Candidates with unsullied pasts needed for ANC presidency

Next month, the national conference of the ANC will convene to elect a National Executive Committee and president. This conference will be like no other.

The once omnipotent and unified ANC, where thoughts, policy and even disagreements began and ended in the tried and tested formula of strength in unity and the "collective" above all else, is in the process of disintegrating. This united front was vital for the longevity of the ANC against the mighty bastion of apartheid. But this bastion is broken and long gone.

Old ways are no longer appropriate to deal with new challenges. Sustainable social development, including poverty alleviation and employment, has always been the number one challenge in South Africa. But today, our tarnished democracy's poor performance in these areas has added an even greater challenge which, if not resolved, will make sustainable social development impossible: the moral regeneration of our society.

Good governance is a prerequisite for sustainable social development. It requires leaders who hold integrity, honesty and respect for all close to their hearts, where leaders provide worthy role models for the generations of youth who will one day become leaders.

For a second time in our post-1948 history, a window of real opportunity for change is opening. Are we going to use it?

After 1994, the tripartite alliance played a vital role incorporating the various freedom movements into our new democracy. But the alliance has been dogged by infighting for many years now. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and ANC Youth League (ANCYL) have been unhappy with the direction in which the ANC, and specifically President Thabo Mbeki, have taken the party over the past 13 years. It has taken the Jacob Zuma situation to bring it to a head.

Will it actually cause the split? Or will "collective strength" prevail? Up to this point in our young democracy, the alliance's "bread" has been firmly buttered on the side of staying together, but for the first time, Cosatu, the SACP and ANCYL have a real chance of running the show as against being sidekicks.

This battle for the leadership would normally be healthy. In countries where the "comrades at all costs" mentality does not prevail, candidates would be lobbying for their eligibility based on what they can do to move the country forward. Here such debate is stifled.

Two camps have emerged, each standing firmly behind their candidate. It is most unfortunate that as a result of inflated egos enjoying gravy train privileges on the one hand and desperation for a "man of the people" on the other, we the voting, tax-paying public have been left with two most unfavourable candidates.

The ANC, particularly under the latter years of Mbeki's reign, has become an arrogant, corrupt, bloated bureaucracy. The poor of this country (the vast majority) have not seen the promise of a better life for all materialise - not even close.

Equally worrisome is the government's failure to foster the moral regeneration to which it inexhaustibly pays lip service. Crime, gangs, alcohol and drug abuse, especially tik, in conjunction with a failing criminal justice system and correctional services, are destroying our society at least as severely as apartheid did in the past.

The overriding failure of the government has been its inability to achieve good governance: it has utterly failed to provide the worthy role models needed to foster moral regeneration. Corruption, abuse of power, poor judgment, inappropriate behaviour and a dire lack of accountability is evident in all spheres and at all levels of government.

A few examples:

ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma chose to have unprotected sex with a younger, HIV-positive woman, in spite of him being married and at one time having headed the drive for moral regeneration among the youth. He has also been closely implicated in Schabir Shaik's fraud conviction and, unless the case is squashed, will soon face corruption charges himself.

Commissioner of Police Jackie Selebi - also president of Interpol, no less - is under investigation for alleged links with drug lords, organised crime and even, perhaps, a murder investigation. A warrant for his arrest has been issued and squashed. He does not deem it necessary to step down (neither do his employers) until his innocence or guilt is proven in court. At the very least, he seems to include shady characters among his closest friends.

The Judge President of the Western Cape, John Hlope, was found guilty of behaviour unbecoming a judge when he gave a company permission to commence with a case against a fellow judge without disclosing he was on the plaintiff's payroll.

Judge Nkola Motata was arrested on a drunken driving charge after crashing into a wall. He went to extreme lengths to delay court proceedings. He is also still "in office" officially, but seems to be absent nonetheless.

Former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni is imprisoned for fraud, and not once has he expressed remorse. In fact, he was escorted into prison by many prominent ANC officials, including the Premier of the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool. When allowed home on a visit during his jail term, he continued to flout rules by drinking alcohol in contradiction of his parole conditions. Once again, on his release, he was welcomed by dozens of ANC officials.

Clergyman and politician Allan Boesak was convicted of corruption and was carried into prison on the shoulders of prominent ANC officials, including Rasool, and even a few of the prison guards joined in the welcoming party. He, too, has offered no remorse.

Ex-Ekurhuleni Metro Police chief Robert McBride was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, defeating the ends of justice and fraud. He has been given "time off" pending the outcome of his case.

The Travelgate scandal - many offenders are still in office.

Corruption is also ingrained in the Department of Home Affairs, the police and traffic licensing departments.

Top officials from the Land Bank have allegedly siphoned off more than R2 billion (earmarked for farmers) to fund the property ventures, such as golf courses and polo fields, of their close friends.

The Scorpions, the organisation responsible for exposing much of the crime and corruption, are continuously under attack by government officials, who are relentlessly trying to "reel them in", instead of heaping praise on them for their high conviction rate.

Tolerance of each other is a priority in our society, yet all our leaders (opposition leaders, too) sling racial mud at each other.

In charge of this fiasco is a president who, like a medieval monarch, tolerates no criticism and demands complete faithfulness from his "subjects". The result is that the whistleblowers, not the offenders, are most often given the boot (Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Andrew Feinstein, and so on) and party loyalty becomes a greater attribute than honesty and integrity.

It is within this climate that the alliance squabbles about succession.

It is true Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale may have at one time been ardent socialists, but today they are extremely wealthy businessmen. It is, therefore, understandable that millions of South Africans may not see their social upliftment coming from these highly efficient profit-makers.

It may also be true that Zuma is a man of the people. It may be true he has the skill and the will to head a government that encourages honest debaters instead of sycophants. He may even be capable of introducing genuinely sustainable social development policies to eradicate poverty, but is he truly the only one?

Is there no one else who has these abilities in addition to possessing the sound moral judgment Zuma lacks? Of course there is, but the two factions are so bent on pushing their own man that they are paralysing not only themselves, but the whole organisation.

An ANC split could prove very good for this country: to have a vibrant opposition with a real chance of grasping power away from a corrupt, fat-cat, complacent government. However, it could be bad, very bad: two powerful, but equally corrupt, political parties would be the end of this great country.

Most ANC members have been too spineless to demand effective, ethical governance from Mbeki (whose favourite tactic these days is to whinge about the press). Cosatu, the SACP and ANCYL, on the other hand, have shown extremely poor judgment in their ardent support for Zuma, a man whose abysmal ethics have already let us down badly once.

Our leaders have to stop this feud of "Mbeki/Zuma at all costs". They do not need to use political games to create a reason to split. They outgrew each other long ago, and with an election two years away, the time is now perfect. What is uncertain is whether they have the will to abandon the privilege their current positions bring.

It is time again for true, strong and brave people to come forward. Daily now, there are political commentators and letters to the editor from within the black community demanding effective, moral governance. Candidates for the presidency must have unsullied pasts and futures cloaked in the mantle of the worthy codes of governance enshrined in the ANC's Freedom Charter. Thousands sacrificed their lives to see these codes be upheld - please don't let their deaths be in vain.

We are a nation of incredibly talented people. We can lead an African renaissance.

Cowan is a social worker at Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust. She writes in her personal capacity.

With acknowledgements to Lizzy Cowan and Cape Times.