Build and safeguard the unity of the movement!

In this extract from a discussion document, the ANC Gauteng Province argues that the vision of a better life for all will not be realised without a united and cohesive movement.

During the struggle against apartheid, the ANC-led Alliance and the broad democratic movement represented unity of purpose among the broadest range of social forces that fought to end apartheid and replace it with a non-racial, non-sexist, united and democratic South Africa. It was the movement's ability to unite this broad range of forces behind a common vision and a fighting programme of action that finally led to the defeat of the apartheid regime in 1994.

At a continental and international level, the ANC-led national liberation movement has played a central role in uniting progressive forces in Africa and the world against apartheid and in giving a pan-African and internationalist perspective to Africa's anti-colonial struggles. Today, our movement and the democratic state it leads stand out as a trusted and reliable partner in the struggle for a better Africa and better world.

Without a united and cohesive movement, the vision of a better life for all our people in our country and continent will not be realisable. While the imperative for the unity of our movement is perennial, the nature of the challenges around this issue depend on the prevailing conditions. The post-1994 conditions present particular challenges to the entire movement.

As we approach the ANC's 52nd National Conference in 2007 and elections in 2009, the unity and cohesion of the ANC will face a serious test due to the critical question of leadership succession at national and provincial levels of the movement and the democratic state. Frank discussions within structures should assist in perfecting and improving our management of leadership succession and deployment of cadres at different levels. The ANC also has a responsibility to build the unity of the Alliance and the discussions will help the movement as a whole to share ideas and tackle the factors that threaten the unity of the revolutionary forces in the unique circumstances of the post-1994 period.

A PRODUCT AND CUSTODIAN OF UNITY

Any discussion on the unity of the movement has to take into account both the historical and contemporary contexts within which the ANC continues to evolve.

The ANC was formed 93 years ago, in the words of the 1919 ANC Constitution, "to unite the African people in a powerful and effective instrument to secure their own complete liberation from all forms of discrimination and national oppression". Over the years, the ANC developed into a revolutionary mass movement that championed the values of non-racialism and non-sexism and led the struggle to unite all South Africans behind the vision of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, united and prosperous society.

The ANC's primary role therefore remains the mobilisation of all classes and strata in our society that objectively stand to gain from the success of the national democratic revolution. Throughout its history, the ANC has sought to unite with other genuine people's organisations in the fight against national oppression and exploitation, through tactical and strategic alliances and co-operation arrangements.

The April 2004 election results have boldly and clearly confirmed the historical fact that no other political party comes close to matching the movement's broad reach of support across all classes and strata. The ANC is a political home for all South Africans.

SAFEGUARD THE UNITY AND COHESION OF THE ANC

As the movement that bears the singular historic responsibility to unite all our people, the ANC's first responsibility is itself to be united so that it can lead society as a "powerful and effective instrument". Unity and internal cohesion is central to effective organisation. Many liberation movements and revolutionary parties that failed to manage their internal contradictions fell by the way-side, leaving their noble ideals unaccomplished.

Unity is built on basic principles of what the movement stands for and how it should operate in carrying out its mission. Unity cannot and should not be equated with an absence of differences within structures of the organisation. Contradictions and differences will always exist in any vibrant organisation. The challenge is to manage and turn contradictions into a source of strength, rather than a source of splits and splinters. Over 93 years, the ANC has been able to manage contradictions effectively because it has encouraged and nurtured:

• A culture of open ideological debates, which helps the organisation to develop theoretical clarity and identify the appropriate strategy and tactics for each phase of the struggle and cope with difficult moments of ideological flux. This lays the basis for unity of purpose, one of the main ingredients of internal cohesion. Encouraging a culture of criticism and self-criticism helps the cadreship of the movement to approach questions and practical problems of social transformation with critical minds rather than with dogma. This culture lays the basis for cadres and leaders to constantly reflect on and learn from their daily experience and methods of work, thus creating a possibility to become even better agents for change.
• A culture of collective leadership, understanding that no single individual, however committed or experienced, has the ability or wisdom to bring about social change on their own. Leaders have to function as collectives that constantly exchange views and share organisational tasks and get guidance from the membership and involve them in the work of the organisation. Through collective decision-making and implementation, individual leaders influence one another's views and perspectives, share experiences on dealing with organisational and political matters and therefore gain confidence that improves the performance and effectiveness of the organisation.
• A culture of respecting organisational decisions, where all views can be expressed and heard in proper structures and every effort made to emerge with the widest possible approach, based on firmness of principle but agility on tactics. As part of the democratic culture of the ANC, decisions of the majority are binding on everyone, including those who hold a contrary view. The lower structures have the right to influence decisions of the higher structures but once decisions are taken by the higher structures, they are binding on all structures and they have to be respected and implemented by all ANC members.
• Unity in action, recognising that ideological unity is necessary but insufficient. It must be matched by unity through the disciplined implementation of an agreed programme of action. Unity only becomes a material force or "powerful and effective instrument" for revolutionary change when it is translated into action.

