‘ANC at its weakest since 1994’
The ANC and its alliance partners are its weakest since 1994, says ANC NEC member and Minister of Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa.
Briefing the media on the party's strategy and tactics document at the ANC’s Policy Conference, Mthethwa says they are focused on organisational integrity and renewal this year.
"We are at our weakest since 1994, in terms of our cohesive force as the alliance. Subjectively we need to address this if we are to continue with the project of building a national democratic society and a developmental state," he says.
The theme for the document is organisation integrity and renewal.
"It’s about strengthening this vehicle towards creating a national democratic society. We noted that for the very first time in our movement we decided to take the issue of an organisation to a strategic level.”
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He says not all ANC members are ideologically bankrupt.
"The assessment is that there is a level of political bankruptcy in the organisations. This means there is an opportunity to deal with the bankruptcy through deepening ideological and theoretical training. From one area to another, you will have regions and provinces which are still theoretically and practically in the perspective an ideology of the ANC, whilst others are falling behind," Mthethwa says.
He says the training of cadres has been ongoing since the 2012 conference and will continue after this year’s conference in the form of an online political school.