I was in the conference (I saw it live), the poor guy’s first attempt was to make the ANC National Conference a Summit of Provinces. How do you explain that +3,600 delegates from Branchs were supposed to be dictated by “super-comrades” from the provinces in what-ever motion coming from the floor to be asserted within the Conference. This is the very same guy who thought that only Limpopo and E. Cape were the provinces within the Conference. Thought to be strategic????, when their National Leadership position was challenged by the foor, he give FOUR (4) “so called Provincial Mandated Delegates” from Limpopo 2 and E. Cape 2 to endorse the conference rules. This was dispite the fact that, there was a counter motion from ANCYL and supported by another “so called mandated provincial delegate” from KZN. It is then that the whole thing got out of his control, surfice to say that Motlante a TRUE ANC LEAD (not a Factionalist Cabal Kingpin) saved his day.

If this nonsensical act is a construct by the “leaders” at the national level of the ANC (Chairperson in particular), how do you expect the delegates to hold their horses. You will be naive enough to believe that, whilst someone that is well-known for his knowledge of ANC procedures fumbles that way and expect thing to be “normal as ever”. Lekota spoiled the 1st Day of the ANC 52nd National Conference and the video footage of that is a living evidence.

But funny enough, the so called model democrates, people of the “high moral esteem” are at the delegates throats as if they were the pepetrators of the whole “most undisciplined showing by an ANC conference” ever. I’m not suprised though, because it is the very same delegates who are believed to be uneducated, headless and backward bunch that has been blinded by a Zuma “magic”. Ignorant minds never sieze to amaze, there’s a say that “The more they build-up their wall fences, the more their eyes are fixed to the clouds. To an extent that they believe they are flying in the sky and worse part, they believe its only by themselves although they never built the walls themselves. This is because with the amount of wealth that the systems fixes to their wallets, they have servants everywhere.”

I may be bloging this late, BUT I CANNOT HELP IT; this was a 100% INPUT. LET THE MOB RULE and the rich and the elite will know that people owe them NOTHING, instead the onus is upon them to join the “PEOPLE” and lobby for a construct of a better society (not a better performing profit at the expense of fellow human being, even if they are BLACK).

LONG LIVE TO THIS MOST REASONING MOB, LONG LIVE. If its a mob that could not harm a fly within a period of 120 Hours (except that it will frustrate an “exceptionally intellegent” grouping of self-centred morons who think they are the “untouchebles”). A progressive and a democratic world realy needs this kind of a mob (not the ARMS DEAL GODFATHERS).

To add to Prof. Friedman’s point, credit should be given to ‘Zuma camp’ and ‘Mbheki camp’ for not resorting to any violence when expressing their different views. I am 120% proud of you guys. I wish you could realise that the next step is for you to unite and collaborate in making South Africa country for all.

1. Democratic process doesn’t necessarily ensure the survival of democracy.
2. You have to be ill-informed to vote for Jacob Zuma.
3. Zuma’s supporters think, erroneously, that socialism is a fix to South Africa’s problems.
4. There was, at times, bureaucratic chaos in Polokwane, engineered by Zuma’s supporters.
5. We only have elections once every 5 years.
6. Zuma and his cronies on the left will bring corruption, mismanagement and inflation.

and also that…

7. What happened in Polokwane was democratic.
8. In some respects Mbeki took the economy too far to the right, and there is indeed an urgent need for redistribution.

Anthony and Bheka Mkhize, how the hell do you come to the conclusion, then, from that, that I’m “racist”? Where have I said, or even implied, that any of this has ANYTHING to do with race? I guess it’s easier to simply throw around terms of abuse than actually engage in debate.

Vuyo also managed to conclude that I was “gullible and ignorant” because I ignored the fact that Mbeki’s supporters were being just as disruptive as JZ’s. But the point I was making, Vuyo, wasn’t that Mbeki’s supporters weren;t disruptive, or indeed that Zuma’s supporters were especially disruptive. I actually have no problem with ‘disruptive’ per se. A bit of booing and jeering and laughing is always welcome in politics. What I said was that Zuma’s supporters, and in particular the ANCYL, went about creating a lot of the BUREAUCRATIC chaos. An obvious example was the laboured deliberation over voting processes. I think that this is a sign of things to come. You might not agree. I’m not sure how media coverage has anything to do with it.

There are obviously quite a few people who feel that any advantage we gain from robust democracy in the ANC is outweighed by the fact that a man they do not trust won the ANC election. I think that the fact that ANC delegates have signalled to their leaders that they are not in office for as long as they want to be and that they can be voted out is far more important than who they elected. What kind of president of either the ANC or the country Zuma would make is to me unclear. But, even if he is not who we need, I think that the fact that leadership has changed in a free vote outweighs doubts about Zuma the man. I have become convinced that even well-meaning and very competent leadership groups begin to become disasters if they stay around too long. I think there probably is nothing more certain to decay politics than this and so I think that uncertainty or seeing someone elected who is not ideal is a price worth paying for changing those in power.
As for those who still see the majority of delegates here at Polokwane as an unruly mob, I invite you to think about a situation in which ‘the mob’ has been in charge for five days but no-one has been hurt and no-one has been prevented from speaking their mind. I wish all mobs were like this.

Steven Friedman