Not many political parties can get as lucky as the African National Congress (ANC).
Not only is the ANC the oldest liberation movement in the continent, it also boast being the only ruling party since the dawn of democracy in SA in April 1994.
But what makes the ANC so exceptionally lucky?
The answer is: History. No one, no matter how powerful, can obliterate history. That’s the key factor. The second one, but equally crucial, is the people. And here I refer to a litany of revered men and women, and indeed children, who have waged the struggle of righteousness for the liberty and freedom of the oppressed black in South Africa.
Along the way, the struggle by the ANC and its cadres inspired hundreds of communities the world over to demand an end to their own oppression and to live as respected citizens in the countries of their birth.
The ANC not only has history on its side, it also has some of the most influential names in its artillery: Walter and Albertina Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, whose son Thabo Mbeki later became the second president of democratic SA, Chief Albert Luthuli, Pixley ka Seme, Chris Hani, the list is endless and inter-generational.
Although most ANC heroes and heroines have passed on, most iconic of them all, Nelson Mandela lives on the most. Yet others who are still around give the ANC that extra impetus in the body politic of the country.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe, the esteemed veterans of the ANC who serve as a barometer for moral uprightness, the feel-good factors are diverse and vast.
The most precious gift for the ANC thus far has been the emergence of billionaire businessman Cyril Ramaphosa as the party president and the country’s first citizen.
His rise to power is particular sensational given the barrage of shenanigans that engulfed the administration of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
Although the markets and other indicators have described the rise of Ramaphosa as a breadth of fresh air, the mood among the general populace added to the new wave of positive change.
All of a sudden there are many who are likening the Ramaphosa administration to that of Mandela, the man whose expressed wish was to have Ramaphosa take over the reins after him.
Under Ramaphosa, the fortunes of the ANC are multiplying once again. Nearly a dozen of unpopular ministers associated one way or the other with allegations of state capture has recently been reshuffled by the new sheriff in town.
The chamber of mines has abandoned their litigation against the government over the controversial mining charter which has all but been shelved.
Under the Ramaphosa, the Tripartite Alliance of the ANC, SA Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) has found renewed strength and vigour to march on, and this is happening just over a year to the next general elections in May 2019.
In parliament, the opposition parties are finding resonance with the Ramaphosa-led ANC. Not long ago, the same opposition parties wanted to skin president Zuma and his party alive.
Now talk is to give Ramaphosa a chance. The loudest among the ANC’s opponents, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been explicitly elated with the ruling party’s gravitation toward the red beret, as the EFF are called, that possible coalitions between the parties are on the horizon.
So impressed by the ANC is Julius Malema, the hard-to-please Commander-in-Chief of the EFF, that he made a surprise announcement in Parliament that he was toppling the DA-led coalition in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro and will hand it to the ANC as a token of appreciation “for good behavior”.
This follows four important points implemented by the ANC amid insistence from the EFF. These are (1) the removal of Zuma as President, (2) Walk-in by poor students at tertiary institutions at the beginning of the year, (3) No singing of the apartheid-era Die Stem anthem at public events and (4) Land expropriation without compensation.
Two remote possibilities now look like they are likely to happen shortly. These are (1) the EFF will topple the DA at all three metros, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay and (2) the coalition between the ANC and EFF at national level after 2019 election is no longer a far-fetched dream, but a real possibility that lies within grasp.
Watch this space.
