‘Renewal’ has become a priority for the ANC, following election setbacks. It is, however, unlikely to represent a meaningful rupture with the organisation’s current decadence.
“Renewal” has become a priority for the ANC, following election setbacks. It is, however, unlikely to represent a meaningful rupture with the organisation’s current decadence. Thabo Mbeki is assisting the process, and he emphasises the weaknesses of the current membership. But it is the current leadership who enlisted these members. Insofar as it drives “renewal” it is unlikely to result in transformation in the ANC’s character. For a long time, despite some disagreement, I have admired the contributions of Thabo Mbeki to understanding of the liberation struggle, especially during the 1980s. I recall his being the first person that I heard - on the ANC’s Radio Freedom - to use the formulation “criminalise” to describe how the apartheid regime depicted and treated the struggle for liberation.