Tis the season to be jolly but
with the Mangaung hangover, the ANC in the Western Cape has its work cut out.
There are approximately 56 weeks left to the next general elections which will
probably take place on 27 April 2014, marking the 20th anniversary
of the 1994 first democratic elections in South Africa.
The primary priority
for the ANC in the Western Cape though should not be these elections; this
should be the second priority. The primary goal and priority for the leadership
should be: unity in the organisation in the province.
Post-mortems of processes are
sometimes useful. The previous
blog entry suggested that the nominations for Mangaung process, of the top
6 particularly, should be seen as an exercise of democracy. However, this
democratic exercise was not seen in a positive light, especially as articulated
by the media.
Factions, splits and public spats could be nuanced to be viewed as democracy at
work but unless this is communicated to the media and the public at large, as a
healthy democratic process, it spells only one thing: division.
For example, while the proposal
for a 10
year term debate between the Chairperson of the Province and the Secretary
could have taken place within the democratic space that the ANC affords, people
not privy to the dynamics of the organisation will not
see it for what it is: healthy debate. In fact, for those outside the
organisation, the media and the swing vote the ANC (hopefully) wishes to court,
it simply is remnant of the (supposed) factionalism and fighting that
characterised the ANC in the province during the Rasool-Skwatsha period. The
media and the swing-voter would suggest: “ah! Look the Chairperson and the
Secretary are at each other’s throat again!” All sorts of interpretations are
then articulated: race, factionalism and division.
But again, if communications had
been high on the priority list of the turn-around strategy in the province then
the healthy debate, which it most probably was, is coached in such a manner
that the media and the voters at large are exposed to. “Look,” the media and
voters would say, “there’s healthy debate in the ANC. Does such debate occur in
other parties?”
Yet this “healthy debate” is not
communicated to the media and swing-voters. Even worse, it is not communicated
to ANC constituencies. (The first principle in any communications strategy is
to communicate to your own organisation/constituency first). The “debate”
therefore took place with the backdrop of a postponed (and late) conference,
which was split down the middle and which was characterised as being rather
exemplary of an anti-Zuma atmosphere that exists in the province at large,
given the results. (As an aside, something is seriously amiss when the smallest
province in the organisation has to postpone its conference because of administrative
hiccups).
Therefore, once again, inadvertently,
the national politics (Rasool for Mbeki, Skwatsha for Zuma) of a couple of
years ago has been used to create splits in the province. What should be
healthy debate and democracy at work simply becomes deep seated divisions
because leaders fail to communicate to members of the organisation, fail to
meet the media and thus fail to put out the right message to voters at large.
Unity in the province thus
becomes a wound that needs to be healed even though the injury should never
have occurred in the first place. The next provincial conference happens in
February 2015 when branches will judge the current PEC capable or not of taking
the province forward. This PEC would have a very tough time trying to convince
branches that unity is what they achieved if the conference was to be held this
coming February. Will they be able to convince voters by April 2014 that unity
in the ANC in the province is what they achieved?
The results of the bi-elections
in Ward 22 in the Metro, scheduled for 30 January 2013, will certainly indicate
the kind of dent the ANC will make in the general elections of 2014.
A week is a long time in politics
but only if the odds are favourable in one’s favour. As said before, unlike the
other 8 provinces, the ANC in the Western Cape cannot wait for post-Mangaung or
for possible reshuffles in early next year to start working. It needs to work
doubly hard. We had to start yesterday. We don’t have time on our side.
Tis truly the season to be jolly but
for the ANC in the Western Cape, it is the season to be hard at work. Leave
should therefore be denied.
