The 2017 ANC Policy Conference: Bereft of Content, Yet Raising Uncertainties

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 06 Jul 2017 by Iraj Abedian

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The much-awaited ANC mid-term Policy Conference was wrapped up yesterday. As anticipated, the Conference was far more about the critical succession planning than any serious focus on any ideological or socio-economic policy issues. The observers had long argued that no meaningful policy debate could take place in a milieu where the Party is split between the Zuma slate and the Reformers. The Zuma camp is corrupt, captured, and engaged in a systematic erosion of the ANC’s and the State’s governance principles and institutions. Whereas the Reformers are committed to rescue the Party and its legacy at all cost. The two camps, although not officially but de facto, are led by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma(NDZ) [President Zuma of x-wife], and Mr Cyril Ramaphosa (CR). In effect the Policy Conference was designed as a curtain raiser for the forthcoming Elective Congress to be held in December 2017. The two camps knew that any weakness in the Policy Conference and during the proxy succession battles would prove fatal in the actual Elective Congress where succession would be sealed. As such amidst nearly 4000 delegates and during the debates of the 11 Commissions of the Policy Conference every administrative and policy issue was open for contestation and even argumentation. The Zuma camp had its well-choreographed strategy constructed way back in January-February 2017. It was built on a strategy developed by a London-based PR Agency called Bell Pottinger- which had been commissioned by the Gupta Family for the task in hand. At the core of Bell Pottinger strategy was the need for a Radical Economic Transformation(RET) and a rallying call of mobilization against White Monopoly Capital...