By developing an organisational culture that combines all these pillars the leadership and cadreship of movement has been able to manage ideological, class, gender, generational and sectoral contradictions. The question we should now answer is whether the movement has developed ways to cope with the challenges opened by the new conditions of freedom and democracy! The assumption of political power by the ANC-led democratic movement in 1994 has brought with it new difficulties in achieving unity and internal cohesion. These include the objective conditions brought about by freedom and democracy, and subjective considerations wherein individual interests tend, from time to time, to undermine organisational and collective interests.

While contestation of ideas and for leadership positions is an inherent part of internal democracy, it is usually the form of contestation that undermines the character of an organisation. The unique feature of the post-1994 period is that the deployment of cadreship and election into positions of leadership often bring personal material benefits. As a consequence, deployment and election processes get clouded by self-interest rather than principles. This has given rise to the kind of divisions that do not arise from a disagreement on ideology, policy or key issues of strategy and tactics. Several factors and practices contribute to and exacerbate divisions in the structures of the movement. Factors need to be attended to include:

• Different generational and organisational experiences gained from working in different fronts of struggle in different phases can pose a challenge for unity and cohesion. Over the years, the ANC has developed ways of dealing with contradictions that may result from generational differences and organisational sub-cultures, some of which are a result of conditions of prison, exile, underground, armed struggle, international work and mass struggle. Under such conditions, generational differences and spatial separation over long periods of time, the movement managed to maintain unity and cohesion. Under conditions of democracy, most cadres of the movement operate inside the country. However, they are located in different centres and institutions of society and increasingly belong to various classes and strata - as such they pursue diverse and sometimes contradictory interests. The movement's ability to shape the views, values and actions of these cadres into a collective consciousness is therefore under strain.
• A lack of debate and robust exchange of ideas can lead to a situation in which people find ways outside formal structures to express different views, undermining organisational processes and decisions. Sometimes the claim about lack of debate is made falsely by those whose views have been defeated in internal debates. However, the leadership of the movement at all levels has to constantly take a lead in encouraging and participating in open and frank discussion of difficult issues inside the structures. In a climate of open debate, ill-disciplined individuals or factionalists who seek to undermine due organisational decision-making processes get exposed and dealt with decisively.
• Turning pre-conference differences into permanent disagreements. In the current period of struggle, differences on who is best suited for a particular position of leadership become the basis for mobilising and counter-mobilising by the same group of comrades in successive conferences or annual general meetings. While everyone is entitled to express a view on who may be best suited for a particular position of leadership, the manner in which this is done is very important for a revolutionary movement. Certainly, members of a revolutionary organisation can't go around spreading rumours and disinformation about those they disagree with. Matters should be raised openly and frankly in structures because we bear a collective responsibility to ensure that the movement still functions as a cohesive and revolutionary force after conferences. Once conference has adopted resolutions and elected leadership, the entire organisation must rally behind the conference outcomes and ensure they are implemented successfully.
• Dysfunctional leadership collectives. When the leadership collective fails to meet as required, collectively review the work of the organisation and take appropriate decisions and actions, a climate is created in which there are parallel processes that take over the functions of an elected collective, thus giving rise to divisions because individuals do not operate within the discipline of a collective. Unelected individuals end up taking the key decisions of the organisation, while those elected to do so remain out of the loop or fail to take responsibility.
• Poor political management of organisational processes. Divisions often arise from failure to have clear, transparent and predictable systems and procedures that help people in the organisation to understand how decisions are made and who is responsible. Sloppy and inefficient administration could be misunderstood as deliberate intent to exclude certain people from having access to information. Dysfunctional secretariats and other coordinating and administrative structures could cause serious tensions and conflicts in collectives. When the centre does not hold, many centres will emerge outside the agreed ways of working and these will cause confusion and information gaps that lead to tensions.
• Factionalism and sectarianism, which is a tendency and method of work in which a group of like-minded comrades arrogates to itself the power and function of ensuring that all the key decisions in an organisation are first discussed and decided by it outside formal organisational structures and then taken to structures for rubber stamping. Even if there are open debates, collective leadership and effective management of organisational processes, there are people who will pursue factionalism as an ideological disposition because they do not believe that the revolution can be entrusted to the leadership collective and membership of an organisation. Factionalism can also be driven by sheer self-interest. In today's context, a lot of factional activity in structures of the broad democratic movement is driven by the pursuit of positions that are associated with influence and resources.
• A poor relationship between the ANC and government structures has a tendency to cause divisions in the movement. This often arises from a failure to understand the respective roles of the organisation and those deployed in government. At all times, we strive for an appropriate balance on this matter: the ANC structures should have space to give strategic leadership, while cadres deployed in government should have the space to implement policy creatively. On this matter, the solution lies in dynamic interaction and dynamic relationships between comrades in leadership.
• Skewed development planning and service delivery often gives rise to conflict in the ANC. In very poor and depressed areas, the manner in which any sphere of government spends its resources and where development projects and service delivery investments are made can be a source of division. Those who feel, rightly or wrongly, that government is not paying attention to their area may start mobilising around different forms of identity such as regionalism, tribalism, ethnicity, racism, etc. This kind of politics has often found its way into the ANC leadership and deployment processes and those who get elected into leadership on a regional, tribal, ethnic and racial agenda will tend to run governance in manner that deepens and reinforces regional, tribal, ethnic or racial consciousness.
• Challenges of growth and expansion. The ANC has experienced phenomenal growth and expansion in geographic and demographic terms since 1990. The membership of the movement is open to any South African who wants to join. As a result, it is possible to assume a position of leadership in the movement. Democracy has also opened opportunities for many people from other parties and different outlooks to join the movement. And yet, our ideological training and the conscious inculcation of the movement's value system are not at their best. We have to ensure that growth is accompanied by serious political development and sustained ideological training of members and cadres.

