Chasing the ANC’s ‘renewal’ unicorn

Cyril’s silence over corruption allegations against Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, not to mention Thembi Simelane’s continued existence as a minister, rip the guts out of the ANC’s renewal pledge.
5 mins read

Sometimes – just sometimes – the ANC is gloriously frank. 

Take this, from ANC stalwart and former Jacob Zuma spokesperson Mac Maharaj, in 2023. Speaking to the veterans league, he noted that the party at its 2017 elective conference recognised “the growing loss of confidence in the ANC because of social distance, corruption, nepotism, arrogance, elitism, factionalism, manipulating organisational processes, abusing state power, putting self-interest above the people, leadership weaknesses and loss of integrity characterised by competition to control state resources, because of vote buying which has left us with leaders who have difficulty driving our programmes and commanding respect from society and our supporters”.  

The talk was aptly titled “What is renewal about?” 

If the question in that context seems axiomatic, the answer is apparently not. At least, not when you consider that the ANC has been banging this particular drum since “the decade of renewal” was ushered in in 2012. So much for repetition being the mother of learning. 

It’s not that there’s been zero improvement – the step aside resolution, for example, even if it’s inconsistently applied, showed some political will towards dealing with corruption in the party’s ranks. There’s also a Foundational Course to inculcate the party’s values in its members, and apparently the accountability framework that’s been promised since 2017. But that’s tinkering around the edges; watching the ANC remake itself is akin to waiting out another four years of Trump. Excruciating, in other words. 

Just so you know, we’re now in the “Year of Renewal to Make the ANC a More Effective Instrument of the People to Achieve the Vision of the Freedom Charter: The People Shall Govern! The People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth!” Snappy, isn’t it? For this year of renewal, the task largely falls on the ANC’s branches. It’s an attempt to bridge the gulf between the party and the people it ostensibly serves – to cover that marathon social distance Maharaj was talking about.  

That’s no small ask, with secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and Youth League leaders swanning about on yachts, and Dolce & Gabbana kit as ubiquitous in the party as Big Tech sycophants at a Trump inauguration. 

Yet the real problem lies beyond the branches. 

Go back to that 2017 Nasrec conference, with its damning assessment of the state of the party. It’s tempting to write that off as fallout from the Zuma years – the result of the capture of the country and the party by external interests, facilitated by venal leaders of the worst kind.  

But we can’t blame Zuma for the ANC’s internal failures forever; we’re well beyond that particular bogeyman.  

That so much of the 2017 list is still an issue is an indictment on the party’s so-called renewal agenda: social distance and elitism (look no further than Mbalula, the G-Wagon and the yacht); nepotism (Paul Mashatile’s sons have apparently done quite well for themselves, no?); factionalism (recast from radical economic transformation to the anti-government of national unity brigade); abuse of state power (dodgy defence contracts, anyone?). Self-interest above service; loss of integrity; weak leadership; and more allegations of corruption than you can shake a stick at.  

Which brings us to Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. 

The R2.5m tender 

News24 this week broke the story of the minister in the presidency facing possible charges of fraud and corruption related to a R2.5m tender in 2009 when she was municipal manager of Ba-Phalaborwa. The Hawks have finalised their investigation and handed the matter over to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).  

Ntshavheni’s case follows that of former justice minister Thembi Simelane, who News24 and Daily Maverick reported took a loan of R500,000-odd from a middleman firm that brokered unlawful municipal investments by Polokwane into the now-collapsed VBS Mutual Bank, while she was mayor there.  

Now, when you think of renewal, you’d imagine that even the whiff of impropriety would see a minister or public representative relieved of their duties, or resigning. That’s what restores faith, trust and integrity in the party and the political system more generally. It also provides the assurance that public funds will be used appropriately.

Instead, when it came to Simelane, Ramaphosa simply orchestrated a switcheroo with Mmamoloko Kubayi at human settlements. Only, ministerial musical chairs is hardly renewal. And at the time of writing, still not a peep from the presidency on the Ntshavheni case – though continents could move in the time it will likely take Ramaphosa to “apply his mind” to the issue. So don’t hold your breath.

Of course, that Ntshavheni is close to Ramaphosa has seemingly kept her in the pound seats politically, despite the fact that she’s been no great shakes in a portfolio that includes state security and government comms, among others. Just some of her gaffes: accusing the private sector of “engineering” the collapse of government through currency manipulation; blaming the electorate for a bloated cabinet; claiming ministers did not have generators at their state homes despite evidence to the contrary; saying the government would “smoke out” illegal miners. Government communications outfit GCIS has been without a CEO for more than a decade. The State Security Agency is at risk of imploding. Stats SA is underfunded and has recently emerged bruised from a methodology spat. 

So not exactly knocking the lights out. Not the kind of leader “commanding respect from society and our supporters”. Yet still in a leadership position.

In the meantime, Mbalula has shown the same alacrity in defending Ntshavheni that he did in endorsing the deeply compromised election results in Zimbabwe and Mozambique (how’s that for renewal?). On the very day News24 ran the story on Ntshavheni, he railed against the minister being tried – and her reputation tarnished – in the media. As, he said, was Simelane’s.  

Decisive action 

Now, say what you like about Zuma, but at least he actually fired ministers and functionaries alleged to be corrupt (and the non-corrupt, it must be said).  

Public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and then police commissioner Bheki Cele were summarily dismissed over the police lease scandal (though Cele did resurface three years later). And Dina Pule was marched out of the communications portfolio in her red-soled Christian Louboutins for allegedly going on a shopping spree with funds meant for an ICT indaba. 

But here you have Ntshavheni, Simelane, Mashatile, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, David Mahlobo, Zweli Mkhize, Zizi Kodwa … All have clouds over their names, and all have held leadership positions in the government or ANC – or still do. 

Which makes the ANC’s pretences at renewal – and its decision to focus its renewal tasks on the rank and file – farcical. That the ruling party does little to act when allegations of corruption surface gives the impression it is sanctioned. Worse, if the allegations are true, it suggests the party is incapable of reining in corruption in its upper echelons. As was made abundantly clear during the Zuma administration, a fish rots from the head. Until there’s a clean-up at the top, the whiff of corruption will cling to any notion of regeneration. 

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Shirley de Villiers

With a background in political science and over a decade in journalism, Shirley de Villiers brings a unique perspective to her writing. As a former deputy editor of the Financial Mail, her columns have become known for their wit and insight. Shirley’s ability to distil complex scenarios into compelling narratives makes her a must-read for anyone interested in South Africa’s political landscape.

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