Former ANC KwaZulu-Natal deputy speaker, Mike Mabuyakul. (Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Mike Mabuyakul, a former deputy speaker of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, warned that the party risked implosion if it did not adapt to the new political environment.
Addressing members of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in Durban at the weekend, Mabuyakul said the ANC could not continue to use the same tactics it used to rally support during the liberation struggle.
The ANC, which has been in power since the advent of democracy in 1994, lost its majority for the first time in last month's general election.
Mabuyakul maintained that the ANC did a good job as a government during its 30 years in power, but said the organisation had since become a victim of its success.
“To fully understand this, it needs to be contextualized in historical terms: what happens to a liberation movement after more than 30 years in power?”
“Once the ruling party comes to power, it suffers from the sins of the incumbent government. Governing is much more complicated and difficult than mobilizing society to join the revolution,” he said.
“The first lesson is that liberation movements become victims of their own success. This is significant in that the achievements of the revolution are taken for granted, their strategic importance becomes the norm, and society always expects more.”
“It is crucial that liberation movements are adaptable and always lead by example and dictate the change agenda. Failure to do so will lead to political instability and extinction,” he said.
Mabuyakul said it was important for the ANC to understand the different stages of its mission.
“There are eras and phases of revolution. Each is important and must be properly understood. The current era is significant in itself. We have gone through several phases of revolution. We moved from the apartheid regime and the liberation phase to democracy. We gained political power and removed apartheid laws from the statutes. We continue to fight to gain economic equality. We are still stuck in this phase of the struggle,” he said.
In May's general election, the ANC lost most of its voters, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, to former president Jacob Zuma's Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party.
Mabuyakul, who is also a former MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA), said the ANC should accept its current position.
“We need to humble ourselves before the masses of our people and speak up. We need to outsmart, outsmart and outmaneuver the pseudo-cult tendencies creeping into our political system. We should all be worried about the wave of cultism that has taken the KZN constituency like a storm.”
“We should not waste time on internal struggles when our enemies are planning their next attack,” he said.
The ANC failed to secure a majority in the general elections, forcing it to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) which included the DA, IFP, Patriotic Alliance, GOOD, FF+, UDM, Rise Mzansi and Al Jama'ah.
“GNU gives us an opportunity to regroup and sharpen our spears to take on our competitors head on. We should reject with contempt the idea that GNU is a treacherous approach to the capitalist class,” Mabuyakul said.
This article was first published in The Witness.