Jacob Zuma’s decision to go dominates ANC conference

A drastic drop in paid-up members, corruption and how to tackle it, and President Jacob Zuma’s decision to not stand for another term as party leader dominated the African National Congress’s national general council this weekend.

The conference in Johannesburg is used to conducting a mid-term electoral review, and leadership succession debates are frowned upon as a rule.

But Mr Zuma went against the norm on Saturday when he told journalists he had no interest in running for ANC president for a third time.

"Even if they [ANC members] beg me I won't stand [again for president]," he told the Mail and Guardian newspaper on the sidelines of the conference, without going into reasons behind this decision.

There have been calls by groups within the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) for Mr Zuma to run for a third term as party president, even though constitutionally he is unable to be the country’s president again because of the position’s two-term limit.

So the unexpected declaration by Mr Zuma, who has been party president since 2007, would appear to throw the ANC’s succession race wide open a full two years before the movement’s next leader is appointed.

When addressing delegates on Friday evening, Mr Zuma also referred to an organisational report that revealed party membership had fallen from just over 1.2 million to 769,000 since the last elective conference in 2012.

“The membership has dropped because of gate-keeping, therefore depriving the ANC of new members,” Mr Zuma said.

“There is no recruitment. Our election majority has dropped over the years because some people have become disillusioned with the party and others have abstained from elections to show their dissatisfaction.”

Haemorrhaging support

Out of South Africa’s nine provinces, six had seen significant reductions in party membership with Mr Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal showing the highest fall in paid-up members, going from 331,820 in 2012 to 158,199 this year.

However, the following day party leaders tried to limit the perception that the movement was haemorrhaging support by saying about 200,000 new members were not counted in their membership audit, as party rules state they must serve a six-month probation period.

Allegations

Corruption and factionalism in the party were also presented at the conference – that debates a wide variety of issues – as two of the “serious challenges” facing the ANC ahead of local elections next year.

National Executive Member Nathi Mthethwa said the movement was finding it difficult to deal with corruption within its ranks because its integrity committee was not achieving results.

“The committee should decide and not make recommendations to the NEC on whatever it is dealing with, because there is reluctance to act amongst the members of the NEC,” he said.

Mr Mthethwa said that part of the public’s frustration with the organisation is that when allegations against party leaders are investigated the accused retain their position and responsibilities, because they are innocent until proved guilty.

“That creates a problem because the negativity drags for a long period because it becomes a legal matter.

“By the end of it the image of the ANC, rightly or wrongly, has been affected,” he said.