09.12.2025
Latest

Analyst questions whether ANC has courage to reclaim NDR

7 mins



  • ANC delegates during the National General Council meeting.

As the ANC National General Council (NGC) continues at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and its principles have taken center stage in the deliberations aimed at the renewal of the party.

Political Commentator Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya says this focus on the principles the ANC was once accused of abandoning could well be the result of an honest reflection as well as an attempt to fill the vacuum created by the party’s initial departure from those principles since 1994.

But she has questioned whether the party has what it takes to reclaim those principles, some of which include political and economic transformation, state-led development, and nation-building, among others.

“It is very interesting that the NDR has come back to the fore in terms of the major narratives for the ANC, because for a while there has been a lot of silence around the National Democratic Revolution. You will recall that there was a moment when there was this fallout with the then Youth League of the ANC under the leadership of [Julius] Malema, and they started making a lot of noise then during those conferences about how the ANC seemed to be abandoning the NDR, and they were trying to work towards that. But we know where that ended up, and they established themselves outside of the ANC still carrying some of those principles and sentiments.”

Kashe-Katiya says the pursuit for NDR principles was never meant to end in 1994, describing the renewed energy by the party focus on the state of the NDR since the dawn of democracy as coming full-circle.

“I think it could also be the result of an honest reflection and realising that abandoning the NDR left a vacuum and other came and occupied that space and now it could be a moment to try and reclaim these concepts,” she says.

She says the move by the party could be an attempt to reclaim control.

“You will recall even with the economic freedom in our lifetime, there was that conflict to say this is our idea, it’s for the ANC, but it has moved on elsewhere. And even beyond the EFF, you find that even with the MK Party that some of the concepts of the NDR, which is really about the continuity of the struggle of understanding that for as long as we have not dealt with land, we have not dealt with the economic emancipation, and the struggle will continue. You see even with the youthful movement of the fees must fall, talking about decolonising … that narrative emerged outside of the ANC. So, it could be that they are feeling that they are losing control.”

Strong, decisive and ethical leadership that has legitimacy is what would take for the ANC to truly reclaim the principles of the NDR. This is according to Kashe-Katiya.

“And it’s difficult work of holding each other accountable ,which the ANC has not been able to do. Instead, they speak about these things, they speak about the renewal because they want to ready themselves to lead this NDR because you do need to do something to clean up the image of the ANC, which has been tainted by all the things that have been happening. But do they have the courage to actually do that difficult work of cleaning house? So far they haven’t shown us they are able of doing that. Instead there is a lot of shuffling around of people without society actually seeing that there are real consequences.”

The commissions on the state of the NDR are continuing.

Related News