THE END OF THE ANC INTELLECTUAL?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 002715 SIPDIS AF/S PLEASE PASS TO A/S FRAZER E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2018 TAGS: KJUS PGOV KDEM SF SUBJECT: THE END OF THE ANC INTELLECTUAL? PRETORIA 00002715 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: DEPUTY POLITICAL COUNSELOR MADELINE Q. SEIDENSTRICKER FO R REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The ascendancy of African National Congress (ANC) leaders such as Julius Malema, routinely described as "uneducated" and "unpolished" by South Africans across the socio-economic spectrum is raising questions about the future of the ruling party as a place of ideas. The ANC still holds policy conferences and congresses that produce thought-provoking documents and manifestos -- early next year the ANC intends to celebrate its 97th birthday by releasing its latest party manifesto. Yet, even as the ANC is still the standard-bearer of intellectual thought for liberation movements, the party has struggled in recent years to maintain many of its traditions -- notably those of discussion and debate that appear to have fallen away under the administration of former President Thabo Mbeki. The party is likely to struggle still more to maintain such traditions under the Jacob Zuma administration despite the ANC President's push for greater collectivism in decision-making and consensus in implementation. Without a strong intellectual center, the party probably will struggle and become vulnerable to the phenomenon of the "cult of personality" and access to state patronage. End Summary. -------------- Where the ANC Came From -------------- ¶2. (C) There was a time when the ANC was seen as the international standard-bearer of intellectual thought for liberation movements. Leaders such as Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Joe Slovo, Bram Fischer, and Chris Hani were not just associated with the party but were also thinkers linked to some of the finest academic institutions in South Africa, if not the world. The ANC from the post-World War II generation onward was steeped in an intellectual tradition formed under the values of debate, policy position papers, critical reflection, and a broader understanding of trends such as pan-Africanism, Black Consciousness, communist theory, and the palaver. Like the Indian National Congress, throughout the 20th century the ANC was at the forefront of a globalization trend that saw liberation movements across the world sharing ideas and tactics. Importantly, Tambo sent a message in 1955 to fellow freedom fighters attending the Bandung conference as a way to sharpen links between Asia and Africa. Later, the ANC valued debate and critical reflection to such an extent that when the party decided to launch its armed wing known as the Umkhonto we Sizwe -- translated to "Spear of the Nation" -- against the apartheid government in 1961 writers such as Glenn Frankel said that Mandela, Slovo, and Mbeki agonized greatly before making their decision to pursue both non-violent and violent fronts. Similarly, the way in which ideas mobilized brought the various "exile" and "inzile" experiences to bear on how ANC leaders negotiated with the apartheid government during the Convention for a Democratic South Africa talks in the early 1990s. Former ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member Raymond Suttner, himself a legendary activist in the South African Communist Party (SACP) and ANC, told Poloff in late November that there "truly was a sense in those times that to advance in the ANC one had to advance through education." Suttner, who was a Qone had to advance through education." Suttner, who was a lawyer, said, "I mean, how else could one have kept up with the Mandelas, Sisulus, and Slovos of the world?" As an SACP activist, Suttner noted that often the greatest thinkers came up the ranks through the communist party in South Africa. -------------- -------------- Where the ANC Is Now: "Mbeki Killed Intellectualism" -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) The intellectual tradition of the ANC was still strong after the landmark 1994 election, but the now ruling party changed. Politicians, pundits, and political scientists have long lamented the fact that the ANC's "best and brightest" left parliamentary seats and their daily roles in the movement for business or civil society interests during the 1990s. Leaders such as Cyril Ramaphosa, Tokyo PRETORIA 00002715 002.2 OF 003 Sexwale, Pregs Govender, and others moved away from daily politics to care for business opportunities or ways of influencing government from the margins rather than from the inside. Many of those who left did so to follow their own career paths. Many others, however, left because they felt threatened by Mbeki's top down leadership style. According to ANC NEC member Ngoako Ramatlhodi fear accumulated under Mbeki to such an extent that no one spoke out against policies. He said, "Everyone was cowed and they allowed even father figures like (Nelson) Mandela to be embarrassed." Ramatlhodi noted that Mbeki had to be replaced at the 2007 ruling party congress because of the fear he instilled. Congress of the People (COPE) leader Mosioua Lekota, the national chairman of the ANC from 1997 to 2007, admitted in an October speech that "the ANC has moved away from its traditions because we (leaders and former leaders) were too secretive and did not give the people enough of a voice." He has stumped throughout his campaign as leader of COPE by saying things like "An ANC that does not allow dialogue between those with differing views is not the real ANC" or "An ANC that encourages attacks along tribal or ethnic lines is not the real ANC." He noted that the real ANC listened to the people and gave them the chance to influence how the party is run. ¶4. (C) Regardless of why some leaders left the ANC, what many see in the ruling party now is a "void without much place for intelligent commentary on policy," according to Witswatersrand University political philosopher Daryl Glaser. NEC member Pallo Jordan appears to agree with this characterization. Jordan, one of the ANC's leading intellectuals, in a November 12 address said the ANC is now a place for "debating among the deaf." He decried the ruling party's failure to mentor its young leaders so they can learn tradition. Witswatersrand professor and author of the "State of the Nation," Roger Southall told Poloff in mid-November the ANC is becoming the "dumb and dumber." He expressed befuddlement that the ANC has not disciplined controversial young leaders like