VZCZCXRO3090
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHSA #2197/01 3020726
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290726Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0034
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 7279
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 1357
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9639
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 002197
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AU GV
SUBJECT: ANC OFFICIAL RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT STATE OF THE
PARTY
REF: PRETORIA 01932
PRETORIA 00002197 001.2 OF 002
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Summary
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1. (SBU) Dumisani Ntuli, the spokesperson for the African
National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng Province, told Poloffs on
September 30 that the party remains torn between supporters
of President Jacob Zuma and former President Thabo Mbeki.
Ntuli, who clearly falls into the latter camp, projected that
infighting would keep the ANC from achieving its campaign
promises and put the party's focus on the 2012 party congress
rather than on the 2011 local elections. He projected that
any failure to improve service delivery ahead of the local
elections would hurt the party and the Zuma administration.
End Summary.
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ANC Spokesperson Offers Candid Assessment of Party
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2. (SBU) Dumisani Ntuli, whose remarks made it clear that he
most likely supported Mbeki over Zuma for the party's top
position, met with Poloffs for lunch on September 30 to
discuss the situation within the ANC. Ntuli admitted the ANC
is a "complete mess" and remains as divided now as it was in
the aftermath of the party's 2007 congress when Zuma beat
Mbeki for the party presidency. He views the rift between
those who support Zuma and those who remain loyal to Mbeki as
the biggest challenge facing the organization and sees party
members who favored Mbeki waiting to speak up again and to
assume leadership positions in the months ahead. Ntuli said,
"The pro-Mbeki people are silent, waiting for their chance to
speak out."
3. (SBU) Beyond the rift between Zuma and Mbeki supporters,
he noted that the organization remains disunited along
multiple other lines. He said, "There are the diehard Zuma
supporters, the pro-labor people, the communists, the
pro-Mbeki people, and no one speaks for the same things."
Party leaders are seeking ways to restructure and unify the
party so younger members understand the history and the
values of the ANC. However, according to Ntuli, these
efforts are not going well and will only lead to failure. He
said, "The younger cadres have no interest in the history of
the ANC. They want access to jobs and personal enrichment."
Worse than the lack of interest in history, he claimed, is
that they will not listen to, or respect, senior officials.
Ntuli lamented that party members are mostly focused on
jockeying for positions to be decided upon at the 2012
national congress. He said, "The party isn't even focused on
the 2011 local elections."
4. (SBU) He fears that the party's lack of focus might
contribute to poor service delivery, which in turn will hurt
the party in the local elections. He said, "Look what the
Mbeki government did over the past 10 years. Mbeki's ANC
delivered on the Mafikeng and Stellenbosch resolutions (party
resolutions). The Zuma government will not come close to
delivering." Failure to deliver will only strength the ANC's
political opponents, according to Ntuli. He projected the
ANC is worried that it might lose to the Democratic Alliance
in Tshwane metro (Pretoria). He added, "We have big internal
(party) problems in Tshwane." According to him, the problems
stem from infighting over government positions. The ANC
Youth League branches in Tshwane want to assume greater
QYouth League branches in Tshwane want to assume greater
control over the city council and force out any official
associated with Mbeki. (Note: See Reftel for more
information. End Note.)
5. (SBU) Ntuli projected that the Congress of South African
Trade Unions (COSATU) may not succeed in getting labor
brokers abolished. COSATU in recent weeks has called for
amendments to the Labor Relations Act, which would outlaw
outsourcing and subcontracting of employees (processes that
are currently run by the brokers). According to Ntuli, the
ANC will not give in to COSATU's demands because most of the
labor brokers are owned by senior ANC officials such as Tokyo
Sexwale and Cyril Ramaphosa. He argued that the labor
brokers perform a useful service within the economy and must
be permitted to operate.
PRETORIA 00002197 002.2 OF 002
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Comment
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6. (SBU) Ntuli's comments on the ANC underscore how internal
problems continue to distract the ruling party. Despite
realignment of leadership positions in some provinces around
the country, the ANC since the April national election has
projected an image of unity and satisfaction with the Zuma
team. Ntuli's remarks raises questions about whether such
projections are false. Moreover, his statements show that
even though Mbeki supporters are quiet, they have not
disappeared from the ranks.
GIPS