By Nontlantla Skenjana

The primary reason for the formation of the African National Congress (ANC) was to unite the Black people under one banner beyond tribes, churches and organisations for the purpose of fighting for national liberation. This primary objective has been adjusted from time to time; the biggest movement was when the Freedom Charter was adopted by the ANC as a programme of action and the slogan A Better Life for All was adopted. Over the years, there have been struggles within the ANC to influence the movement’s programme, ideology and activities. For instance, the increasing influence of the Communist Party (CP) coincided with the breakaway of the PAC as the debate raged on whether the ANC should reflect the struggle of workers or that of African people, or both.

Many different groupings such as the senior leadership, the militant youth, etc constantly battle for ascendency. At times there have been serious disagreements over approaches leading to severance of comradeship (e.g. the ousting of President Dube and Xuma and the breakaway of General Holomisa and Lekota).  These disagreements appear to follow some pattern. If this is so, is it possible to predict where the ANC is going?

The first president of the ANC, President JL Dube, having been acknowledged as an outstanding leader of his time, was ousted for believing that for the organisation to achieve the goal of national liberation it must cooperate with the Union and target areas which the ANC would make representation on. He was followed by a series of presidents of various political persuasions – Makgatho, Mahabane and Gumede.

The next president, Pixley kaSeme, was a man of action and had brilliant ideas on making the nation better. However his term produced divisions within the ANC, as he believed in his ability and wisdom only or of those close to him. Mahabane was reinstated in a period when the ANC was relatively inactive on the domestic scene.

In 1940 President Xuma was given the mandate of re-building the ANC, which he did successfully by re-building relations with the workers, Indians, Coloureds and the Communist Party. Furthermore he was instrumental in the formation of the ANC Youth League and the Women’s League (WL), forming a wide powerbase. The following president, Moroka, had the shortest term, because he refused to comply with the set conditions of the Defiance Campaign. He was succeeded by President Albert Luthuli, the only president to die in office.

Luthuli’s term was characterised by various milestones such as the Freedom Charter, the PAC, the formation of Mkhonto weSizwe and the Rivonia Trial. Oliver Tambo took over after Luthuli died and had to ensure the survival of the ANC as the movement went underground. He managed the international network, mass mobilisation through youth and civil society organisations, and military activities. These two presidents were the longest serving because they moved with the times in the liberation struggle. OR Tambo was the first ANC president to voluntarily handover the reins which he did to President NR Mandela.

The Mandela era was characterised by a unifying, reconstructive, developmental and reconciliatory approach. Mandela served for two terms and handed over to Thabo Mbeki, who followed a neo-liberal economic approach with a strong centralised state. Mbeki had many successes but his detractors faulted him for what they described as his intolerance for dissent and failure to consider inputs from the alliance partners. He lost influence in many circles, having been hailed as one of the greatest intellectuals since Seme’s reign.  In a way Mbeki’s downfall reflected the strength of Luthuli and Tambo in understanding and moving with the times.

All said and done, the burning question remains: what direction should the ANC take? Should it continue pursuing the ‘rightist’ agenda (GEAR, growth, etc) or is there a need for a greater shift to the left (with rising poverty and unemployment, etc) which is ostensibly President Zuma’s mandate. Will he be a reconciler of the broken ANC in which case he must be willing to hand over to the next person who will take the ANC forward like Dube, Xuma and Mandela?

Will Zuma the populist be prepared to take hard decisions with the people, as Luthuli and Tambo did, therefore accepting the scorn that comes with it, but have the confidence of the people in the longer term?  Or will he be a radical militant with brilliant ideas that cannot be opposed by anyone and suffer a similar fate as Seme, Moroka and Mbeki? Will the ANC become dormant and therefore need a Xuma to rebuild it?

What is clear is the programmes of the preceding president, rather than a succession plan, will determine change in the ANC Presidency more accurately and that may be linked to the ideology or approach that is associated with the successor.

First published in the Transformer Vol. 14 No. 6 / Dec 2008 - Jan 2009