Now that the ANC policy conference has come and gone, the question is: Will there be more clarity on policy, more unity in the party and better governance in our republic?
Given the centrality of the ANC in our national life, this question cannot be left to members of the party alone.
We all should be interested in the affairs of the party that governs our state.
While the tone of the leaders who reported the outcomes of the deliberations that took place in various commissions sounded a tad mature, the fact that it is ultimately the ANC's elective conference in December that will adopt resolutions means that we must continue to wait.
ANC members would probably sell it as a mark of deep democracy, but the idea of policy discussions before, during and after a national policy conference that cannot adopt policies is confusing.
Why not have policy discussions before, and adopt the policies definitively at a policy conference?
Elective conferences seem more suited to deal with leadership issues and elections. Well, that is an internal matter for the ANC to ponder.
What is relevant for us ordinary South Africans is that, even after the policy conference, we are still called upon to wait for branches to discuss further, and for December to finally decide.
Back to the first component of our big question: Will there be more clarity after the policy conference? The answer is, please wait.
Some might say you and I must not worry about unity in the ANC.
Such an argument would be sound, if disunity in the ANC had no implications for our state. We know it does.
Now that the policy conference is out of the way, full attention will be paid to the next big prize - the elective conference in December.
This means that the ANC will be more divided, and indeed more cacophonous.
Given the high political stakes, we must expect factions in the ANC to be at their harshest.
It will be a zero-sum game, guided by the mentality that, "You shall be destroyed, if you don't destroy".
Money and scandals will be poured into this war of annihilation.
Again, the answer to those who wonder if there will be more unity in the ANC following its policy conference is simple: please wait.
The factional fights on the road to December will have serious implications for the governance of our republic.
To be frank, there will be no governance.
The men and women who constitute our national cabinet are members of ANC factions that will work hard to destroy each other.
The idea that such people would sit around the table and focus on governing the country is naïve.
From now until December, Jacob Zuma's preoccupation will be to ensure that Cyril Ramaphosa does not use his position in government as a platform to prove that he is a better leader than Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Captured ministers like Mosebenzi Zwane and Des van Rooyen will do their best to ensure that the wishes of the Guptas come true.
For they know that, should Dlamini-Zuma be defeated, prison will be a real possibility.
Other members of cabinet who support Ramaphosa will also do their best to ensure that he is elected.
They know that, should he not succeed, they will have to rediscover their ordinariness. For the first time in years, they will have to relearn how to drive a car to go and buy bread.
Here is the last component of our big question: Following the ANC's policy conference, will there be better governance in our republic?
Yet again, the answer is: please wait.
In fact, we will have to wait even longer before the return of stability in our government. After December, the focus will not be on governing.
The next prize for whoever wins will be 2019.
Be it Ramaphosa or Dlamini-Zuma, the winner will know that, given the mess that the ANC has caused our country, it is no longer obvious that the party will win the next elections.
What will complicate political life for the winner is that, after December, losers will not support winners.
The division is so deep in the ANC that it is impossible for anyone to reunite the party.
There is a possibility of a new splinter party after December.
So, if you had hoped to find answers from the ANC's national policy conference, here is one for you: please wait.
OPINION: Governance of republic suffers as deeply divided ANC asks SA to wait until 2019
Now that the ANC policy conference has come and gone, the question is: Will there be more clarity on policy, more unity in the party and better governance in our republic?
Given the centrality of the ANC in our national life, this question cannot be left to members of the party alone.
We all should be interested in the affairs of the party that governs our state.
While the tone of the leaders who reported the outcomes of the deliberations that took place in various commissions sounded a tad mature, the fact that it is ultimately the ANC's elective conference in December that will adopt resolutions means that we must continue to wait.
ANC members would probably sell it as a mark of deep democracy, but the idea of policy discussions before, during and after a national policy conference that cannot adopt policies is confusing.
Why not have policy discussions before, and adopt the policies definitively at a policy conference?
Elective conferences seem more suited to deal with leadership issues and elections. Well, that is an internal matter for the ANC to ponder.
What is relevant for us ordinary South Africans is that, even after the policy conference, we are still called upon to wait for branches to discuss further, and for December to finally decide.
Back to the first component of our big question: Will there be more clarity after the policy conference? The answer is, please wait.
Some might say you and I must not worry about unity in the ANC.
Such an argument would be sound, if disunity in the ANC had no implications for our state. We know it does.
Now that the policy conference is out of the way, full attention will be paid to the next big prize - the elective conference in December.
This means that the ANC will be more divided, and indeed more cacophonous.
Given the high political stakes, we must expect factions in the ANC to be at their harshest.
It will be a zero-sum game, guided by the mentality that, "You shall be destroyed, if you don't destroy".
Money and scandals will be poured into this war of annihilation.
Again, the answer to those who wonder if there will be more unity in the ANC following its policy conference is simple: please wait.
The factional fights on the road to December will have serious implications for the governance of our republic.
To be frank, there will be no governance.
The men and women who constitute our national cabinet are members of ANC factions that will work hard to destroy each other.
The idea that such people would sit around the table and focus on governing the country is naïve.
From now until December, Jacob Zuma's preoccupation will be to ensure that Cyril Ramaphosa does not use his position in government as a platform to prove that he is a better leader than Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Captured ministers like Mosebenzi Zwane and Des van Rooyen will do their best to ensure that the wishes of the Guptas come true.
For they know that, should Dlamini-Zuma be defeated, prison will be a real possibility.
Other members of cabinet who support Ramaphosa will also do their best to ensure that he is elected.
They know that, should he not succeed, they will have to rediscover their ordinariness. For the first time in years, they will have to relearn how to drive a car to go and buy bread.
Here is the last component of our big question: Following the ANC's policy conference, will there be better governance in our republic?
Yet again, the answer is: please wait.
In fact, we will have to wait even longer before the return of stability in our government. After December, the focus will not be on governing.
The next prize for whoever wins will be 2019.
Be it Ramaphosa or Dlamini-Zuma, the winner will know that, given the mess that the ANC has caused our country, it is no longer obvious that the party will win the next elections.
What will complicate political life for the winner is that, after December, losers will not support winners.
The division is so deep in the ANC that it is impossible for anyone to reunite the party.
There is a possibility of a new splinter party after December.
So, if you had hoped to find answers from the ANC's national policy conference, here is one for you: please wait.
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