Malema. Southall said, "What surprises me is that intelligent leaders such as Jordan or Policy Unit Director General Joel Netshitenzhe have said nothing about the harsh attacks launched by Malema and others within the ANC's Youth League." Presidency Policy Unit analyst Thabileng Mothabi told Poloff on December 4 that "he has a hard time getting ministers to read policy documents." He said, "ANC Youth League members come into meetings at the Union Buildings (the main offices of government) with their arms crossed and an uninterested air about them." He said, "Look, most of the guys who support Zuma cannot even get through their 'read books' and the only comments they make are usually along the lines of 'You missed 'a Youth' here or a 'government' there." Mothabi's statements suggest that ANC Youth League members are not engaged in reading documents but instead make comments to look like they have. A theme common to each of these commentators is the characterization that many of the traditions that made the ANC a standard-bearer of liberation movements have fell away during the Mbeki years. -------------- -------------- Where the ANC Is Going: How Richard Hofstadter Applies QWhere the ANC Is Going: How Richard Hofstadter Applies -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) American historian Richard Hofstadter once wrote that the American political system often is characterized by the tension between leaders with an "intellectual elitism" and those who appeal more directly to the "common man." Glaser says such tension -- which he characterized as "new to South African politics" -- is what has happened in the last five years within the ANC. He told Poloff in a December 8 meeting that ANC members decided to vote for Zuma "not because saw him as the movement's best leader but because he was a rejection of the kind of elitist, quasi-intellectualism of the Mbeki administration." (Note: By "quasi-intellectualism" Glaser meant to point out how bizarre he found Mbeki's stance on HIV. End Note.) He said that Zuma, often portrayed as a "country bumpkin," is popular because ordinary South Africans can relate to him. Glaser said, "In a sense his appeal is a dumbing down of the ANC's intellectual traditions even more than what happened under Mbeki, but this appeal is very real." So real, in fact, that Glaser noted he believes President Kgalema Motlanthe has no real chance of keeping the presidency. Glaser said, "Motlanthe is a statesman in line with Mbeki as a statesman. However, that is not what people want right now. They want someone they can connect with." PRETORIA 00002715 003.2 OF 003 According to Glaser, Southall, Suttner, and University of Pretoria professor Dirk Kotze, now more than ever there is the "vulgarism of the intellectual." Each of these scholars see this continuing under Zuma even though the ANC leader appears to represent a return to formation traditions of debate and policy position papers from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and SACP that are relevant to the ANC and read. ¶6. (C) With the intellectual tradition of the ANC waning, some political analysts and commentators say the only place to find the future of sharp dialogue and policy recommendation is COSATU. Glaser pointed to COSATU analyst Neil Coleman as an example of someone who is doing intellectual work within the tripartite alliance. Even there, however, he said there is not much value coming from him to the entire ANC. Similarly, University of Cape Town professor Zwelethu Jolobe told Poloff in a late November meeting that "if there is any underpinning of intellectual thought or ideological stance within the alliance it is coming from COSATU." Jolobe thought there really was not much of a culture of intellectualism anywhere, but if there was it is coming from COSATU. Glaser and Southall lamented that even future leaders of the ANC on college campuses such as University of Johannesburg and University of Witswatersrand do not show a penchant for intellectual engagement. Glaser said, "They are fully committed to the ANC, but often their essays suffer and they shy away from real debates in classes." Southall noted, "Most universities these days fail to inculcate an atmosphere that would lead to serious discussion on policy issues or debate within a movement. There is no intellectual tradition left at Wits." ¶7. (C) If the future of intellectualism in the ANC is bleak then one must ask where that leaves the movement. The movement probably is headed in two, not necessarily unrelated, directions. First, there is a strong indication that the "cult of personality" that has consumed the ANC since Mbeki fired Zuma as Deputy President in 2005 will continue. The dismissal of Zuma and later the fall of Mbeki had as much to do with who each of the leaders are as it did with economic or social policy stances. After all, Zuma served as Mbeki's Deputy for six years without being solely identified as pro-labor or anti-business. Moreover, many critics point to the fact that COPE has little to offer a voter that is different than the ANC. The underlying characteristic of the new party is that it offers leaders that are not associated with Zuma even though those leaders share many of the same values as the ANC. Second, there is a strong indication that debates over ideology could mask the debates over who should have access to state patronage mechanisms. Rather than the debates of old where communists challenged other ANC stalwarts over how the future of the South African state should look, the debates today look like how the state can be controlled to the benefit of those in the movement. Many critics and pundits decry the fact that Lekota left the ANC only when he was about the lose the benefit of his "blue light" (or flashing light used by vehicles to move important government leaders through traffic). -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) The days of Sisulu, Tambo, Mandela, Mbeki, Slovo, and Q8. (C) The days of Sisulu, Tambo, Mandela, Mbeki, Slovo, and Hani are over, and they have been over for a long time. The ANC is still the standard-bearer of intellectual thought for liberation movements, but the party has struggled in recent years to maintain many of its traditions. The party is likely to struggle still more to maintain such traditions under the Zuma administration, even as the ANC President pushes for greater collectivism in decision-making and consensus in implementation. Without a strong intellectual center, the party probably will struggle and become vulnerable to the phenomenon of the "cult of personality" and access to state patronage. BOST