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THE ROOTS OF FACTIONAL TENSIONS OVER THE ANC GOVERNMENT’S POLICIES IN THE RULING ALLIANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA Mochekoe Stephen Rametse, BA, BA (Hons), DipEd This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University 2014. I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. ............................................... Mochekoe Stephen Rametse ABSTRACT An enduring question concerning the ruling tripartite alliance led by the ANC in South Africa is how such a powerful united liberation movement, which succeeded in defeating the apartheid system to assume governmental control, was torn by ideological divisions in its midst? The objective of this study is to investigate the causes of the disunity within the governing ANC alliance that culminated with the dismissal of the then President Thabo Mbeki from office in 2008. The thesis examines why the ANC alliance’s “revolutionary” language that had largely unified it during the protracted racial liberation struggle proved most divisive in the post-apartheid period. The inquiry utilises the analytical framework of the alternative functions of ideology to analyse the development of the ANC’s ideological perspectives. The study argues that the ANC-led alliance’s “revolutionary” language is inherently ambiguous. The research excavates the origins of the imprecise ANC’s “two-stage theory” of revolution. It highlights how the theory of the “National Democratic Revolution” used to depict the first stage of liberation and its assumed programme, the Freedom Charter are contentious. The study contends that the inherent inconsistencies in the ANC alliance’s “revolutionary” language were mirrored in trenchant factional ideological disagreements. Using “critical discourse” analysis, the thesis explains how the inherited “revolutionary” language enabled contending factions within the alliance to make contradictory and divisive interpretations of the ideological complexion of ANC government’s policies. Furthermore, the investigation demonstrates how such a language allowed successive ANC governments to adopt the “Keynesian-reformism” discourse used to rationalise the Neo-liberal macroeconomic policy framework. The thesis contends that the incoherent nature of ANC-led alliance’s “revolutionary” language was also expedient for government to promote the interests of the emerged black capitalists in the post-apartheid period. The Mbeki-Zuma leadership struggle found fertile ground cultivated by prior intra-ANC alliance factional disagreements. It thus apparent that the on-going factional disagreements in the ruling ANC-led alliance over the ideological content of government policies, if not resolved, would continue to impact negatively on their implementation. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my dearest wife, Dr. Nthati Rametse and my children, Nomasonto, Naledi, and Khotso for their forbearance and patience in this long journey. To a special friend and critical partner, Dr. Jennifer Cramer, I thank you for your ceaseless words of inspiration throughout the years. I dedicate this thesis to my late parents, my cousin Makhewa Aubrey Malinga, my two comrades Abraham Sello Pule, Bra Thami Steven Nqayi and my friend Hugh Mogwe. A special acknowledgement goes to my supervisor, Associate Professor David Brown who over the years motivated me to complete this thesis. He provided me with clear guidance in researching this topic and writing up this thesis. It was indeed a privilege for me to work closely with David and to be able to tap on his skills and knowledge. I will always be indebted to him. To err is human. Any errors in this thesis are the responsibility of the author. ii CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………... ii CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………… iii TABLES ……………………………………………………………………………………… iv CHAPTERS CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION 1-1 Background…………………………………………………………….. 1 1-2 The Root of the Tensions with the Ruling ANC Alliance…………… 7 1-3 The Purpose and Approach of the Study……………………………… 11 1-4 The Two-Stage Theory of Revolution and its Significance to the ANC Alliance’s Liberation Perspectives……………………………………. 12 1-5 Study Design and Methodology………………………………………. 19 1-6 Chapter Development…………………………………………………. 20 1-7 Summary………………………………………………………………. 21 CHAPTER 2: THE UNIFYING AND DIVISIVE FUNCTIONS OF IDEOLOGY AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE TO THE ANC’S IDEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT 2-1 Introduction……………………………………………………………. 23 2-2 The Functions of Ideology and their Utility in ANC Policy Documents…………………………………………………………….. 24 2-3 The Relevance of the Analytical Framework for this Study………….. 30 2-4 Summary………………………………………………………………. 