South Africa: the ANC National Conference in 2007 vs. 2012 and the attempts to fight corruption
The
difference between the ANC National Conference in 2007 & 2012
In a recent article by political
commentator Karima Brown in the Sunday
Independent on 5 August, she points out that there are a number of
differences between the dynamics that were in place in the run-up to the
African National Congress’s (ANC) National Conference in Polokwane in 2007,
which saw the ousting of President Thabo Mbeki, and the National Conference
that will be held in Mangaung this December. These differences, according to
Brown, make it likely that President Jacob Zuma’s campaign to remain the
president will be successful.
The key reason according to Brown,
is that ‘[i]n reality, patronage rather than ideology is now the key driver of
internal politics inside today’s ANC’. In the run-up to Polokwane, Brown argues
that ‘it was still possible to discern some ideological coherence’ in relation
to the factions that coalesced around Mbeki and President Zuma. Mbeki had
ushered in ‘a right-leaning policy hegemony on the ANC’, and those opposed to
him included the left-leaning COSATU and the South African Communist Party
(SACP). However, the run-up to Manguang is primarily about access to state
resources for the benefit of particular interest groups irrespective of their
ideological stances. It is for this
reason that the SACP has nailed its colours firmly to President Zuma’s mast
while COSATU is largely split. It also explains why the ANC Youth League’s
efforts to replace President Zuma with Vice-President Kgalema Motlanthe have
left the body adrift with some of its key leaders expelled.
While there are factions within
the ANC who are dissatisfied with President Zuma, Brown points out that those
against him have ‘not consolidated into a coherent faction, and comprises a
swirling, confused and frequently realigning mess, still without an agreed
champion’. Indeed, Motlanthe has not confirmed his desire to campaign for ANC
president in Mangaung. She claims that, unlike the anti-Zuma lobbyists,
Motlanthe is aware that he will need to be certain of a win if he decides to
compete. President Zuma’s power base is such that he continues to muster a sizable
amount of support within the ANC. The recent collapse of the conference of the
powerful Eastern Cape OR Tambo Region highlights how close the split is between
pro- and anti-Zuma supporters. If Motlanthe runs against President Zuma and
doesn’t win he will most certainly lose his position within both the ANC and
the government.
Inability
to act against powerful elites hinders attempts to fight corruption
Concern was expressed this week
when the Business Day reported that
Transnet appeared to have abandoned its ‘ground-breaking civil litigation to
recover R95 million in ‘fruitless and wasteful expenditure’ from Abalozi Risk
Advisory Services — formerly General Nyanda Security Risk Advisory Services. In
2007 this company, which is closely associated with President Zuma’s former
Minister of Communications General Siphiwe Nyanda, was awarded the contract to
provide security to ensure a decrease in copper theft. The contract was
controversial as it was found to have been awarded fraudulently by Siyabonga Gama,
the head of Transnet Freight Rail at the time. He and two other employees were
subsequently fired in June 2010. Gama had halted the competitive tender process
that was in place to ensure that Nyanda’s company received the lucrative
tender. As is often the case with this type of tender fraud, Transnet later
stated that Abalozi had neither the employees nor the skills or resources to
undertake the security work required and had in contravention to the agreement
sub-contracted the work out to other agencies. Transnet alleged that the
required services were never provided and started litigation under the Public
Finance Management Act (PFMA) to recover the money.
Surprisingly,
even though Gama was fired for this incident, the ANC rallied to support him
and he was reinstated to his position in April 2011. The legal case was
withdrawn a week before it was due to start in court with Transnet spokesperson
Mboniso Sigonyela saying, ‘A decision has been taken to allow parties to
complete the discovery process and the exchange of documents.’ As Carol Paton
highlighted in the same newspaper, the state has been unable to use the PFMA to
act against corruption and misappropriation. To date there has not been a
conviction of a politically connected person in terms of this act since its
promulgation in 2000. It is therefore
not surprising that as much as R30 billion is lost due to corruption in SA
government procurement each year.
Speaking
truth to power
Former President of Ireland,
member of ‘the Group of Elders’ and current Commissioner of UN Commission on
Human Rights Mary Robinson was the keynote speaker at the 10th
Annual Mandela Lecture last week in Cape Town. A long-standing friend of South
Africa and an anti-apartheid activist, Robinson stated that she felt slightly
daunted about giving the lecture as she saw her challenge being ‘to speak to
you, South Africans, as your friend. A true friend tells you not only what you
want to hear but what you need to hear.’
She recognised that the ANC had
managed remarkable achievements in its hundred years of existence, ‘from the
defiance campaign, the resistance movement, armed struggle, banishment, to
becoming the governing political party since 1994, leading the way in
transforming the country’. However, she stated, ‘Sadly, though, in recent years
my South African friends tell me the ANC’s moral authority has been eroded,
tainted by allegations of corruption; a temporary betrayal of its history.’
After pointing out the various
paradoxes that characterise South Africa, she ended with the plea, ‘Your
admirable constitution opens with stirring words: “We, the people of South
Africa … believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our
diversity.” As you approach your early twenties – and you are a young democratic
country in that sense – you have a great opportunity to draw on your strengths,
renew that inspirational vision that the world stood in admiration of in 1994,
and continue to build your rainbow nation, block by block.’ Let’s hope that the
ruling elite, as well as all South Africans, were taking notes.
Compiled by the Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division
