Is the ANC two parties in one?

Yesterday in response to my call for amnesty for both the president and the ANC president, upon the basis set out therein, I received a couple of responses from readers suggesting that it might be of benefit to the country if the ANC centre and the ANC left formed two separate parties. While I don’t share the same belief I thought it might be interesting to look at this proposition, particularly in light of recent views put forward by the South African Communist Party.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080728151314666C940546

[“The SA Communist Party on Monday poured cold water on government’s plans to embark on a national campaign against poverty, saying the move was not likely to benefit the poor.

“The SACP totally rejects the half-hearted measures adopted by the Cabinet lekgotla in dealing with the dire situation faced by the overwhelming majority of the workers and poor,” the party said in a statement following its recent Politburo (PB) meeting.

Berating the current government’s economic policies as anti-poor, the SACP called on the masses to take to the streets in protest against President Thabo Mbeki’s “pro-capitalist” policies.”] IOL

As we are all aware the SACP is an alliance partner of the ANC along with Cosatu. In accordance with the article above, the Communist Party rejects the policies of the president and calls on its members to intensify the struggle against what they term ‘neo-liberal policies’ of the government. It then confirms its stance against Finance Minister Trevor Manuel whose policies they believe are an arrogant rejection of those put forward by Cosatu. Similarly they reiterate their loyalty to ANC president Jacob Zuma whose trial they believe is the first post-apartheid, political trial.

This being the latest confirmation, if you needed any, that there are two distinct factions within the ANC. That does not, however, necessarily mean that a clearly demarcated split can be found between centre and left.

Jacob Zuma, while certainly owing an enormous debt of gratitude to the SACP, ANCYL and COSATU for bringing him back from the political cemetery, can hardly be classified as your typical left-wing politician. If anything, prior to his fall from grace and perhaps part of the reason therefore, was because of his involvement in transactions best described as capitalistic in nature. Moreover, members of the SACP itself at Polokwane conceded that capitalism is the world’s favoured system but in terms of South Africa, needs to be tempered by a strong social element.

Thabo Mbeki on the other hand has, for the majority of his presidency, achieved sustained growth and resisted the urge to play to the crowd when it comes to financial policies. He along with Trevor Manuel have overseen a stable economy and in this regard their achievements need to be recognised. Nobody can deny that sustained transformation has taken place under Mbeki, the details of which we heard at length during the conference at Polokwane. It was the pace of transformation that was called into question.

While JZ has been making it his business to win over the corporates, the president has been putting together a series of proposals on how to tackle poverty. In essence both recognise the need to deal with poverty while recognising the part that a healthy corporate sector will play in that. It’s in the alliance partners and the left wing of the party that we are seeing a greater urgency to get this much needed boost for transformation underway.

Transformation has to be speeded up; that is beyond question. This, however, must factor in sound financial policies as well as recognising that certain political policies, primarily Zimbabwe, will play a major role in achieving that. In addition, it won’t help South Africa’s poor if the country destroys its infrastructure playing Santa just as it won’t help them if business doesn’t recognise it’s obligations in assisting transformation.

Accordingly, in terms of the ANC, which will unquestionably be the next government of South Africa, it is imperative that the centrist policies of financial prudence temper the labour- and masses-orientated ones which, as a result of being the controlling faction, will accelerate transformation. Split up, the swings, at this stage anyway, might be too manic in the case of the left and too elitist in the case of the centre, with attendant unrest.

While I have to concede that the ANC at times does act as if it is two separate parties, these factions will hopefully be defused post-elections, leaving in their stead a political diversity which may well become not only a source of strength, but also a means of achieving balance.

The only alternative I can foresee is that the factions continue and it starts to get really ugly.