By Philip Phalane
President Cyril Ramaphosa was recently criticised for his letter stating that the ANC is accused number one in the dock when it comes to corruption in the country.
Before democracy, ANC comrades in exile used loyalty to the party as the main currency in their political struggle.
They were scattered all over the world but managed to carry out their lifelong Struggle – freedom from the apartheid system. Loyalty to the party was a phenomenon closely monitored because the apartheid government constantly poached ANC comrades.
This was done to advance its cause – to ultimately destroy the ANC. That is how the term “Askari” was birthed and gained traction within the ANC military and political operations.
Loyalty to the party was based on the objectives that the party shared with the citizens of the country, thus betrayal of the ANC was equated to betrayal of the country. Being identified an Askrai in the ANC was considered an unforgivable crime.
Joe Mamasela is arguably one of the well-known Askaris. He was part of the Vlakplaas death squad led by colonel Eugene de Kock. Mamasela confessed to having been part of the abduction and murder of Port Elizabeth activists known as the “Pebco Three”, and the “Mamelodi Ten” youth activists.
We are now 26 years into the not so new democratic dispensation and the Askaris have taken a different form. There is an infiltration of “so-called” ANC comrades who do not care about the objectives the ANC shares with the people of South Africa. Recently, the country has been agonising about corruption committed by ANC members in the different spheres of government.
This has caused citizens to strongly rebuke the ANC and all its corrupt members. The culprits looting public funds must be treated with utter disdain. Citizens are still living in poverty, without basic services such as water, electricity, health care and shelter. Corruption is delaying the country’s progress and it further makes it difficult for the government to address citizens’ needs.
In 1955, the Congress of the People adopted the Freedom Charter which remains the ANC’s basic policy. One of the main declarations in the Freedom Charter reads: “The people shall share in the country’s wealth.” All those who are looting directly oppose the principles of the founding document of all ANC policies. This makes them “Askaris”, individuals responsible for the gross human rights violations. This is why graft makes it impossible for the government to appropriately conduct poverty alleviation interventions.
All Askaris must be purged from the ANC, for the ANC’s survival. No doubt, the ANC remains an important institution in the advancement of the struggle of our people. The ANC should not take the recent corruption allegations against its members lightly, as it threatens the sovereignty of the ANC in the political discourse of South Africa. Imagine a South Africa with ANC members whose only passion and purpose is to uphold the objectives of the policies of the ANC. This is the future we are all looking forward to.
The problem is not the ANC, but bogus members using the ANC to enrich themselves and their families. The ANC should not only relieve them of their duties, but should terminate their membership. Simply because their transgression was not only against the government, but also against the ANC’s core values.
We cannot blame the ANC for the corruption committed by the few. The ANC has in its ranks, comrades who are loyal to the country and its people. There are still numerous individuals who are not corrupt in the ANC. The incumbent president of the ANC, Cde Cyril Ramaphosa, was heavily criticised after writing a letter to the ANC stating the ANC stands as accused No 1 in the recent charges of corruption against its members. He was criticised for implicating the whole movement over the crimes committed by the few.
Subsequent to his letter, former president Cde JG Zuma wrote a letter addressing the current ANC president. Cde Zuma rebuked him for shifting the blame towards the movement instead of calling out the Askaris. Zuma wrote: “Mr President, your letter commits the cardinal error of implicating the ANC in matters that we as leaders and those deployed in the state must account for.
“To point your sharp end at the entire ANC and its ordinary working-class members is rather low and disappointing. Presently formulated, your letter lends credence to the suspicion that you seek to assist those, in our own ranks, involved in the attempts to destroy the ANC to hand it over to be a tool of white monopoly capital interest.”
For all its faults the ANC has done a lot and still has a lot to do for the people of this country.
The ANC is a leader of society and should be protected from all the Askaris who seek to destroy our glorious movement with their greed. It should be the agenda of all ANC members to protect the movement against individuals who care about their bellies more than our country.
The ANC brand should be safeguarded against all Askaris working with the enemy to destroy the movement. Individuals who commit crimes and are within the ranks of the ANC, do not represent the ANC.
The ANC should develop a hostile attitude towards criminals, especially those sent to serve the public. Crime against our people must be treated as the highest form of treason.
* Phalane is a social activist and a pastor at the 7th Day Adventist Church.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL.
The Star