POLITICS - The latest shake-up inside the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party has raised questions about democratic processes, accountability and cronyism within the party.

This comes after the party on Monday announced that it has taken away powers from its Presidential Task Team (PTT), which was the highest decision-making body in the party. 

This body is now replaced by a Strategic Presidential Team (SPT).

“The Strategic Presidential Team is hereby constituted as the highest decision-making and strategic leadership body of the organisation, vested with overarching authority to provide leadership, strategic direction, organisational coordination and oversight of the implementation of the party’s political programme and constitutional mandate,” said the party’s spokesperson, Sifiso Mahlangu.

He said the decision was intended to strengthen the party’s leadership architecture, consolidate strategic authority, eliminate fragmentation in decision-making and ensure the disciplined, unified and effective execution of party resolutions.

“The Strategic Presidential Team shall, with immediate effect, assume all secretariat and financial powers and responsibilities necessary for the effective administration, coordination, governance and strategic management of the organisation.”

Disorder in the MK party

Political analyst André Duvenhage told The Citizen that the MK party is a victim of its quick growth and lack of transparency and democratic processes.

“If you grow too quickly without sound structures, you are setting yourself up for failure… they achieved 14% to15% at the last general elections; they need some sort of organisation. You cannot exercise 15% of power in the country and in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) without structures and organisation,” he said.

Duvenhage said MK party president Jacob Zuma’s strong influence over the party and his decision to chop and change things at any point creates an impression that the party revolves around him.

“This is becoming more and more a one-man show with loyalists surrounding Zuma,” he said.

Duvenhage said another motivation for Zuma to take critical decisions in the party could be because of his own legal battles and political survival.

“He needs to pay something like R30 million in legal fees, so his position – in person – is very difficult; and we know that he would like to use the MK party as a vehicle for his own survival, and I think this is bringing resistance from the structures – one way or the other,” he said.

Strong support for the MK party

Despite the governance issues within the MK party, Duvenhage said Zuma remains an influential figure within his party and in KZN politics.

“Despite everything that we are talking about, I am not picking up that the support base at the grassroots level is dropping for the MK party; in fact, the latest survey I have seen from a social research foundation was indicating that the MK [party] support in KZN is about 44% and that of the ANC is around 8%, so this is a unique phenomenon.

“The question that should be asked is: what will happen to the MK party if Zuma disappears from the political scene? I believe that, like Malema and the EFF, the party will ride his identity,” he said.

Duvenhage said blind loyalty that has been offered to the MK party by the electorate is not a new phenomenon in South African politics.

“It’s a prominent tendency when it comes to other parties; if you ask people at the grassroots level what the policies of a certain party are, they do not know, but they know the figure behind that party,” he said.

Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen

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