Sign up with Google
K
kingrob
Guest
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2033706,00.html
Johannesburg - An unprecedented string of scandals has led to a haemorraging of support for the ANC which can only be reversed with a thorough purge of the leadership, according to analysts.
With its former chief whip in prison, his successor accused of sexual harrassment and deputy president under a cloud after his financial advisor was jailed, the party which has dominated power since the end of apartheid appears intent on dragging itself through the mud on a weekly basis.
"This puts the party in as bad a position as ever before," said political analyst Frederick van zyl Slabbert.
"There is no cohesive control. The leadership is just giving speeches about corruption and everything, but there is no action, nothing is being done.
"The only solution, which seems to be hard for the party leaders, is to fire the corrupt officials and get Luthuli House (ANC headquarters) in order. Period."
Scandal is hardly a new phenomenon for the ANC.
Allan Boesak, one of its spiritual leaders during the battle apartheid, was jailed for siphoning off party funds in 2000 while former president Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie - who was also head of the ANC women's league - was convicted of fraud.
Perception of double standards
But the roll of shame of the past few months has left some to charge that its unchallenged authority since the end of whites-only rule 12 years ago has led to complacency and abuse of power.
When former chief whip Tony Yengeni was jailed for fraud in August, he was carried to prison on the shoulders of party supporters with the speaker of parliament and a cabinet minister in attendance as well.
The perception of double standards was further reinforced last weekend when Yengeni was pictured with beer in hand at a barbeque while on weekend leave less than three months into a four-year sentence.
His successor Mbulelo Goniwe, already being chased for unpaid child maintenance, was suspended last week after an intern alleged he sexually propositioned her.
Five ANC MPs are currently standing trial over accusations they fiddled travel expenses worth thousands of dollars.
And Jacob Zuma, the movement's deputy president who was cleared of rape earlier this year, still faces possible corruption charges linked to his former financial advisor and one-time ANC banker Schabir Shaik who last week began a 15-year jail sentence.
Voters may look elsewhere
Aubrey Matshiqi, an analyst at the Johannesburg-based Centre for Policy Studies, said the conduct of ANC bigwigs was damaging public faith in the country's fledgling democracy.
"It undermines the confidence of the voter, undermines the image of politics and politicians in general. People are no longer having confidence in the party's moral authority," he said.
Matshiqi said if the party is unable to clean up its house, then voters who have previously given their overwhelming backing to the ANC as a result of its leading role in the anti-apartheid struggle, may look elsewhere.
"If this tendency is not arrested soon, it may be beneficial to democracy, giving people a chance to look at reliable alternatives to the ANC," he sad.
Smuts Ngonyama, head of the ANC presidency, countered however that the public should be heartened by the party's transparency. "It goes to show that as a party, we are not sweeping anything under carpet," said Ngonyama.
"Mistakes do happen but that does not mean that will change the image of the party. The party is too big to be affected by one person's mistakes.
"Our leaders are also human beings who make mistakes. The majority of them are good leaders with good morals."
The ANC's dominance is such that more than three-quarters of the 400 MPs who sit in the Cape Town parliament belong to the party.
While few observers believe the opposition parties can hope for an electoral breakthrough any time soon, there is widespread concern on the wider impact of voter disillusionment.
Xolela Mangcu, a columnist for the Business Day newspaper, said the rot had set in so deep it was time for a complete overhaul of the "corruption-ridden leadership".
"What this seems to suggest is that the ANC needs completely new leaders ... before we sink deeper and deeper into cynicism."
Johannesburg - An unprecedented string of scandals has led to a haemorraging of support for the ANC which can only be reversed with a thorough purge of the leadership, according to analysts.
With its former chief whip in prison, his successor accused of sexual harrassment and deputy president under a cloud after his financial advisor was jailed, the party which has dominated power since the end of apartheid appears intent on dragging itself through the mud on a weekly basis.
"This puts the party in as bad a position as ever before," said political analyst Frederick van zyl Slabbert.
"There is no cohesive control. The leadership is just giving speeches about corruption and everything, but there is no action, nothing is being done.
"The only solution, which seems to be hard for the party leaders, is to fire the corrupt officials and get Luthuli House (ANC headquarters) in order. Period."
Scandal is hardly a new phenomenon for the ANC.
Allan Boesak, one of its spiritual leaders during the battle apartheid, was jailed for siphoning off party funds in 2000 while former president Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie - who was also head of the ANC women's league - was convicted of fraud.
Perception of double standards
But the roll of shame of the past few months has left some to charge that its unchallenged authority since the end of whites-only rule 12 years ago has led to complacency and abuse of power.
When former chief whip Tony Yengeni was jailed for fraud in August, he was carried to prison on the shoulders of party supporters with the speaker of parliament and a cabinet minister in attendance as well.
The perception of double standards was further reinforced last weekend when Yengeni was pictured with beer in hand at a barbeque while on weekend leave less than three months into a four-year sentence.
His successor Mbulelo Goniwe, already being chased for unpaid child maintenance, was suspended last week after an intern alleged he sexually propositioned her.
Five ANC MPs are currently standing trial over accusations they fiddled travel expenses worth thousands of dollars.
And Jacob Zuma, the movement's deputy president who was cleared of rape earlier this year, still faces possible corruption charges linked to his former financial advisor and one-time ANC banker Schabir Shaik who last week began a 15-year jail sentence.
Voters may look elsewhere
Aubrey Matshiqi, an analyst at the Johannesburg-based Centre for Policy Studies, said the conduct of ANC bigwigs was damaging public faith in the country's fledgling democracy.
"It undermines the confidence of the voter, undermines the image of politics and politicians in general. People are no longer having confidence in the party's moral authority," he said.
Matshiqi said if the party is unable to clean up its house, then voters who have previously given their overwhelming backing to the ANC as a result of its leading role in the anti-apartheid struggle, may look elsewhere.
"If this tendency is not arrested soon, it may be beneficial to democracy, giving people a chance to look at reliable alternatives to the ANC," he sad.
Smuts Ngonyama, head of the ANC presidency, countered however that the public should be heartened by the party's transparency. "It goes to show that as a party, we are not sweeping anything under carpet," said Ngonyama.
"Mistakes do happen but that does not mean that will change the image of the party. The party is too big to be affected by one person's mistakes.
"Our leaders are also human beings who make mistakes. The majority of them are good leaders with good morals."
The ANC's dominance is such that more than three-quarters of the 400 MPs who sit in the Cape Town parliament belong to the party.
While few observers believe the opposition parties can hope for an electoral breakthrough any time soon, there is widespread concern on the wider impact of voter disillusionment.
Xolela Mangcu, a columnist for the Business Day newspaper, said the rot had set in so deep it was time for a complete overhaul of the "corruption-ridden leadership".
"What this seems to suggest is that the ANC needs completely new leaders ... before we sink deeper and deeper into cynicism."
