SIBONGAKONKE SHOBA | Unlike Amakhosi, history alone won’t secure ANC’s future

The biggest football club in the southern hemisphere, the Mighty Amakhosi, celebrated its 56th birthday this week.

The Phefeni Glamour Boys were founded by Kaizer “Chincha Guluva” Motaung in 1970, after a successful stint playing in the US.

Over the years, Motaung has built one of the most recognisable brands in SA. The team boasts a history of being the most successful club in the country, having won more trophies than any other side since the formation of a professional league.

It is no wonder Kaizer Chiefs fans can outnumber any other supporters anywhere in the country. Every Chiefs game feels like a home game, even when played away.

This loyalty persists despite the team’s underwhelming performances over the past decade. Chiefs fans remain steadfastly devoted to the brand, despite a series of heartbreaks in the past 12 years. Ikhosi aliphel’umoya.

This is why I tend to understand the loyalty of ANC supporters – another institution that celebrated its 114th birthday yesterday. Just like Chiefs, the ANC has a rich and storied history. Founded in 1912 to unite the oppressed, attain freedom, and build an equal society, the ANC became the vessel through which generations of South Africans fought for liberation.

Many freedom fighters abandoned their families, sacrificed their lives, and joined the Struggle to achieve a free SA. Those who took up the fight risked torture, imprisonment, or even death. These are the men and women to whom we remain forever indebted.

The ANC also has a record of having changed the face of SA. Since 1994, its transformation policies have led to the creation of a large black middle class that did not exist under apartheid.

These same policies are today under attack from right‑wing organisations such as AfriForum. In the early years of democracy, many black townships that had never had access to electricity or running water were finally connected.

The government also achieved significant progress in building houses for deserving citizens, offering dignity to millions who had been denied it for generations.

At 114, the ANC is the oldest black political party in the world and is seen as belonging not just to South Africans but to the black experience globally.

However, in the past 15 years, many of these achievements have been reversed. Several factors have contributed to this decline.

Unlike in the 1960s and 1970s, when being associated with the banned ANC was an act of sacrifice, joining the ANC in the early 2000s meant access to power, tenders, and money.

This created an environment where contestation for positions was no longer about activism or the love of improving communities but rather about access to resources and wealth accumulation.

The ANC brand has since become associated with corruption, poor service delivery, and everything negative in our body politic.

This has led to the party’s dwindling support in recent elections. Despite the good that was achieved in the early years of democracy – and may still be achieved today – the party’s brand has suffered major reputational damage.

As the ANC celebrates its birthday in the North West tomorrow, the big question is whether the party is capable of self‑correction. Party leaders have spoken about a renewal project supposedly taking place within its ranks.

Yet, very little has been done to rid the organisation of tainted individuals. Several leaders who were mentioned and implicated in the state capture commission of inquiry continue to occupy top positions in the party and cushy jobs in the government.

The party has also failed to act against leaders accused of complicity in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal. This begs the question: does the renewal project truly exist, or is it merely rhetoric meant to pull the wool over our eyes?

Tomorrow’s celebrations also come as the country prepares for the local government elections. If expert predictions are to be believed, the ANC is headed for its worst electoral performance yet. In the North West, where it is holding its birthday celebrations, municipalities are in a state of collapse.

Service delivery has ground to a halt in many communities. In Lichtenburg, for example, the failure of the Ditsobotla local municipality to provide basic services led to Clover shutting down its operations – resulting in devastating job losses in the area. There are even more horrifying stories in other smaller towns, where communities have been left to fend for themselves.

Unlike the Amakhosi diehards, who remain hopeful that one day the glory days will return to Naturena, the SA voter cannot afford to gamble with a party that refuses to change its ways. Chiefs fans may cling to nostalgia and loyalty, but citizens must demand accountability, transparency, and genuine renewal from those entrusted with power.

The ANC, much like Kaizer Chiefs, is an institution steeped in history and pride. But history alone cannot sustain loyalty forever.