As leaders of the ruling African National Congress ascribe South Africa’s mounting governance problems to the legacy of apartheid, some long-standing members of the party have taken issue with this stance.
Snuki Zikalala and Mavuso Msimang, both regarded as ‘veterans’ of the party, have spoken out about this.
Speaking to News24, Msimang, deputy president of the ANC Veterans’ League, said: ‘It is hogwash and nonsense for ANC leaders to blame the ANC record of failures in government on the legacy of apartheid.’
Msimang said that the ANC needed to take responsibility for its own failure. He remarked: ‘There are so many poor black people, and it is the consequence of apartheid. But it is also complete nonsense to blame apartheid for the failures and conditions people live under. For instance, in the history of the Joburg buildings, you know who owns them, and you have access to the landlords. You cannot be shocked that people are living in squalor. This is hogwash.’
Zikalala, president of the Veterans League and controversial former executive at the SABC, echoed these views. He said that while the impact of apartheid was profound, the ANC had not done all it might have to address the country’s problems. He pointed to the impact of state capture as having undone much of the progress that the ANC had made in its early years in government.
He commented: ‘There was a layer built during Mbeki and Nelson Mandela when there were competent and skilled people in government – and, after this time, people with these skills were removed and replaced with people interested in looting state resources. That is why the ANC needs to rebuild in bringing back skilled people.’
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