My f*ck, ANC!

A few years ago, a clip on social media started to go viral. It was about a young woman called Marelize who was learning to ride a bicycle. She was cycling quite well on the rugby ground where she was practicing until she suddenly changed course and without any obvious reason, drove straight into the goal posts. Her mother who was filming her can be heard exclaiming in shock: “My f*k Marelize!” 

Some days, when it comes to the stupid things political parties do, I also want to use the words of Marelize’s mum out of exasperation.

This past weekend was such an occasion. 

On Sunday, the ANC’s candidate lists for parliament were leaked by someone working at the Independent Electoral commission (IEC). The ANC was furious and insisted on an investigation by the IEC, who promptly apologised. I’m not 100% sure why the incredible outrage since the lists were made public the next day, but it provided a welcome distraction for the ANC from the real media story -  the names on the lists.

Despite promising that they would not include ANC members who have been implicated in state capture and corruption, a number of these dubious characters made it back onto ANC lists in positions high enough to be guaranteed a seat.  

Why, oh why is it so difficult for the ANC to once and for all get rid of these characters? 

Opinion polls tell us that people no longer trust politicians - especially those from the governing party. According to a report by the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation in December 2023, trust in leadership has plummeted to an all-time low. Up to 80% of South Africans believe that political leaders are untrustworthy, and corruption persists without any real will among leaders to restrain or curb it. 

I do believe that Cyril Ramaphosa wants and has always wanted to fight corruption in the country and his party. In 2013, when I returned to South Africa after 12 years in Ireland, I was shocked by the state of the governing party. Former colleagues would point out many who had allegedly been involved in corruption, but did so only in whispers. For fear of their lives and futures, they dared not speak out.

With Cyril Ramaphosa’s victory at the ANC Nasrec Conference in 2017 things started to change and it quickly became apparent that there was a new sheriff in town. Honest and hardworking ANC members were buoyant and hopeful that the crooks would finally be exposed and removed. Many were exposed, but getting rid of them seemed to be a different story.

With the 2019 elections the then general-secretary of the ANC, Ace Magashule, still had control over the ANC lists. He ensured that many of the Zuma-ites who would later be implicated in the Zondo Report on State Capture, made it into parliament, where many remain to this day 

In August 2020 Ramaphosa sent shock waves through the ANC when he wrote an  open letter to the party members about corruption amongst its ranks.  Not only was the letter brutally honest – it was also released to the public. This was unprecedented in an organisation which insists on dealing with issues “within the family”. Many worried that Ramaphosa wouldn’t survive. 

He did. Of course, there are still questions around how about R10 million ended up in the couch on his game farm, but for the courageous steps he took to try and combat corruption in the ANC, he should be congratulated. 

Now it seems that at this last, very important hurdle the ANC and Ramaphosa are falling again.

How can we expect voters to trust that the ANC is -  and will behave differently when so many of those who have been accused of wrong-doing are on their way back to parliament? 

I understand that the ANC’s selection process is democratic and “bottom-up”. I also understand that they can’t always control whom the branches put forward or vote for. However, the ANC Constitution gives the leadership the power to remove names from parliamentary lists if they are not suitable. So why wasn’t it done?

We deserve to know the truth. 

Of course, the ANC is not the only party that has people with troublesome histories on their lists, but as the governing party there is surely a higher moral claim on them to - at a minimum - put people of impeccable character on their lists, especially since so many of the economic and social challenges that we experience today, were caused by corrupt people who were either part of the ANC in government or linked to them. 

Political leadership matters. Not only is it important that the top leader is morally sound, it should also be true of everyone that represents the party on tax payers’ money. 

As a country, we deserve good leaders and if the ANC wants South Africans to keep voting for them, they will have to do better.