender dividends of economic ownership, which is a historical basis upon which colonialism of a special type was premised, remains as acutely skewed as almost it was, in the pre-1994 era. The economic ownership patterns are sharply not in sync and embarrassing for an African country.
This is an almost 30 year’s economic injustice. We elevated carrot than a stick in our approaches to economic transformation. Our state instrument of economic leveler – the B-BBEE – is under severe attack by big corporates and white opposition parties. Large enterprises are not complying and there is no scotch-earth punishments. The current mechanism wielded by the B-BBEE Commission is not working. If anything, the commission is understaffed and underfunded for these massive efforts, relying on consultants.
Renewal of the Tripartite Alliance
Again comrade Piitso, I need to wholeheartedly agree with your assertion when you are saying, “The correct theoretical premise is that we cannot achieve this important task of the unity and renewal of the ANC, if we cannot at the same time, renew the other alliance partners. This is the only way to follow, if we are indeed serious about rejuvenating our national democratic revolution.
We need the renewal of the ANC, SACP, COSATU, SANCO and the mass democratic movement in order to confront the challenges facing us. The question is whether our democratic formations have the capacity to renew themselves”
There is a deep-seated ecology between alliance formations. This inextricable bond with members and leaders found on all sides signifies the reality that none of the alliance components can lay claim to be hermetically sealed from the rot that is infesting the other. The only credible argument can only be the scale with which it manifest, compared to others. We have seen how COSATU has dwindled from that organic force it once was, before the split.
You correctly lamented the decline of the prominence, that once was, of the industrial unions in favour of the public sector unions. Part of COSATU renewal must be about facilitation of unity talks with SAFTU unions and proceed to reintroduce the old discussion of “one country, one federation” through engagement with FEDUSA and NACTU.
The Party is fresh from its Congress with the relatively middle-age Secretariat collective, and generational mix, expected to revive its energy as a campaigning Party of the working class. The jury is out there in seeing it building functional branches and districts that takes up localized campaigns as part of class agitation. There is a renewed optimism in going back to the organizational strength and influence of the early 2000s. The effectiveness of Red October campaigns as a launch-pad for engaging with systemic matters of the working class; the “know your neighbourhood campaigns” and new contemporary struggles thrown up by a changed 21st century class challenges, will be judged by working class response these engagements. Of importance, is building a Party of influence that occupies moral high ground.
The Party need to deal with what has been all along tolerable, especially in provinces, of leaders who have overstayed their welcome, and install themselves over years as some spiritual leaders of the Party and their views are treated as catechism. Holding an opposing view results in suspension and removal from provincial executive committee, in favour of the weak and tabular rasa. These rogue elements are antiintellectualism and thrive on Party that is in a whirlpool. Their time is up.
A lot of work around SANCO especially in the context where civil society movements are emerging as strong non-state actors, and even against government and its agenda.
I am not convinced if SANCO can still catch the pace. Apart from reactionary civil society groups like Afriforum, Freedom Under Law and others of similar kind, there is a mushrooming of township based in addition to Abahlali Base Mjondolo Movements, these are Soweto Parliament, Operation Dudula and few other localized civic movements. In this regard, SANCO has to confront the already shifted sands.
The renewal project must also mean being intentional, not only about organizational resuscitations and attracting those who are consummate, possessing some modicum of probity. We must disabuse ourselves of the riff-raff elements within our ranks and incubate the new intelligentsia and ideologues in all our allies. We need thinkers; we need strategists and tacticians, and scenario planners. Therefore, this should be a tortuous and elaborate undertaking, the consequences of which would be an agile, professional and determined alliance, earning legitimately its entitlement as a leader of society.
As I said earlier, the renewal project will have to be unflinching and must leave many causalities, if it is to be genuine. It presupposes that for those in its forefront must be the most untainted and evincing the attributes of the congress movement that once was, the Party and COSATU. We are indeed in that moment, the Kairos moment.
As the Mafikeng Strategy and Tactics asserted, that the basic framework of our democratic achievement in South Africa is irreversible: but it can be derailed, leaving us with a shell of political rights without real social content. We are not there yet, but these problems transcending governance are a harbinger of driving us towards that direction, and that direction is electorally punishable!
Failure to attend to these existential problems will not only result in our fatalistic drop below 50% electorally, but organizationally, our demise will be well-nigh.
I am sorry to pose more questions than any effort to untangle these complex matters you posed. I am looking forward to the next instalment of the series of future letters!
*Khaye Nkwanyana is an ANC and SACP Activists and a Board member of the Harry Gwala Foundation.
