Former international relations minister Naledi Pandor delivered harsh criticism of her party last week, saying the rot and service delivery failures that are so endemic in our society would not be happening if the ANC was alive and kicking.
Pandor suggested that a well-functioning ANC branch should be able to intervene in instances where there is corruption or abuse of state resources.
Many critics have opined that the president should be the one providing answers instead of asking citizens why his government is a dismal failure.
— Sibongakonke Shoba, Sowetan editor
But the biggest takeout from her speech has been her comment about leadership, which has been widely interpreted as criticism of her former boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Delivering a memorial lecture in honour of ANC stalwart Gertrude Shope, Pandor said: “MaShope would say, there is nothing worse in an organisation or in a country than a leader who has no solution. We can’t be asking someone else how do we resolve this; the people are looking to us to resolve it.”
Pandor’s statement could have been a general comment about how leaders are supposed to provide solutions — but it came after Ramaphosa had posed a list of questions on the first day of the national dialogue convention about why the government is failing its citizens.
Many critics have opined that the president should be the one providing answers instead of asking citizens why his government is a dismal failure.
For argument’s sake, let’s agree with those who say Pandor’s comments were aimed at Ramaphosa: It is stinging criticism coming from someone who has recently retired. Many other ANC veterans have expressed disapproval at the manner in which Ramaphosa’s ANC is governing the country. Former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, and many others, have been vocal critics of their party.
Even ANC NEC members Malusi Gigaba and Senzo Mchunu have sounded the alarm, saying Ramaphosa’s ANC has gone off the rails. They have been dismissed as lacking credibility due to the dark clouds hanging over their heads, and the ANC has also threatened to discipline them. How dare they tell the truth in public?
However, coming from someone like Pandor, who has never been accused of corruption, and who not so long ago served an integral role in Ramaphosa’s government, the criticism has gravitas.
As minister of international relations, she held one of the most senior cabinet positions. This means she is someone the president held in high regard. He was so fond of her that he once suggested she be considered for the deputy president position — until her lobbyists convinced him otherwise.
Pandor was party to crucial government decisions, including the decision to report Israel to the International Court of Justice for committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
If someone like Pandor feels that the president is not providing leadership, isn’t this a cue for him to sit up and listen? Ramaphosa must look at the remaining years of his term and ponder how he could use the time to build a better legacy.
Even ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has accepted Pandor’s criticism, though he denies Ramaphosa was the target. Mbalula’s spin is that Pandor was referring to the state of the party as a whole.
However, Ramaphosa is the head of the party and government. As president, he is the chief spokesperson of the ANC. If there is a leadership vacuum in the ANC and government, it is Ramaphosa who should be held to account.
In an interview she gave to the Sunday Times after she retired from government last year, Pandor said she regretted not standing for deputy president at the ANC national conference in 2017. “We had [Nkosazana] Dlamini Zuma, but we have also had [Lindiwe] Sisulu and myself nominated, but in the end I declined and I now regret doing that...” she said.
The event where Pandor spoke was organised by the ANC Women’s League. A league NEC member, Boitumelo Moiloa, was quoted in the media as saying the league was actively campaigning for a female president.
At 71, Pandor should be enjoying her retirement. But nature abhors a vacuum. I would not be surprised if she is the female candidate the league is talking about. Her name would change the dynamics in the succession talks within the ANC. Who knows, maybe her candidacy may inspire us to hope for a better SA.
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