ANC’s crisis of morality

Outrage has greeted the announcement that former ANC Chief Whip, Tony Yengeni, convicted, sentenced and indeed still on parole for defrauding parliament and taking a kickback on a Mercedes 4x4, has been appointed to the ANC NEC’s committee to investigate/clarify a possible Zuma role in the much-vaunted ‘Arms Deal’. MK veterans (God help us if they become the underpinning power, a la Robert Mugabe’s thugs) have reacted in stereotypical fashion by ‘standing behind their leaders’. No intellect required fellas. My buddies, right or wrong.

I listened to the new Treasurer-general of the ANC, Mathews Phosa, attempting to defend Yengeni’s role in such an investigation. He said something like, ‘There’s no such thing as a lifetime sentence’ when referring to Yengeni. Kinda, ‘Let bygones be bygones and let’s move on.’ The problem is, the ANC has now totally consolidated the notion (Winnie Madizikela-Mandela is another case in point) that no matter what you’ve done or been convicted for, all will be forgiven if you’ve been and continue to be, one of the party faithful. This is what does and will forever separate the ANC’s version of democracy from that of developed economies.

It also mirrors Thabo Mbeki’s utter inability to rein in the catastrophe masquerading as our national Minster of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. If you read Mark Gevisser’s (Google him) biography on Mbeki, you’ll understand that he and the then Manto Mali, had some narrow squeaks together, whilst leaving South Africa via Botswana and Dar es Salaam, for exile. I understand how difficult it must be to divorce friendship from competence. But he could, years ago, have put her into a more innocuous position where she and South Africa would have been shielded from ridicule.

The exposé on her years-later alleged predations in Botswana, where as hospital supervisor she is said to have swiped a patient’s watch and was declared persona non grata by the government, was cringe-inducing. Her drinking habits are a national joke. Yet Mbeki (as was Tony Blair with one Clare Short, British Labour Party MP and former Party Chief Whip) is for some reason, unable or unwilling to get rid of her. One wonders whether Manto and Clare ‘have something’ on these men, making them royal game and a protected species?

And we mustn't, while dealing with corruption issues, forget the 'Travel-Gate' parliamentary travel voucher scam. Those convicted and fined continue as MPs.

Stereotyping Africa and Africans has always enraged Mbeki. Yet, if the ANC had consciously strategised to sully its reputation and consolidate in the world’s view, the notion that Africa will indeed never change, they couldn't have done a better job.

Their consistent and insistent protection of wayward brothers and sisters has done irreparable reputational damage. They’ve even been prepared to elect someone with legal clouds and vultures hanging over his head, as their movement’s president. Nowhere else in the civilized world would this be tolerated. British media were quoted at the time saying "It would have been a little more difficult getting into number 10 [Downing Street]."

I fear that what the ANC suffers from most, is an utter inability to transform their thinking from a struggle movement into a civilized, modern-day democratic entity, exhibiting impartiality, morality and an unassailable sense of ethics. Until and unless this is addressed, we will continue on our downward perceptual trajectory. The ANC is bosom to some phenomenal intellectual capital and talent. What it hasn’t got, is a good understanding of reputation management. Which is sad.

Go read The Times article on the topic of Yengeni.