ANC HEADED BACK TO THE PEOPLE?

There’s a large municipality I have been chasing for business for the past four months. In fact, I have been trying to set up a meeting, a measly introductory meeting, with one of the executive directors there. A whole four months, and each time I contact this person’s PA I’m told the person is busy, or their schedule is full or some other excuse. Finally I contact the said city’s executive mayor. The mayor returns my call and promises to get the ball rolling.

Then this afternoon a live press conference is broadcast, and much of the country’s media are invited. It’s the ANC executive. Mr Jacob Zuma is present, so is his deputy Mr Kgalema Motlante They are addressing us on President Thabo Mbeki’s forced resignation – yeah we all know he didn’t jump, he was gently escorted out of the Union Building. The ANC’s president Mr Jacob Zuma makes a speech from written notes after the intros have been done, and basically praises Mr Mbeki’s contribution to the struggle as well as his work in government. He explains what happened with the resignation and some of the way forward. The media is then allowed to field questions from the floor in an orderly fashion, the process being overseen by ANC spokesperson Mrs Jessie Duarte. A similar occurrence in Polokwane last December; major event, the ANC briefs the media afterwards, with no question left unanswered, whether we liked the answers or not. Same thing during the court proceedings of Mr Zuma. Julius Malema wants to speak about killing and dying for Mr Zuma. Speak Malema! Vavi wants to second him. Go ahead Mr Vavi.

I started seeing a pattern here, a pattern of new openness, some might even say confidence, from the new ANC NEC. There’s no longer that fear of the media, although some mistrust still lingers. The ANC has realised that the media are either your friend or foe, and they can do serious damage or great PR for you, if you treat them a certain way. Mr Zuma himself answered most of the questions posed, which were mostly centered around his legal troubles anyway. But still. This is not an ANC we are used to. It’s not an ANC that only does interviews with the SABC for instance, and even then, only certain journalists.

Now I’m really beginning to wonder if the ANC is on its way back to the people. Wouldn’t that be something? A friend of mine, one of the harshest critics of the new ANC NEC said we are a sinking ship in waiting, that “it’s the first time the communists are running the ANC” and lord have mercy on us all. I had a good laugh thereafter, recalling people like Joe Slovo, Jeff Radebe, Jay Naidoo, Chris Hani, Govan Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa. These and many others were communists and trade unionists, yet when they were in prominent leadership positions my friend was nowhere to be heard. I replied that perhaps these developments are not such a bad thing. I said to him regardless of economic growth, more of our people are poor today than ever before. They are crying out for help, they want water, housing, jobs, education. They want to be in the mainstream of the economy which is still locking its doors on them. When Mr Jacob Zuma was elected in Polokwane these people were overjoyed. Suddenly the prospect of a better life was more real than ever, jubilation all around, renewed hope in their eye, brighter futures dreamt again. How can this be a bad thing? Are the so-called clever people who backed Mr Mbeki the main concern for the ANC, or are the masses?

The current cabinet is overrun by intellectuals, Drs of all sorts. Dr Mandela’s cabinet was similar, yet since 1994 we have not managed to create close to enough jobs for our people. We have not dealt with the sickening levels of poverty that you see when you land at Cape Town International Airport, when you drive into Umlazi, walk in Taung town or look around Cyril Ramaphosa squatter camp. Do these people care that inflation is at 5% or 10%? Do they wonder if Zapiro is mocking Mr Zuma in his cartoons? Do debates centering on two centers of power and the effect of the Left in our government concern them in any way?