Schizophrenic Campaign against the ANC by Ronnie Kasrils and Nozizwe Madlala
South Africa is bracing itself for the 5th democratic general elections since the fall of apartheid. This year's elections are based on a fiction of strengthened opposition, whose main election strategy is founded on discrediting government by spreading big lies, splurging millions of foreign money on advertisements, promising false hope and sowing divisions among the South African society.
In the run-up towards these elections, right-wing elements and ultra-conservatives have recruited our leaders of yesteryear to pursue their neo-colonial agenda, whilst fronting with black faces and parading them in media coverage. Battle lines are clearly drawn and defined, even our yesteryear heroes who are influencing the derailment of the NDR have been finally exposed in their true oppositionist form.
These anti-ANC individuals and groupings are glued together by disgruntlement, bitterness and a bizarre sense of entitlement as they believe that they are above the organization and collective. They have selectively forgotten our core principles of internal democracy and democratic centralism. Their recent public utterances have finally confirmed what we have been suspecting all along, "wounded tigers" who have chosen to purposefully compromise principle in a manner unbefitting a cadre of our movement.
The Party wishes to reiterate our conviction that the masses of our people will once more affirm ANC as their most trusted force on May 7 and not detractors who are unable to internalize our internal democratic processes and resolve different opinions in a comradely manner. Would it not be a more sober and principled approach for public figures and veterans alike to instead resolve internal challenges and contradictions through internal democratic engagements than to narrowly run to the media?
As the Party, we remain resolute in campaigning for the resounding victory of the ANC. The ANC remains the only political mass-based formation to drive a progressive agenda of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa. Influencing society to spoil their ballots is the worst form of betrayal of what Dube, Luthuli, Tambo, Sisulu, Mandela, Hani and Mahlangu fought for. In fact this a treasonous act that aims to divide the people's camp and drive them into the hands of neo-liberals and fascists.