Staff ReporterThe African National Congress (ANC) is planning to audit its membership and assess the quality of its constituencies as part of a renewal process following poor performance in South Africa’s recent general election.
Former President Thabo Mbeki, addressing a party workshop in Gauteng, said the ANC “has no option but to renew” after losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.
The ANC received 40% of the vote in the 29 May general election, its worst result in 30 years. This outcome has forced the party to form a Government of National Unity with opposition parties, including its long-time rival, the Democratic Alliance.
“We will renew ourselves so that even the masses of the people can say this is a different ANC from the one that we did not vote for,” Mbeki told party members at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg.
He emphasised that the renewal process should not be conducted on a factional basis and that grassroots members should have the opportunity to contribute their views on the party’s leadership.
The former president also highlighted that ANC conferences have consistently identified the decline in political quality of its members as a challenge over many years.
“Part of the renewal, you need a process to audit this membership, in order to, on the basis of certain criteria, to be able to say stay on as a member and you go on probation,” Mbeki explained.
Mbeki called for a membership audit to improve the “political quality” of ANC members, a move he sees as crucial for the party’s future. This audit would assess members based on certain criteria, potentially placing some on probation.
As the party embarks on this renewal process, it faces the challenge of regaining public trust and adapting to a new political landscape in South Africa. The ANC’s ability to transform itself will likely play a crucial role in determining its political future and its ability to govern effectively in a coalition environment.
