LETTER: Senility plagues the ANC

Senility is defined as a weakness or mental infirmity associated with deterioration of the body and mind in the elderly. Its symptoms and defects are intellectual impairment, progressive memory loss, poor judgment, impaired concentration and confusion.

The ANC began to show the symptoms of senility when it was in its late 80s to early 90s. With senility taking over, it became vulnerable to all sorts of opportunistic diseases — corruption, nepotism and cadre deployment. While the cancer of corruption grew rapidly, eating away its moral fibre, the demon of factionalism was at large, tormenting its soul.

The party began to make irrational judgments, eroding the gains it had itself made. That was when it killed one of its own offspring, the Scorpions. Suffering from progressive memory loss, the ANC seems to have forgotten that media freedom is a cornerstone of the democracy it fought for. It is now fixated on muzzling the judiciary.

At a policy level, the party appears even more confused. It speaks in different tongues to different audiences, be it on the death penalty, economic policy or social transformation. Reckless nationalism is thriving as a result of this confusion.

The ANC has lost its sense of selflessness. Infighting and appetite for pomposity is tearing it apart. The age of senility has brought miseries and internal decay. Thus the battle for the soul of the ANC is no more — it has become a battle for tenders.

This chase for pomposity will accelerate the party’s demise in the 2024 general election.

Thulani Dasa
Khayelitsha 

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