ANC is a battleground - former KZN premier

The ANC's revolutionary morality has crumbled and corruption has become "a culture at all government levels", says Senzo Mchunu.

Durban - The ANC's revolutionary morality has crumbled and corruption has become "a culture at all government levels".

And organisational and administrative systems in the ANC have "become a battleground for factions to outsmart one another with fraud and manipulation in the desperate clamour for positions and power".

This is according to former KwaZulu-Natal premier and ANC chairman, Senzo Mchunu, writing in the City Press in the wake of the ruling party's performance in the recent municipal elections.

In an interview with the Daily News, Mchunu said the critique was merely his view, and he was not expecting any backlash.

"I wanted to state my opinion as an ANC member," Mchunu said. "No, no, it's my freedom of speech. I was exercising my freedom of speech."

Mchunu, however, said nobody had yet raised concern about him expressing himself outside party structures, and referred the Daily News to pieces written by other ANC members.

Interestingly, Mchunu's opinion piece appeared the same day his successor, Sihle Zikalala, addressed the party's provincial lekgotla in Okhahlamba, where he also reflected on the ANC's election performance, and how the party should chart the way forward.

This took place against the weekend coverage of a speech delivered by ANC Gauteng chairman, Paul Mashatile, which frankly assessed the electoral performance.

Mchunu added that: "Worst of all, internal organisational and administrative systems, which had been democratic, have become a battleground for factions to outsmart one another with fraud and manipulation in the desperate clamour for positions and power."

He described the ANC, which he had served in different capacities until ousted as provincial leader last December, as having two camps.

"One is thriving on corruption, arrogance, corrosion of values of the organisation and its traditions, internal fraud and manipulation of all systems.

"It subscribes to personalities who, in turn, provide protection', and allow the rot to take root. It seeks to control the organisation through an internal network from the top to the branch."

He also said the other camp sought to restore organisational values, traditions and practices.

"They are concerned about leadership characterised by scandals and manipulation within the organisation, and in government, to favour friends and family," he said.

Mchunu warned that further decline was inevitable, unless far-reaching interventions were made soon.

"We need to look one another in the eye and tell the truth - that there is indeed a big elephant in the room.

"All comrades, activists, party structures and the whole ANC family should discuss and debate the current crisis, regardless of the prevailing lack of gravity and spark in the current national executive committee."

Mchunu also warned against an early conference, saying major papers should instead be commissioned on a new course and trajectory for the ANC.

In his speech to the lekgotla, Zikalala said while the ANC had emerged victorious from the polls in KZN, it could not shield itself from the "bruising" results experienced, especially in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay metros.

"The inability of the ANC to retain its majority in these strategic cities remains a blow to the movement, and poses a threat to derail our revolution," he said.

Zikalala, however, noted that some comrades engaged in public spats, accusing others of the poor performance.

"The objective reality as such, indicated that people resolved not to go and vote for the ANC in these areas because of subjective factors, which include the conduct of the leadership, weak organisational structures, arrogance of leadership, patronage and corruption."

He called on individual ANC members to do self-introspection on what could have been their contribution, saying "it is easy to blame others and exonerate yourself".

Zikalala also said the municipal elections had taught the ANC lessons for the future.

"This question of unity is particularly important as we proceed to both 2017 and 2019."

He called on the ANC to address challenges such as the entrenched, permanent factions, purging, non-acceptance of elected leadership and decay of organisational structures.

Daily News