African National Congress
From Freepedia
| African National Congress | |
|---|---|
| Image:ANClogo.jpg | |
| Leader | Thabo Mbeki |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Headquarters | |
| Political ideology | Social Democratic |
| International affiliation | |
| Website | http://www.anc.org.za |
The African National Congress (ANC) is a centre-left political party, and has been South Africa's governing party (in a coalition) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. Originally called the South African Native National Congress until 1923, it was founded to defend the rights of the black majority on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein, and counted John Dube (its first president) and poet and author Sol Plaatje among its founder members.
Loosely, it can also be described as the parliamentary wing of a tripartite alliance between itself, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
It has been the only party to rule South Africa since 1994. It gained support in the 1999 elections, and further increased its majority in 2004.
Contents |
History
Formed initially on January 8th, 1912 by John Dube, along with chiefs, representatives of people's and church organisations, and other prominent individuals to bring all Africans together as one people to defend their rights and freedoms, the ANC from its inception represented both traditional and modern elements, from tribal chiefs to church and community bodies and educated black professionals, though women were only admitted as affiliate members from 1931 and as full members in 1943.
The formation of the ANC Youth League in 1944 by Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Oliver Tambo heralded a new generation committed to building non-violent mass action against the legal underpinnings of the white minority's supremacy. In 1947 the ANC allied with the Natal Indian Congress and Transvaal Indian congress, broadening the basis of its opposition to the government.
The return of an Afrikaner-led National Party government by the overwhelmingly white electorate in 1948 signaled the advent of the policy of apartheid. During the 1950s, non-whites were removed from electoral rolls, residence and mobility laws were tightened and political activities restricted.
In June 1952, the ANC joined with other anti-apartheid organisations in a Defiance Campaign against the restriction of political, labour and residential rights, during which protesters deliberately violated oppressive laws, following the example of Mahatma Gandhi's passive resistance in Natal and India. The campaign was called off in April 1953 after new laws prohibiting protest meetings were passed.
In June 1955, the Congress of the People, organised by the ANC and Indian, Coloured and White organizations at Kliptown near Johannesburg, adopted the Freedom Charter, henceforth the fundamental document of the anti-apartheid struggle with its demand for equal rights for all regardless of race. As opposition to the regime's policies continued, 156 leading members of the ANC and allied organisations were arrested in 1956; the resulting "Treason Trial" ended with their acquittal five years later.
In 1959, a number of members broke away from the ANC because they objected to the ANC's reorientation from African nationalist policies. They formed the rival Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), led by Robert Sobukwe.
Protest and banning
The ANC planned a campaign against the Pass Laws, which required blacks to carry an identity card at all times to justify their presence in "white" areas, to begin on 31 March 1960. The PAC pre-empted the ANC by holding peaceful protests 10 days earlier, during which 69 protesters were killed and 180 injured by police fire in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, both organisations were banned from political activity. The ANC subsequently went underground and increased their violent protest actions to include operations some have described as terrorism.
International opposition to the regime increased throughout the 1950s and 1960s, fueled by the growing number of newly independent nations and the civil rights movement in the United States. In 1960, the leader of the ANC, Albert Lutuli, won the Nobel Peace Prize, a feat that would be repeated in 1993 by Nelson Mandela.
Violent political resistance
Now underground or in exile, the ANC leadership concluded that the methods of non-violence such as those utilised by Gandhi against the British Empire during their colonisation of India, were not suitable against the brutal apartheid system. It was decided that military tactics had to be used, which primarily involved targeting and sabotaging the government's resources, with a philosophy of avoiding bloodshed at all costs. A military wing was formed in 1961, called Umkhonto we Sizwe, meaning "Spear of the Nation". However, Mandela, as its first leader, was arrested for terrorism in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 on Robben Island, along with Sisulu and other ANC leaders after the Rivonia Trial.
Almost thirty years passed, with international pressure and internal dissent mounting in the country. With the situation becoming ever more untenable, State President F.W. de Klerk unbanned the ANC and PAC on 2 February 1990.
