ANC Today -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 8, No. 12, 28 March-3 April 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK: * First 100 Days: Good start for the Polokwane mandate * Rule of law: Public representatives should also respect the legal process -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST 100 DAYS Good start for the Polokwane mandate This week the ANC marks 100 days since its Polokwane Conference. It is an appropriate time to reflect on the key features of this period and the progress made in implementing the Polokwane mandate. In particular, the National Executive Committee (NEC) elected at a Polokwane should use this opportunity to account to structures on what it has done during its first three months in office. The leadership has moved with determination to build the unity and cohesion of the movement, stressing the need to heal the divisions that emerged in the period before Conference. All leaders and members have responded positively to the call. Members of the NEC and all the leaders not currently holding formal leadership positions have demonstrated a commitment to working to build the organisation. The message that there is only one ANC, with one national leadership collective, has been widely accepted, and reinforced through action. The idea that members would be prejudiced because of the positions they adopted in advance of, and during, Conference has been dispelled. These positive developments need to cascade down to all levels of the organisation, to address whatever differences may have arisen. Work in this regard has begun, mainly through the report backs by Officials and NEC members to provinces and regions. All the provinces and most of the regions have received report backs. This work will need to be intensified as provinces prepare for their own conferences, where tensions may develop and divisions arise. The leadership will need to work hard to ensure that these conferences contribute to building, not undermining, unity. Mass work and campaigns The incoming leadership has moved quickly to shift the organisation into campaign gear, having identified the need for mass work around health, education, electricity, crime, and rural development and agrarian reform. Motivated by the load shedding experienced earlier in the year, the ANC launched a national electricity conservation campaign. The campaign was launched in the media, and posters and leaflets in 11 languages were distributed to all ANC structures. The health and education campaigns have been developed - including content, messages and activities - and are to be launched in April. The challenge now is to ensure that these campaigns are effectively coordinated, monitored and evaluated. NEC, PEC and REC members, MPs, MPLs and councillors will be joining branches in the field in April and May in door-to-door work. In addition to its engagement with provinces and regions to report back on Polokwane decisions, the incoming leadership has been meeting with a number of sectors. Led by ANC President Jacob Zuma, the Officials have been particularly active in engaging with workers, farmers, minorities, business people (both local and international), and faith-based organisations. This is important in strengthening the ties that have been developed over the years, and to introduce these sectors to the new leadership of the organisation. These interactions have proven valuable in ensuring that perceptions of the new ANC leadership are well-informed and not dependent on media reports or speculation. Governance The first 100 days has dispelled some of the fears expressed about the relationship between the ANC and its government, and the capacity of government to continue in the implementation of its mandate. As in the past, the ANC's constitutional structures have continued to provide direction to the organisation's deployees in government, without resorting to micromanagement. As in the past, deployees in government have looked to the structures of the organisation for direction, and have accounted to them on their progress. The NEC committees, which are assigned different areas of policy and programme, have been set up, and are beginning to get to grips with the mandate they have been given by Polokwane. The relevant members of the executive in government participate in the work of the committees, and this contributes to a seamless interface between the committees and deployees in government. Managing the relationship between the ANC and government is nevertheless an ongoing challenge, as the organisation works to ensure that it has the capacity to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of its policies. This will need to continue. A particular area of interest, some would say obsession, among commentators has been the relationship between the ANC President and the President of the Republic. Contrary to some expectations, a solid working relationship has been established, with the President of the Republic interacting regularly with the Officials. This working relationship will need to be further refined over time as circumstances require. An important indicator of the interface between the ANC and its government is how the national priorities and tasks identified in Polokwane and reflected in the January 8th Statement found expression in the State of the Nation Address and the national Budget. These include the approach to defining the role of the state as being developmental and allocating resources according to the economic and social priorities agreed upon at Polokwane. They also include specific areas like a plan for the extension of the child care grant to 18 years, and lowering the pensionable age for men to bring it in line with the pensionable age for women. In the first 100 days, government has already begun to implement Polokwane resolutions. The ANC has moved quickly to strengthen Parliament, as directed by the Polokwane resolutions on organisational renewal - specifically by the appointment of Chief Whips and the Chair of Caucus from the ranks of the NEC, and the deployment of one of the national Officials to chair