31 CHAPTER 3: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANC ALLIANCE’S TWO-STAGE THEORY 3-1 Introduction……………………………………………………………. 33 3-2 The Genesis of the “Two-Stage Theory” from Marx and Engels to Stalin………………………………………………………………... 34 3-3 The Original Ideological Split between Socialists and Nationalists in South Africa………………………………………………………… 40 3-4 The Development and Application of the ‘Two-Stage Theory” in South Africa…………………………………………………………… 46 3-5 The Development of Ideological Tensions Over the “Two-Stage Theory”………………………………………………………………... 54 3-6 The Re-articulation of the “Two-Stage Theory” and its Ideological Utility ………………………………………………………………….. 62 3-7 Summary………………………………………………………………. 67 iii CHAPTER 4: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FREEDOM CHARTER FOR THE ANC ALLIANCE 4-1 Introduction……………………………………………………………. 68 4-2 Background to the Formulation of the 1955 Freedom Charter………... 69 4-3 The Ambiguous “Economic/Property” Clauses of the Freedom Charter………………………………………………………………… 71 4-4 The Freedom Charter as a Popular Vision/Programme for Freedom and Equality………………………………….................... 76 4-5 The Initial Interpretive Differences on the Freedom Charter within the ANC………………………………………………………………. 79 4-6 The Pro-Capitalist/”Mixed Economy” Interpretation of Freedom Charter…………………………………………………………………. 80 4-7 The Socialist Perspective of the Freedom Charter…………………….. 93 4-8 Summary………………………………………………………………. 98 CHAPTER 5: THE GENESIS OF TENSIONS OVER THETHEORYOF THE “NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION” WITHIN THE ANC ALLIANCE 5-1 Introduction……………………………………………………………100 5-2 The Development of the ANC’s Theory of the “National Democratic Revolution……………………………………………………………..102 5-3 The Pro-Capitalist View of the “National Democratic Revolution”…..110 5-4 The Socialist Perspective of the Theory of the “National Democratic Revolution”…………………………………………….....122 5-5 The Utility of the ANC Model of the “National Democratic Revolution”………………………………………………………….....132 5-6 Summary…………………………………………………………….....134 CHAPTER 6: SHIFTS IN THE IDEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES FROM THE EARLY 1990STO 1996 6-1 Introduction…………………………………………………………... 136 6-2 The Evolution of the ANC Government Policy Trajectory………….. 137 6-3 The Roots of Neo-liberalism in ANC Government Policy…………... 147 6-4 The Formulation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)…………………………………………………….151 6-5 Policy Shifts from the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) Base Document to the RDP White Paper………...157 6-6 The Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) Policy: Its Genesis and Rationalisation by the ANC Government……………… 165 6-7 Summary………………………………………………………………177 CHAPTER 7: TENSIONS IN THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS ALLIANCE OVER GOVERNMENT POLICIES 7-1 Introduction…………………………………………………………... 179 7-2 The Clash Over the Ideological Complexions of Government Policies between ANC Nationalists and the “Left” Factions………... 181 iv 7-3 The “Left Factionalism” and the “Reformist-Bourgeois” Tendency: Growing Intra-Alliance Ideological Differences…………………….. 190 7-4 The Evolution of the Policy of “Black Economic Empowerment”….. 204 7-5 Summary……………………………………………………………... 235 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 8-1 Introduction………………………………………………………….. 238 8-2 The Development of the ANC Alliance’s “Revolutionary” Language…………………………………………………………….. 239 8-3 Considerations of the Investigation and Recommendations for Further Research……………………………………………………... 247 8-4 Summing Up…………………………………………………………. 248 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 250 APPENDICES Appendix 1 The Freedom Charter……………………………………………………… 284 TABLES Table 7-1 Trends of Inequality amongst Blacks 1991-1996…………………………. 218 v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1-1 Background An examination of competing ideological perspectives is crucial for excavating the causes of recent schisms within the contemporary ruling ANC-led tripartite alliance in South Africa. The thesis contends that “there is no settled or agreed definition” of ideology, “only a collection of rival definitions” (Heywood 2007, 5). The investigation adopts the view that the different meanings of ideology reflect its alternative functions. Thus, three approaches to ideology are explored. The first one is the “personalist” patrimonial patron-client view which conceives the function of ideology as a ‘camouflage’ for individual self-interests. The second approach focuses on factional ideological disagreements as the cause of political divisions. A third approach grounds ideology in the material interests of different class-based blocks within the ruling ANC alliance. Thus, the thesis employs the alternative frameworks of ideology
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