The NDR, the liberation movement and its one time opposition: a short history and a sorry tale

When the Congress of the People was formed, there was a political moment that had seized our country. Apart from the difficult ANC Conference in 2007, subsequent events created tension, anxiety and even fear in the body politic. The analysis made at the time was that the National Democratic Revolution had to be defended, including from forces in the liberation movement itself. COPE was formed to defend the Constitution, the rule of law, to fight corruption and to mobilize for the vision contained in the Freedom Charter.

COPE attracted South Africans of all races and political affiliations. As a political movement COPE was a victim of its own success, insofar as its ability to appeal to all South Africans brought with it a mass of various philosophies into the organization. COPE was an outpost for everyone from the neoliberal to the Marxist, from the communist to the federalist.

The conditions for such a coalescence of diametrically opposed philosophies was achieved because all of those who supported, joined and voted for COPE were concerned by the perceived rise of dangerous populism in this country. COPE members knew what they opposed and largely it was an opposition to certain personalities within the ruling alliance.

We were told, and we believed that our constitution was about to be ripped up, that we would soon become another failed state, and among some within the ANC, that the principles of the NDR were to be sacrificed for the short term economic and political gain of certain individuals.

It is therefore no surprise that under these conditions, both actual and perceived, that the romantic notion of a majority black opposition party would gain real traction within the body politic of South Africa. COPE knew what they were against, they just did not know what they stood for. South Africa circa 2009 was a very uncertain place with an uncertain future. 

Whatever the merits of this analysis and it now seems that this was a rather exaggerated view of the situation in the country, there is clearly little merit in this view now. Developments in the country have shown that;

• The Constitution is being defended by the ANC led Alliance and the threats to the Constitution come from various quarters in our society,
• The rule of law is a key focus of the government, our courts and of various forces in society,
• Corruption occurs in all political parties, and
• The Freedom Charter is a beacon that mobilizes forces across society, even in opposition parties.

COPE's vision, mission, program and even policies never differed dramatically from the ANC. In fact, the differences in policies between the ANC and most opposition parties are very limited.

What is clear is that these threats to our democracy do not arise from the ANC. They are a manifestation of the social conditions that prevail in our society. To that end, no party is immune from these contradictions and challenges. The question is, which party can best address these conditions and challenges?

Our country is one in which poverty, ignorance and disease are still conditions a large percentage of the population suffer. Unemployment, inequality, low economic growth, poor services and corruption, are the material condition of our society. These are the legacy of colonialism, rapacious capitalism and apartheid.

While all parties profess to address these challenges, it is only the ANC and its Allies that have consistently put forward a program and policies to address these. While there is much work to be done, we can already see the results of professionalization and commitment to service delivery in several government departments, for example, the Department of Home Affairs.

Electoral politics has forced the opposition to adopt the policies of the ANC and even to try and claim its heroes and heroines. In this regard, it has to be said that the common concerns of our country's citizens - corruption, poor services, etc.-can be fought for by the ruling party and the opposition.

To that end, working together is not an unnatural thing for these parties. But there is a difference between working together tactically and being strategically aligned. Issues such as addressing poverty, inequality, the growth path of the economy, etc., are not issues on which there can be unanimity between parties who represent different class or racial interests.

COPE suffered the consequences of conflating such issues. For instance, it made sense for COPE and other opposition parties to co-operate on issues such as corruption and specific legislation. But there can be no doubt that COPE could not claim to be able to represent the interests of its own constituency, while simultaneously abandoning issues such as transformation of the economy and fighting for economic liberation.

In the final analysis, what COPE set out to do has been addressed to a greater or lesser extent by the current leadership of the ANC. To therefore claim that COPE needs to continue to exist as a ‘watchdog' of the liberation movement is not a sustainable argument. This does not mean that the ANC is a perfect organization. Its leadership has pointed out that the ANC needs to rid itself of factionalism, corruption and the culture of self-interest and enrichment at the expense of others.

The program of the liberation movement is to address these issues - the legacy of colonialism, capitalism and apartheid. COPE was formed to be of that movement and not an opposition to that program. It is clear that COPE and its leaders failed in this respect and the party has been reduced to an organisation that serves little to no useful purpose. None of the key challenges in COPE have been addressed.

It is hard to see how the party can therefore convince the electorate that it can overcome up the enormous challenges in our society. The Congress of the People, while a beautiful idea, has been rendered a political redundancy by its ineffectiveness in keeping its own house clean, and by the fact that the ANC continues to achieve an overwhelming mandate to govern. Neither COPE nor the DA has managed to make significant inroads into the base of the ANC - the poorest of the poor South Africans, whose forbearers wrote the Freedom Charter.

COPE will simply meander towards political oblivion while its leaders search for relevance in a world where nobody of note cares for the fate of a seeming good idea that was based on an incorrect analysis of the social and historical conditions of our body politic. It's time to ‘man up', as they say, and do the right thing - go back home.

Phillip Dexter, former COPE MP and Head of Communications, has gone home to the ANC. He writes in his personal capacity.

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