Monday’s Sowetan is reporting that Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale was chased out of a meeting by angry members of the ANC in the Waterberg region on Saturday.
Allegedly the basis for his being there was to convey a decision taken by the provincial working committee on Tuesday that the Waterberg region should be disbanded for “failing to provide political leadership”.
Interestingly, at Tuesday evening’s meeting ANCYL president Julius Malema was also present.
Members of the region said their “unruly behaviour” was as a result of a refusal to allow questions about the decision to disband the regional structure. They claim that because the meeting to announce the decision was disbanded the region is still operational.
Mathale told members that he would convene a proper regional general council meeting, assumedly for that purpose.
An ANC leader in the region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Sowetan the decision to disband the regional structure was taken because “members differed with Mathale’s supporters”. He added the plan by Mathale and his supporters was to ensure that the region went to next year’s local government elections led by a task team favourable to them so that they could appoint mayors and councillors who were in their good books.
Unacceptable
As in the case of the ANCYL evicting opponents of Malema from their conference in Limpopo, the decision taken by Mathale and the provincial working committee is not only undemocratic, it’s also very dangerous.
If the region is being disbanded because it comprises those who oppose Mathale then, as in the case of the ANCYL, the party is allowing certain elements to contrive results by closing down legitimate avenues of dissent.
Instead of achieving their desired goal of engineering the hierarchy they want within the province or beyond, what they are doing is opening up a pandora’s box of “alternative measures” as the only means by which opponents can express their resistance to these unilateral decisions.
For example, a large bloc of the Mbeki faction feared for their future in the ANC and chose to go it alone as Cope. That was a legitimate expression of discontentment with the party.
In the case of the ANCYL members denied a proper conference in the Limpopo — who were then disciplined for trying to reconvene the same — what are their legitimate options?
In the case of the ANC members of the Waterberg region who oppose Mathale, what are their options? Why must their region be closed down?
If every time the powers that be throw people out of conferences or close down regions because they don’t agree with the candidate chosen by the members, then the party is inviting breakaway parties and mutiny.
When the ANC then suggest using legitimate channels, the disaffected ANCYL members can point to being disciplined for trying that in Limpopo and the Waterberg region can claim that they were closed down as a result.
How can it ever be in the interests of the party for healthy debate to be replaced by political engineering?
It can only create massive dissension and resentment on the ground.
Threat to democracy
The question is then what direction will that take in light of the fact that normal channels have been closed to those who disagree.
Once leadership is then so far removed from the grassroots — as to represent a small minority of the party — what will they then do to cling to power? That’s when the question of democracy in South Africa will come under threat.
Limpopo needs to be told the direction they are taking is unacceptable and neither in the interests of the party nor the country.
Traps – I see this as the general political direction in which the ANC is heading. Systematically the democratic process is being undermined in each region. I foresee dark times ahead unless this issue is addressed.
My main concern however is that the ANC leadership is totally aware of this and condone it through their inaction in remedying the situation.
The collective result of all the ANC’s actions is a mad scramble to hang onto power as their organisation loses cohesion and sight of what they were elected to do….provide good governance to all citizens of South Africa (even if they didnt vote ANC). The ANC will lose power because they are the last relic of a segregated society, with that entrenched mindset. They can’t govern RSA successfully because they only know how to fight against an ‘enemy’.
Politics is the struggle for Power.Power to dominate and and control. To dominate and rule the space.All opposition should be crushed by massive coercive Powers to maintain the status quo. All changes should be brought by the Powerful. Those in Command.Democracy remains a most talked about subject,however in reality it becomes the most oppressed and hated subject. Mr Mathale and Mr Malema are no exclusion to this furore. Gentlemans, your days are numbered. You will never silence the masses.
We all should have realised, when a party-loyal instead of a justice-loyal chief judge was “installed”, that the new ANC has no interest in democracy or justice and is busy doing away with it as fast as they can. They are even less interested in the opinions of their voters and only interested in gathering and retaining as much power and tax money as they can.
The only interest I therefore have in this ..eh fracas is: what is it going to cost us, the taxpayer, and which of our rights have we now lost? It is rather amazing that after all that has happened, people still act outraged at anything the ANC does.
What do you expect, they learnt from their northern neighbours about demcracy.we have a dangerous breed and for the first time i am afraid
This is yet another step toward the Zanufication of the ANC
The turning point in South African politics may well come through ordinary members of the ANC realising that the rulers of the ANC (and hence of the country) are self-serving tyrants rather than authentic representatives of the electorate. It will take a groundswell of resistance to oppression by the ANC elite to make voters withhold support at the polls, and then only will the ANC’s grip on power be loosened. My concern is that we will then see (or possibly NOT see) increased vote rigging and intimidation of the illiterate to ensure ANC election victories. Now more than ever South Africa needs independent election observers; we cannot depend on the IEC; the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment is too insidious.
