The December curse of SA’s political class: Congress time arrives again

Thursday.

The time has again arrived when the rest of Mzansi gears up for the festive season and those among us of the political persuasion are cursing our career choices while slaving away at full pace for a final week.

There have been many times since 1994 that I have wished that the ANC had formed its then military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe, on 16  August 1961, or 16 September or even 16  January.

Had it done so, its keystone activities — and those of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party — would be on the 16th of some other month and not December.

Thousands among us would have joined the rest of our fine nation in Decembering from the 16th — all beach, football and chilled drinks — rather than conferencing or some other kind of political activity.

As we speak, the South African Communist Party (SACP) is in the process of severing the umbilical cord binding it to the ANC — electorally speaking — after nearly 30 years of threatening to do so.

It began its life as the Communist Party of South Africa on 12  February 1921, but has been coupled on the tote with the ANC for so long that it holds its congresses — special and otherwise — during the governing party’s conference cycle.

The Reds have been hammering on about a lack of consultation by the ANC and a shift to the right since Thabo Mbeki became the party’s president for the first time way back in 1996.

The so-called 96 Class Project — Blade Nzimande’s words, not mine — took over the ANC at its Stellenbosch conference, sidelining the SACP and labour federation Cosatu.

Blade is still in the SACP leadership — and complaining even while drawing a cabinet minister’s salary — three decades later, but the ANC getting into the government of national unity with Helen Zille and Oom Pieter Groenewald appears to have been the straw that broke the political camel’s back.

The SACP says it’s sickle time — which we’ve heard many, many times before — but this time it appears ready to fly solo at the polls.

None of which has stopped it holding the congress in the same venue where the ANC national executive committee (NEC) is meeting this week.

That party’s final NEC of the year had promised to be a banger, with talk of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng being dissolved.

But the matter was kicked into touch and has become next year’s problem, so the NEC will focus on more mundane matters, including preparations for the 8  January statement in Cape Town.

The EFF is also delaying the festive season with its national people’s assembly, at which leader Julius Malema is set for a third term and a replacement will be found for the former deputy president, Floyd Shivambu.

The party is reconsidering its stance on coalitions and other issues — a timeous discussion given that doors may be opening in Pretoria as a result of the drama between the ANC and Zille’s mob over the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act

Shivambu was all giggles on Wednesday at the MK party’s press briefing ahead of its first birthday rally at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.

MK party president Jacob Zuma — unsurprisingly — left it up to Shivambu to invite the EFF and the other parties involved in the “progressive” alliance in parliament to the anniversary gig.

One wonders whether the EFF will accept?

It’s dangerous — there’s a possibility that whoever gets deployed to represent the EFF on Sunday might ends up joining the MK party and moving to Nkandla like Floyd did.

One assumes that Nxamalala chose 15 December for the rally and not the 16th to avoid double booking vibes with the original uMkhonto weSizwe, which will have a commemoration of its own.

That might have been a bit awkward.

Confusing too, especially with the old man’s vibes about remaining an ANC member and all that.

The story paid off at the polls, so no need to tempt fate and hold the rally on the other uMkhonto weSizwe’s birthday.

Just in case.

At least the MK party will only hold anniversary rallies in December and not elective conferences.

It is having a policy conference next year, but elective meetings are a no-no, with things being run by decree until further notice.

The last elective conference Nxamalala attended was at Nasrec in 2017, where his proxy, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, got dribbled by David Mabuza and ended up losing the ANC presidency to Cyril Ramaphosa.

So one doesn’t blame uBaba for being conference-averse in his new political party, as anti-democratic as that might be.