ANC brains trust rejects reforms, says GNU temporary pitstop to make breathing space
Key topics:
ANC admits decline, corruption, and ideological decay after 2024 loss
GNU seen as tactical, not strategic; ANC aims to reclaim full control
Economic reforms clash with revolutionary goals; state-led revival urged
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BizNews Reporter
It is rare to see a liberation movement self-flagellate as publicly as the African National Congress does in its latest discussion document prepared by the organisation’s brain trust.
Equally unusual is public disclosure that much of what the ANC espouses for public consumption around national unity and economic reform is nothing more than words that remain subservient to rock-hard National Democratic Revolution ideology - a case of the current means justifying the eventual ends.
Titled State of the National Democratic Revolution, this "Umrabulo" special edition — prepared for the 2025 National General Council (NGC) — is less a strategy paper and more an autopsy of a "political catastrophe."
For the business community and investors currently enjoying the stability of the Government of National Unity (GNU), the 72-page document (embedded here) offers a sobering reality check.
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While the markets have rallied around the pragmatism of the seventh administration, Luthuli House is engaged in deep ideological introspection, viewing the GNU not as a permanent shift in governance, but as a "tactical cooperation" designed to buy time.
The Mea Culpa
The document is brutally honest about the ANC’s decline. It admits that the movement faces "severe headwinds" and is in the "eye of a storm." The party acknowledges that the drop to 40% in the 2024 elections was a direct result of losing public trust.
The statistics cited are damning. The paper highlights that after 30 years of democracy, South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world, with a Gini coefficient of 0.67. It concedes that poverty has regressed, unemployment is catastrophic, and the "sins of incumbency"—specifically corruption and state capture—have hollowed out the state.
Perhaps most telling is the admission that the ANC has suffered from "ideological and organisational degeneration." The document candidly states that the movement has been infested with a "lumpen" element that prioritises self-enrichment over service. It even cites China and Vietnam's strict anti-corruption measures as examples of the discipline required to root out the rot—a high bar for a party that has struggled to implement its own "step-aside" rules consistently.
The GNU: A Marriage of Convenience
Crucially for the BizNews tribe, the document clarifies exactly how the ANC views its current partners in government. If you thought the GNU signalled a permanent move toward the centre, think again.
The ANC describes the GNU as representing the "unity and struggle of opposites." It explicitly labels the Democratic Alliance (DA) as committed to a "neo-liberal, anti-transformation agenda," noting the DA's discomfort with non-racialism and affirmative action.
The strategy is laid out in black and white: "The ANC must treat the GNU as a tactical cooperation. It is neither a strategic alliance nor a strategic compromise."
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The goal is not to co-govern indefinitely, but to use the stability provided by the GNU to regroup, renew, and restore the ANC to an outright majority. The document warns against allowing the GNU to "dilute the ANC’s ideological clarity." This suggests that while President Ramaphosa preaches unity in the Union Buildings, the party machinery is gearing up for an ideological battle to reclaim total control.
The Economic Disconnect
There is a palpable tension between the document’s economic rhetoric and the market-friendly reforms investors are currently cheering. The paper critiques the "neoliberal paradigm" of the 1990s and calls for a recalibrated economic strategy with the state firmly at the helm. It calls for a "war on poverty" and a "social compact 2.0," yet relies on the very state capacity it admits has collapsed.
Bottom Line
This NGC document is a cry for survival. It reveals a party aware that it is facing an existential crisis, caught between its revolutionary nostalgia and the harsh realities of modern governance.
For business, the message is clear: The ANC is down, but it is not out. It sees the current coalition arrangement as a waiting room, not a destination. As the party heads toward its NGC in 2025, the battle for the soul of the ANC—and by extension, the direction of the country—is far from over.
Download and read the latest ANC UMRABULO below