the Political Committee. The ANC in Parliament has similarly begun to process some of the issues decided upon in Polokwane, including the relocation of the Directorate of Special Operations and the legislation on floor-crossing. International The first 100 days has also seen a vigorous engagement by the movement with the task of strengthening relations with fraternal parties and engaging the international community. The President has led delegations to the World Economic Forum in Davos and to Angola, where discussions were held with the MPLA. In April he will be going to Berlin to attend a meeting of the SPD, Congress Party of India and the Workers Party of Brazil. Other Officials and NEC members, together with the International Affairs Unit at Luthuli House, have been interacting with a number of international parties and diplomatic missions based in South Africa. The incoming ANC leadership has been well-received with whomever it has had an opportunity to interact. Engagements have generally been frank and constructive. This is in sharp contrast to the media portrayal of the incoming leadership, with particularly ferocious attacks on the President. From the range of coverage over the course of the first 100 days, a number of themes seemed to have lodged in the collective consciousness of commentators and journalists. These include efforts to: * present the pronouncements of the President to be inconsistent, and at odds with established ANC policy; * cover matters relating to the President's pending court case in a manner that undermines the principle of presumption of innocence; * suggest conflict between the President, Deputy President and Treasurer General; * make various other claims about Officials being "gagged", former NEC members being targeted for "dodgy deals", and the inaccurate reporting of NEC deliberations and decisions. The practice of leaks to the media, particularly those that are 'spun' in a particular way to further certain agendas, remains a problem. Through more effective, vigorous and consistent communication, the impact of such leaks can eventually be diminished. The leadership that was elected at Polokwane has to meet the high expectations that have been placed on its shoulders by the membership, to rejuvenate, rebuild and unite the organisation as a powerful force able to lead society in building a national democratic society. In its first 100 days, this leadership has shown itself to be willing and determined to apply itself to these responsibilities. To meet the people's expectations it will need to maintain this momentum and to build on the foundation that has already been laid for advancing to the ANC's centenary in 2012. ** Gwede Mantashe is ANC Secretary General. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RULE OF LAW Public representatives should also respect the legal process The N2 Gateway development continues to draw interest and to attract media headlines. As this development is about human settlement and, more importantly, about providing a better life for all, such an interest should be welcomed. Public discussions of this nature serve a useful purpose of providing us with a space to enhance our own understanding and to appreciate the deeper challenges and complexity of issues that are thrown up by this project. The most recent contribution to this discussion has been from United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa. He is reported to have told the affected parties to ignore the court ruling reported on in previous editions of ANC Today. He advised the community to approach the ANC at Luthuli House or alternatively President Thabo Mbeki to resolve their challenges and that they should ignore the local representatives. Yet, not long ago, Holomisa was advising us to guard against a scenario that may promote any form of dictatorial tendencies. The ANC is a broad church that responds at grassroots level to the issues that Holomisa is referring to. There is nothing that Luthuli House can do that cannot be done by the local and provincial representatives of the organisation. Herein lies Holomisa's mischief: to discredit the structures of the ANC that are seized with the matter and most competent to deal with the issues at hand. He reportedly called on the residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement to ignore the recent court ruling. As a Member of Parliament, he does not need to be reminded that our courts exist for good order. Aside from helping with interpretations of the laws, they also serve as neutral and independent arbiters. Difference of opinion around the N2 Gateway between government and certain sections of the community was taken to the High Court for arbitration. Before and during this period, the Holomisa was aware of this dispute. He correctly did not interfere in the legal process. One can assume that his non-intervention was based on the confidence that he has in our legal and judicial process. It is unfortunate that far from offering sound advice, he sought to exploit people's concerns and succumbed to appeals of a vote catching opportunity. His suggestion that the community approach the political heads in the face of the court ruling smacks of political mischief. This is so because it encourages a certain form of lawlessness in which a law maker encourages disregard for the law. Such postures undermine efforts to build a robust constitutional democracy. It is completely at odds with the code of conduct for Members of Parliament and dangerous, as it also pits the judiciary against the citizens. One cannot claim to respect the judiciary, but then only do so when its rulings are to one's liking. That is what Holomisa is encouraging South Africans to do. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of ANC Today is available from the ANC web site at: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2008/at12.htm To receive ANC Today free of charge by e-mail each week go to: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/subscribe.html To unsubscribe yourself from the ANC Today mailing list go to: http://lists.anc.org.za/mailman/listinfo/anctoday