by Yagyah Adams
The ANC National Executive Committee has one coloured and one white woman out of 80 people. There are two ways of analysing this.
First, minorities do not want to partake in ANC activities due to the corruption and scandals. Second, the ANC exposed its tribalism by rejecting minority participation.
The first opinion is based on a reality that since 1994, billions have been stolen, wasted and misused.
This suggested that corruption, wastage, the abuse of authority was normal within African governance practice.
Since everyone generalises, blacks in governance can be measured with the same yardstick that blacks measure whites. This suggests that if every white is a potential racist, then every black is potentially corrupt.
Generalisations can be tested and dismissed if evidence is absent. For example, about 20 years ago, I was a chairperson of an ANC branch. Increasing the branch authority required signing up more members.
However, a battle raged between Ebrahim Rasool and Mcebisi Skwatsha. Since I sided with Rasool, increasing branch membership was tough as Rasool did not control the administration, who made the process difficult.
From experience, it was obvious ANC leaders prefer to fight each other and not build the ANC. After many attempts, I gave up on the ANC.
Second, qualifications, ability and experience do not matter inside the ANC, but factional loyally is everything. That is why, when a faction wins, it eliminates the “other faction”. This leads to endless cycles of purging and thus no time for service delivery, since factional fighting is a full-time activity.
The above opinion is proven with simple evidence. Study where the ANC has complete authority and no real competition but cannot deliver services or receive clean audits. This happens as the leaders choose fulltime factional conflict or they lack the ability and skills to deliver services.
* Cllr Yagyah Adams, Cape Muslim Congress.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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