The ANC’s patronage problems
Ability is not always seen as the most important quality when appointments are made by the ANC. Loyalty counts, and often governance suffers
Internal ANC factional battles are not just playing out in party structures but also starting to impede government’s work. This is a consequence of the mixed leadership elected at the ANC’s 2017 conference at Nasrec. One recent example is the battle that led to former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo’s resignation. But though it might be the most extreme example of the ANC’s factional battles spilling over into governance structures, it is certainly not the only case. Recently a council meeting in Pietermaritzburg did not constitute a quorum after some members from the ANC caucus did not attend. Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni says the ANC’s factional battle is having a "huge" effect on governance. "Deployment [in government] does not take into account the full capacity of the party but rather considers factions. Therefore loyalty is the litmus test rather than capacity," he tells the FM. Fikeni says that when people who have been appointed are from the same faction, and the ma...
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