"Ungovernable" and democracy. Can the two co-exist?

The ANC identified as one of its weaknesses the emergence of “…a new type of ANC leader and member who sees ill-discipline, divisions and factionalism and in-fighting as normal practices and necessary forms of political survival…” Indeed, one of the greatest challenges that the movement faces is the question of ill-discipline.

Some would suggest that it is a new phenomenon in the ANC. Others would point to the Polokwane Conference and remind us of how delegates showed disrespect to the leadership at the time whilst the future leaders sat idly and allowed for the ill-discipline to continue. This ill-discipline was in the favour of the post-Polokwane leadership and therefore they did nothing to quell the unruly behaviour. Needless to mention, that that same ill-discipline has come back to bite the current leadership in its weak spots.

Yet this blog has suggested that this ill-discipline set in even earlier. When writing on Frank Chikane’s Eight Days in September it pointed to an incident in the NEC meeting of March 2002 which indicated this high level of ill-discipline. Comrade Mandela, in his ex-offcio capacity, attended the NEC meeting of the ANC and challenged the leadership collective on their stance on, what was then termed, HIV-AIDS denialism. Comrade Mandela, it is said, was ridiculed, attacked and even at one stage called a liar.

Apparently, Comrade Mandela was so shocked at the behaviour of the leadership that he retreated from the organisation only to attend special events. The Big 6 at the time, with Comrade Mbeki as president, Comrade Zuma as deputy and Mosioua Lekota as chairperson of the meeting sat by and did absolutely nothing whilst this icon of the struggle against Apartheid and one who gave 27 years of his life for our freedom was vilified by the leadership of the very organisation he had helped to build. Comrade Mandela then realised that something had gone terribly wrong with the ANC.

For his lack of leadership then, because the ill-discipline was in defence of him, Comrade Mbeki would have a taste of this and would meet it face to face in the NGC of 2005 and then finally at the 52^nd National Conference of the ANC in Polokwane. By then, the leadership at the highest level of the ANC, had become comfortable with the emergence of this “…new type of ANC leader and member who sees ill-discipline, divisions and factionalism and in-fighting as normal practices and necessary forms of political survival…” because it was working in the favour of those who sort to be elected. No doubt, this same leadership is now haunted by the very same type of ANC leader and member as the ill-discipline, divisions and factionalism and infighting continues as the normal practices and necessary forms of political survival as the movement treads towards the 53^rd National Conference in Mangaung.

This same ill-discipline, divisions and factionalism and infighting seems to be spilling over into our national politics. No longer confined to the ranks of the ANC we are told, though we must view these reports with extreme caution, that the service delivery protests are fundamentally being fuelled not by the lack of service delivery but by factions of the ANC. Again, how true this is, only the ANC can answer.

Yet whilst these may be questionable, what is not is the ANCYL in the Western Cape coming out and suggesting that they would make the province ungovernable. However legitimate the struggle of the working class, it is important to note that to all intents and purposes the National Democratic Revolution has the word “democratic” in the centre of it. We are not engaging an illegitimate provincial government here. It was legitimately elected by the people of the Western Cape and to suggest that the province be made ungovernable (which is a loaded political science term) would be to suggest that it lacks legitimacy.

We must realise that, say unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, we live in a democratic state. Despite its challenges of gross inequality, abject poverty and widespread unemployment, the gains made by South Africa in 1994 of political freedom, constitutionally enriched human rights and a political order that is democratic must be safeguarded.

Needless to mention that for the Left this raises philosophical questions of whether to recognise this democratic order albeit an order that is, for now, by and large in favour of those who have. At the same time, whilst it must use this privilege in moderation, the democratic state remains the sole entity that can legitimately employ violence. No one else may do so and certainly not the youth league of a party that is the official opposition in a province. Whilst we can understand working class violence, we may never in a democratic, and therefore legitimate, dispensation condone it.

Like ill-discipline, divisions and factionalism, the ANC leadership is allowing for this use of the word “ungovernable” in the Western Cape. Soon this campaign of declaring to make the province ungovernable would spread to other provinces and it will come to haunt the ANC leadership in the future. Ill-discipline, divisions and factionalism had to be nipped in the bud in its early stages, it wasn’t and has been able to threaten successive leaders; even leaders who used this unruly behaviour to their advantage. Just like this “make ungovernable” campaign has to be nipped in the bud, even though it is useful for the current leadership.

The easy task is to bring down a government. The more difficult one is to win democratic elections and stay in power, especially where competition is high. The more difficult task for the ANC in the Western Cape is to win an election, yet they chose rather to be bad losers and throw a tantrum.

Just like the unruly behaviour of some ANC leaders and members have come to haunt past and present ANC leaders so too will these words and actions of “ungovernable” come to haunt present and future leaders of the ANC.

P.S. Two days after my last post on The Question of Violence, dealing with violence in South Africa, the Marikana Massacre took place. Whilst our thoughts and prayers must be first and foremost with those who lost loved-ones and those who were injured, it is important that we take time too to reflect on this terrible tragedy. No doubt, we shall be putting fingers to keys in the future about this event when we have sobered a bit.