Coming to power
In April 1994, in a tripartite coalition with the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the ANC won a landslide victory in the 1994 general election, and Nelson Mandela was appointed the first President of South Africa.
In Kwa-Zulu Natal, the ANC was in an uneasy coalition with the Inkatha Freedom Party for both the 1994 and 1999 provincial elections. However, in the 2004 election, the IFP contested the province with the Democratic Alliance.
In 2004, the party contested national elections in voluntary coalition with the New National Party, which it effectively absorbed in 2005.
After the 1994 and 1999 elections, it ruled seven of the nine provinces, with Kwa-Zulu Natal under the IFP and the Western Cape Province under the NNP. As of 2004, it gained both the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal after a combination of the NNP's electoral base being eroded by the DA and a poor showing by the IFP.
By 2001, the Tripartite Alliance between the ANC, COSATU and SACP began showing signs of strain as the ANC moved to more liberal economic policies than its alliance partners were prepared to accommodate. The focus for dissent was the GEAR program, an initialism for "Growth, Employment and Redistribution."
In late 2004, this was again thrown into sharp relief by Zwelinzima Vavi of COSATU protesting the ANC's policy of "quiet diplomacy" towards the worsening conditions in Zimbabwe, as well as Black Economic Empowerment, which he complained benefits a favoured few in the black elite and not the masses.
As of 2005, the alliance was facing a crisis as Jacob Zuma, who was fired from his position as Deputy President of South Africa by Thabo Mbeki, faced corruption charges. Complicating the situation was the fact that Zuma remained Deputy President of the ANC, and maintained a strong following amongst many ANC supporters, and the ANC's alliance partners [1]. In October 2005, top officials in the National Intelligence Agency, who were Zuma supporters, were suspended for illegally spying on an Mbeki supporter, Saki Macozoma, amid allegations that ANC supporters were using their positions within organs of state to spy on each other[2].
Party List
Politicians in the party win a place in parliament by being on the Party List, which is drawn up before the elections and enumerates, in order, the party's preferred MPs. The number of seats allocated is proportional to the popular national vote, and this determines the cut-off point.
The ANC has also gained members through the controversial floor crossing process.
Other sources of funding
In the late 1990s, the Saudi king Fahd bin Abdul Aziz gave the African National Congress US$50 million.
Key personalities within the ANC (listed alphabetically by surname)
- Leading up to 1994: John Dube; Thabo Mbeki; Nelson Mandela; Walter Sisulu; Robert Sobukwe; Oliver Tambo
- After 1994: Nelson Mandela; Sydney Mufamadi; Thabo Mbeki; Jacob Zuma
Criticism
Bishop Desmond Tutu in his Nelson Mandela speech in 2004 criticized this system as discouraging debate and encouraging patronage within the party. He also singled out business deals that favor the "recycled few" in Black Empowerment deals instead of the poor majority.
Another accusation frequently levelled against them is that they protect their high-ranking members in the face of controversy, and is seen as supporting criminal behaviour. Recent issues of this nature include the Schabir Shaik fraud trial linked to deputy president Jacob Zuma, the sexual misconduct and criminal charges of Beaufort West municipal manager Truman Prince (see [3]), and the Oilgate scandal, in which millions of Rand in funds from a state-owned company were allegedly funneled into ANC coffers [4]. Links between factions in the ANC and businessman Brett Kebble gained media attention following Kebble's murder in September 2005.
There are also conspiracy theories advanced by some in the white community that the ANC is complicit in or even inciting farm murders in an effort to scare off white farmers and hasten the process of land redistribution.
External links
- Official homepage
- Response by the ANC General Secretary to COSATU's assessment, 2004
- MajorityRights: The Boer genocide, 26 June 2005
- Telegraph: Murders foreshadow South African land war 3 July 2005
- BBC: South Africa's bloody battle for land 4 July 2005
- Mail&Guardian: Govt hits out at 'anti-land-reform' farmers 10 September 2005
Categories: National liberation movements | Political parties in South Africa | Socialist International
