We must step away from brinkmanship and the disastrous course of those hellbent on driving the organisation to rupture. We must learn from our recent history that the parochial agendas that led to splits from the ANC since 1994 viz UDM, COPE and EFF only served to boost the ranks of the opposition.
With the DA right-wing firmly back in control of the party of privilege, the exodus of black leadership from its ranks, and it’s reversal of fortune in the last elections, now is not the time for the ANC to navel gaze. We must push firmly ahead with our agenda of service delivery and abandon the sideshows of internal bickering and dissension in our ranks.
The insidious disease of factionalism that is tearing at the fabric of our organisation is not only counterproductive but in fact counter-revolutionary that poses a greater risk to the ANC than any perceived threat that the organisation faces from the opposition ranks.
We must caution against using a policy consensus position on radical economic transformation adopted by the ANC to craft the genesis of a new party, to deal with a faction or to settle old political scores.
It is time that our top leadership, all of them, step up to the plate and steer us away from the daily retort that sends shivers down the spine of the electorate, the people that we serve and those who continue to sacrifice life and limb to make our organisation great.
We must invoke the wisdom of those who have gone before us and who dedicated their lives to the precept that “unity is the bedrock of the ANC” and do all in our power to honour their legacy.
Nkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and grandson of famed South African President Nelson Mandela. Member of Parliament (MP) South Africa National Assembly. All articles by Nkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela
