Has the ANC’s electoral collapse exposed the failure of its National Democratic Revolution (NDR)?
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe has delivered a stinging rebuke of the ANC, warning that corruption has left the party dominated by “thieves.”
Motlanthe joined the Ahmed Kathrada Legacy Fundraising Breakfast Series on Thursday for a conversation on “The State of South Africa Today.”
The discussion reflected on governance, accountability, inequality, public trust, and the responsibility of active citizenship in shaping South Africa’s future.
ANC criticised
Motlanthe criticised the state of the ANC, saying the leadership should be able to restore the party to its former glory.
“Is the ANC fixable? The truth is, as I said earlier, leadership sets a tone for an organisation in the same way as leadership sets a tone for a country, and that applies across the board.
“So, the ANC is not made up of thieves. The thieves are prominent in the ANC. The thieves are dominant in the ANC,” Motlanthe said.
ANC infighting
Motlanthe’s sentiment echoed that of former President Thabo Mbeki in 2024.
Mbeki called on party members to put an end to positional fighting and return to the movement’s revolutionary values in a bid to renew the party.
During the two-day meeting in the Free State, several issues were raised, including the perception that ANC leaders are detached from the very society they lead.
Renewal
Mbeki said the renewal of the ANC was not an “invention.”
“It’s a decision that has been taken by successive national conferences of ANC, and our responsibility really is to implement what national conferences have decided.”
ANC decline
Has the ANC’s electoral collapse exposed the failure of its National Democratic Revolution (NDR), or is the party simply succumbing to the inevitable decline that shadows every liberation movement after decades in power?
This was the central question at the ANC’s national general council in Boksburg last year, where leaders wrestled with the meaning of dwindling support.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and others admitted the NDR faced a “total onslaught” from opponents.
Since its inception, critics have cast the NDR as a Trojan horse for socialism.
ANC death
A political analyst noted that corruption during the Jacob Zuma era left the ANC morally compromised, and the 2024 election results confirmed that “the chickens have come home to roost”.
Last year, ANC veteran Reverend Frank Chikane had stern words for the ANC
“You either renew, or you die.”
Chikane said ANC renewal was “rooted in service delivery, deployment of capable cadres, and zero tolerance for corruption”.
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