LETTER: Nomvula Mokonyane should fall on her sword

The question of the week is whether the colour of the burnt-orange tracksuit that ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane wore to the party’s media briefing last Friday has any symbolic significance.

“Mama Action”, as she is fondly known in political circles, proudly announced that the ANC regards accountability as a pillar of its future. “Everybody needs to be held accountable,” she said, pointing out that the ANC election manifesto stressed the need for accountability for the first time.

The ANC’s new stance on accountability is consistent with the unity government’s formation on the basis that a firm embrace of constitutionalism under the rule of law would be the watchwords of the new “post-dominant party” order the government of national unity (GNU) presages.

The old ANC’s national democratic revolution didn’t even get a mention in the invitation to all parties represented in parliament when the invitation to join the GNU was extended by the ANC. Rightly so — revolutionary “hegemonic control of all the levers of power” is inconsistent with the notion of a multiparty democracy of the kind specified in the constitution.

Accountability is a cornerstone of the rule of law, so its prominence in ANC thinking for the future of SA is most welcome. The World Justice Project (WJP) defines the rule of law as “a durable system of laws, institutions, norms and community commitment that delivers accountability, just laws, open government and accessible justice”. The first of the four universal principles of the rule of law is, according to the WJP: “The government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.”

In the Zondo state capture commission hearings “Mama Action” morphed into “Mama Aston” when details of her dealings with Bosasa led to her identification as a person of interest to the prosecuting authorities given the evidence about the Aston Martin, the birthday gifts, meat, Xmas cheer and the bribes to keep Bosasa out of trouble.

The bigger question is whether all those in the ANC rightly identified as crooked in the Zondo report are willing to enter plea bargains and leave public life as an act of penance and exercise in practising what they preach about holding themselves accountable. Only after that will the much-vaunted “renewal” of the ANC be possible.

Paul Hoffman
Director, Accountability Now

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