Election season is here and the shrill hum of campaign promises pervades the ether as a plethora of political parties old and new strive to win over a restless, disillusioned electorate.
The promises are trumpeted in the grand-sounding manifestos being released all around us by the ANC and its rivals at high-profile events — but an equally important process is taking place behind the scenes.
This is the finalisation of party lists, which must be submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa by March 8 before being released for public scrutiny on March 26 and 27.
The task of compiling national and provincial lists for this election is more fraught than usual for the ANC, coming as it does after the Zondo commission and the damning allegations made there against about 100 senior ANC figures. Many of these dubious figures are in the party’s national executive committee (NEC) and some are in the cabinet and the top seven leadership.
The composition of the lists will be an acid test for the ANC’s pledges of renewal.
The party’s manifesto, launched at the weekend in eThekwini, a crucial electoral battleground, promises “transformation led by honest, dedicated and capable leaders”.
“The challenges of our struggle for a better life for all are difficult and diverse and require honest, capable and dedicated leaders. The hardship and suffering of many have led them to believe that ANC leaders care only about themselves, that we are soft on corruption, and that we do not care about the suffering of ordinary people,” the manifesto acknowledges.
“We admit we made mistakes as the ANC, with some members and leaders undermining institutions of the democratic state and advancing selfish personal interests. Now the ANC is working hard to restore trust and confidence as leader of the national democratic revolution and the fundamental socioeconomic transformation of our society.”
The ANC is working hard to restore trust and confidence as leader of the national democratic revolution and the fundamental socioeconomic transformation of our society
— ANC election manifesto
The party emphasises how it committed itself to renewal at its latest two national conferences — Cyril Ramaphosa won the party’s leadership at the first one, and was reaffirmed in the post at the second.
“We are now raising the intellectual capacity and enhancing the moral and ethical orientation of our membership,” the manifesto declares. “The living embodiment of a renewed ANC will be members who show exemplary conduct in society by upholding the core values and principles of selfless public service, discipline and integrity.”
What does the list process look like in practical terms?
For starters, the ANC is screening its candidates by examining whether they have criminal records or pending disciplinary matters inside or outside the government, and whether they are accused of conduct that could bring the organisation into disrepute.
Detailed checks of their assets and sources of income have been conducted — lifestyle audits of sorts. The analysis includes examining how assets were acquired.
The final step in the process is an interview with the ANC’s electoral committee headed by former party deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe. This determines what skills an individual brings to the table and what value they could add to a government that struggles with delivery and implementation.
The head of political education for the ANC, David Makhura, tells the FM that the process was formulated after intensive research based on international best practice.
What it means is that there will be no excuses for the ANC this time around if it turns out that there are indeed questionable characters on the list. One such character is party deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane, who the state capture commission recommended should be prosecuted; another is party chair Gwede Mantashe. (Undaunted, Mokonyane has aspirations to become the next deputy president, the FM understands.)
While Makhura is confident the ANC will put its best foot forward, the party has never kept its promises to clean house. For instance, among those who received the highest number of votes to join the NEC at its last elective conference is Andile Lungisa, who was convicted on charges of assault for hitting a fellow counsellor with a glass jug. Another is Faith Muthambi, who as minister of communications shared key cabinet documents with the Gupta family, and yet another is Malusi Gigaba, said by his ex-wife to have come home from visits to the Saxonwold shebeen with bags full of cash.
The electorate will get a clear idea of the ANC’s commitment to renewal when the IEC releases the lists. Dare we hold our breaths?
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