The Gauteng PEC member, Thami Ntentene, said the renewal of the ANC was no longer a problem but an act of defiance.
Ntentene said the matter of the party’s renewal was raised as far back as 2017, adding that it was also raised in the last elective conference but it has not really taken effect.
“The issue of renewal is no longer a problem, it’s an act of wishful neglect. The renewal of the ANC is a matter of do or die for the ANC. If the ANC is an organisation of people, it should be an organisation of good quality of people,” he added.
Ntentene said the calibre of the people in the organisation would determine the quality of the people and would also enhance the performance of the organisation.
“There are cases where we discovered that certain branches of the ANC are bought by wealthy people. That’s why we will have certain regions being led by questionable people.”
Last week, former president Thabo Mbeki said the party’s failure to renew would be the death sentence for the organisation.
Speaking at a dialogue at Unisa last week, Mbeki reflected on the politics of the day and his party’s decline in support in recent times.
He said it was critical to audit the ANC membership to purge it of corrupt elements.
“In all of these conferences, the ANC keeps saying the quality of our membership is declining as a result of which you have many people who are members of the ANC who are not ANC, they don’t support its value system, its objectives.
“It’s anything and therefore the renewal process of the ANC must include an audit of this membership, who are these people who call themselves ANC, there is a slogan that has become quite popular in that context, better fewer but better, so the ANC has to do that. I am raising that matter because you deal with corruption issues without that process,” the former president added.
Mbeki said it was concerning that the party’s past three national conferences put renewal at the top of the agenda, however, it was yet to be implemented.
He believed that the only way the ANC could cleanse itself of corrupt people was through a rigorous audit of its membership.
“You will see that, in all of these conferences of the ANC I am talking about, the ANC does a critical assessment of itself, and in all of these conferences, the ANC keeps saying the quality of our membership is declining.
“As a result, you have many people who are members of the ANC who are not ANC. They don’t support its value system and its objectives.”
The Star
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