In the light of the new challenges we face in the post-1994 context, our movement has to perfect its political management systems on the deployment of cadres and leadership succession. There are many forces outside the ANC and the broad democratic movement who have an interest in the ANC's deployment and leadership election processes. In some instances, these forces would dedicate resources and infrastructure to promote certain candidates. This phenomenon could lead to a situation in which the leadership of the ANC and deployment of cadres into various centres is sponsored from outside the structures of movement. The movement needs to decisively and frankly address this matter so that we emerge from the 2005 NGC with a more effective system of managing leadership succession and deployment of cadres.

ROLE OF LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP

"Those in positions in leadership should unite and guide the movement to be at the head of the process of change. They should lead the movement in its mission to organise and inspire the masses to be their own liberators. They should lead the task of governance with diligence. And together, they should reflect continuity of a revolutionary tradition and renewal which sustains the movement in the long term." (Through the Eye of the Needle, Umrabulo No. 11)

National, provincial, regional, zonal and branch leadership bear a particularly heavy responsibility in building the unity of the movement so that it can effectively discharge its historic mission of uniting all South Africans so that we can effectively and collectively undertake the key tasks of social transformation.

As individual members of the ANC and the different organisations of the democratic movement, we all have a right to express views on matters of strategy and tactics, policy positions and leadership within our structures. However, what has set our revolutionary movement apart from and ahead of others is the fact that the selection and election of leadership has not been done in a manner that creates permanent blocs or cause splits and splinter groups. This is so because the rank and file membership has a very important role in safeguarding the unity of the movement. These members are often divided by leaders themselves. In this regard, the leadership of the ANC has a central role to play in uniting the membership and successive generations of the leadership of our movement have distinguished themselves in keeping the movement together in the most difficult and trying times. Even as we may, from time to time, disagree on questions of theory, policy options and cadres best suited to lead the movement and the state, we have to do so with a sense of responsibility around keeping the movement united. It is within our power to do so and we dare not fail it.

This is an edited version of a discussion document produced by the ANC Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) in September 2004.

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