LETTER: ANC faces graft bill test

by | Jan 17, 2025 | Chapter 9, General | 0 comments

The many words and pious promises in the ANC annual January 8 statement, delivered by its leader on Saturday, boil down to the terse take-home message that if the ANC is to avoid perishing at the polls it needs to take action to renew itself (“No renewal with the same tired cadres in charge”, January 14).

The talk of “renewal” that has been going on in the ANC since 2000 has yet to translate into appropriate action. While the public perception persists among voters (and possible new voters) that the ANC is soft on corruption, if not overwhelmingly corrupt itself, the prospects of renewal and restoration to popularity remain bleak.

After all, to garner the 40% of votes cast last year the ANC had only to persuade a mere 16% of the electorate to support it. That is unlikely to happen again because resurgent forces from the left and the right will attract new votes and leave the ANC stranded in the ever shrinking middle ground in future polls, starting with the municipal elections next year.

The looting of the public purse is only popular among the looters. Something needs to concentrate minds in the ANC leadership on the action items for renewal of the party if it is to win back votes, the lifeblood of everyone in politics.

The upcoming decision in the National Assembly on the bills introduced by former justice spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach, to establish and enable a new chapter 9 Anti-Corruption Commission, will possibly present the first tangible indication of the commitment of the ANC to renew itself.

A vote in favour of the bills will signal the end of talk and the start of action on the renewal front. A vote against will reinforce the suspicion that the talk of renewal is not sincere and will tend to scupper all hope of the long promised genuine renewal of the ANC. The bills present an acid test of commitment to the party’s renewal.

Paul Hoffman
Director, Accountability Now

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