This is precisely one of the reasons the current ANC leadership will not get my vote. Too much political engineering and too many smear campains to keep corrupt, disruptive, unproductive, self serving, pocket lining, tenderpreneur leaders in power…. all whilst smiling, dancing, sprouting sugar coated words and pretending to be genuinely concerned about the plight of the poor and the well being of our country! The disciplined, constructive, hard working, intelligent, balanced ANC of the past is no more – what a tragedy. We can change this of course – question is, will we? It’s painful putting that cross next to another party, but if we want a positive change of leadership without violence and destruction, this is the only way to do it…. unfortunately and sadly.
South Africa is a one party state and the methods being used by the ANCYL, and approved by the ANC itself, illustrate that fact.
The only way to stay in power is to dis-empower the opposition and, as is the case in the Western Cape, threaten regional local ruling party with violence. Democracy? What democracy? It started to die 10 years ago. As is the case in so many “Democratic republics” in Africa, they exist in name only.
Democracy in SA is terminally ill – it is dying and its days are very much numbered. The ANC is showing the character traits of its other African Brothers who destroyed their lands. Its all about power and greed, the ANC and its legions have no regard for the people of this land whatsoever
Freedom stopped referring to a share of the social power among the citizens. It now represents the guarantees accorded by institutions to private enjoyment. Political parties, ethnic identities, race, sovereigns, have become institutions that guarrantee private, individual interests.
While society has managed to free itself from constraints of time and space, sources of political representation, politics is doing its best to inclave the globe into artificial pieces, and is dividing people its small pieces, locking people into intellectual prison to ensure that a politicians language is the only one understood.
The media ensures this.
People will be free as soon as the enclaves are eliminated. But politicians are using the same telecommunications inventions of man to free himself, but to drag him back into chains by using embedded media.
It is not prudent to put the blame on the confused illiterate whoc believe that their individual interests lie in individual leaders.
Intellectuals must stop blaming the intellectual slaves who believe that they owe their existence to individual politicians and parties. They must stop ridiculing this practice becuase ridicule is not substitute for educating the multitudes of the people.
There is no quick and easy solution to this but a long and arduous rode, because politics is not going to yield its victims to reality.
Perhaps the starting point is educating the politicians themselves and remembering that these are poor illeterate people, joined by the rogue intellectual elements, who know only on thing, that politics means power to enrich oneself and those who help you to get there.
Telling these people that there is only one world and one people struggling to find themselves against political divide, will be like telling them a fairy tale.
Their view is narrow just like that of apartheid which they pretend to dislike, but which they perpetuate
We all keep talking of democracy crumbling yet what of Zambia. They went through the dictatorship but now are a functioning democracy.
Does it not take at least 1 generation for people to get over colonial rule and to adopt modern methods of governance?
Are we not expecting too much too soon?
However, why should we have to go backwards.
Rose Morrow, that is why I say the ANC must be voted out, they are no good for the future of this country, they are NOT a Political Party, by their own admission they are revolutionary movement, they have not realised their so called revolution ended in 1994 and they spend their time and energy fighting each other instead of governing the country and that is their MANDATE.
So I say OUT with them, enough is enough.
Tony A how false is your perception of democracy??? i hope you realise that you cannot let the perception that a few individuals in one political party stand as a generalisation of the truth of ALL of the interests and values of what is a big body of people. The problem with most South Africans is that they keep overstating a problem and forming all basis of opinions on that one area. These personal attacks should be directed at the individual, instead they are skillfully used to promote fear and sabatoge a body of ideas and beliefs that are seperate from the man. The truth is there is more good then there is bad to the ANC,the glaring problems which we all can spot need to be removed for the further continuation of what is a good,revolutionary organisation that we are grateful to for helping change a nation filled with racial hate of africans.Despite the fact that you are in africa!to be ruled by africans is a reality some people hate. As a result they cling to white interest political parties with the benefit of a few in mind.We are grateful for the liberation to all that the ANC continues to promote in this country -Amandla!Awethu! – peace
tony A – we shall have to see what the people decide come voting day. Hopefully all will vote with their heads and not their hearts.
Reading your biased orchestrated opinion about state of affairs within the ANC and Tripartite alliance in general, your uncritical targeted readership may be tempted to quickly believe that your irrational yet quick finger against certain individuals represent ultimate judgement against existing or peceived monsters in the ANC determined to block normal democratic processes, yet as in the Vavi’s and Nzimande “tenderpreneurship” story’s stories, you never get interested to establish the other side of the story for a simply reason that you have already delivered a verdict you will never want to contradict, a tendency which undermines the fundementals of democracy you all puport to master – whats wrong with you Trampido Katrina?
Lindi, because you assume I am white you are saying I am not an African.This is where the problem starts, with people like you and in fact the ANC.
Rose, the people that vote with feet are unfortunately easily swayed by a few false promisses and that pattern may continue.And this is called democracy.
To Lindi, it seems that you see and know the truth but you simply choose to ignore it . You are like somebody who has the abused women syndrome, “He beats me up , but he is still a nice guy”
Obzino Latino – Geepers! Your rather long comment is all in one sentence! Amazing!