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The African National Congress and the Violence of May, 2008

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The African National Congress and the Violence of May, 2008 THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE VIOLENCE OF MAY, 2008 One Centre of Power: THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE VIOLENCE OF MAY, 2008 by Steven Friedman Steven Friedman, Centre for the Study of Democracy 1 Rhodes University/ University of Johannesburg One Centre of Power: THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE VIOLENCE OF MAY, 2008 by Steven Friedman Part I: Executive summary .............................................................. 1 Problems and recommendations ................................................................................................... 2 Part II: Introduction ........................................................................ 4 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Part III: Conceptualising the ANC .................................................. 7 Do what we say, not what we do: The government and immigrants ...............................13 A distinction but no difference? The ANC and xenophobia ................................................18 Before the carnage ...........................................................................................................................21 Handling the horror: ANC responses to the violence .............................................................30 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ANC IPart hile government representatives deplored the May 2008, violence, government policy and practice helped to create a climate conducive to violence. But, what was the role of the ANC? There is a distinction between ruling party and government, and the active members of the governing party may have actively combated violenceW before and after it had occurred. This paper examined the ANC’s role and concludes that it did not, in any significant way, depart from government policy. The ANC response was no more a counterweight to action against immigrants than that of the government. 1 Ð Case study Problems & recommendations Can the ANC as a political party promote active The statements by ANC-led Government citizenship in combating or mitigating violence leaders criticising xenophobia seemed to have against foreigners? little or no role in moderating public attitudes, because they were not followed by a serious attempt to match words with actions. • Members of political parties can use the party as • The ANC-led Government needs to also ensure a vehicle to engage in active citizenship, and so it that it has a number of government-funded is certainly possible that ANC members could have and sustainable educational programmes on decided to play a significant role in countering xenophobia. These programmes should also target prejudice against foreigners or in mitigating its government employees, especially the police and effects after it occurred. While the ANC may not be home affairs department. Additional funding has part of civil society, there is nothing preventing it to be availed to Community-Based Organisations from cooperating with civil society organisations. and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that work with migrants and their organisations. This funding should help in strengthening migrants’ organisations so that they can also have a voice and social agency. Although the 2002 Immigration Act did provide The report of the ANC Secretary General’s for a campaign against xenophobia, there was no Office to the 2005 ANC National General Council serious and systematic attempt to put in place meeting found that only 50% of ANC branches government-wide mechanisms and programmes were functioning and in good standing. For to give effect to the anti-xenophobia provisions much of the period in which government actions of the new Act. were likely to promote fear of foreigners, the branches were, therefore, apparently unable to combat prejudice against foreigners, even if they had wanted to do this. • The ANC-led Government has to ensure that • The revival of ANC branches and internal a public campaign against xenophobia is education on xenophobia can go a long way in implemented as a counterweight to xenophobic combating xenophobia at the localities in poor sentiments of ordinary people. In addition, the urban and rural areas. ANC-led Government needs to engage and educate the public about its ideas on SADC regional integration and Pan-Africanism. South Africa has to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which may form the basis for a continuing campaign urging respect for immigrants’ rights. ONE CENTRE OF POWER 2 THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE VIOLENCE OF MAY, 2008 The ANC Mafikeng Resolution in 2007 argued The violence occurred in those parts of that since the establishment of the democratic Gauteng where the ANC's electoral support is dispensation in South Africa, illegal immigration strongest, not those where it is weakest. There is from the sub-continent, the rest of the continent, no reason to believe that the trend is different and other parts of the world have reached elsewhere in the country. unprecedented proportions, and have placed considerable pressure on certain sectors of society. • This resolution is part of general xenophobic • Perhaps the ANC requires a special conference discourse and such arguments are often cited by on xenophobia so that its branches and members the media and those who promote xenophobia. can be introduced to education that promotes It becomes necessary for the ANC to also conduct anti-xenophobic sentiments among its members. introspection on its approach to xenophobia. An Inviting members of local foreign organisations approach that sees foreigners as contributors to to such a conference can probably help in the the economy is much needed. In addition, viewing sharing of experiences and difficulties that confront the SADC as a single economic and development migrants. zone will definitely help in combating xenophobia. While there have been problems with the ANC’s This type of response from Tembisa seems, handling of xenophobia, the ANC in Tembisa however, to have been uneven and sporadic, the seems to have been the only branch that helped exception rather than the rule. The study of the foreigners during the attacks. Ramaphosa informal settlement conducted for this project finds that the ANC is the dominant party in the area, but that criticism was levelled against local leadership for a lack of trying to quell the violence. The same argument can be extended to include other areas such as Masiphumelele in Cape Town and Durban where the xenophobic attacks also took place in May 2008. • Documentary evidence and some of the studies • As part of the ANC’s Polokwane plan to build undertaken for this project find that some ANC its cadre, the ANC has to look into developing responses on the ground did seek to assist. In a training programme for its members. Such a one of the areas visited by the parliamentary task programme should also help in engaging members team (Tembisa) the ANC worked with NGOs and around combating and mitigating xenophobia. This ‘representatives of civil society’, as well as the SA can also be part of reviving political discussions Communist Party and SANCO. Here it and the and debates in ANC branches. The national other organisations formed a Crisis Committee to leadership will have to play an important role in respond to the violence. These positive experiences such endeavours. Here the General Secretary of the need to be generalised and reinforced through ANC, the Education Department and Campaigns documentation and branch-to-branch interactions. Departments can also monitor and ensure the effective implementation of such a programme. 3 INTRODUCTION ANC Part II hat role did South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, play in seeking to prevent, and responding to, the violence directed against African foreigners in May, 2008? WAs this paper will try to show, the government which the ANC leads was at best ineffective in preventing and responding to violence, and at worst complicit in it, because government policy and practice encouraged South Africans to see African immigrants as a problem and a threat rather than an asset. The official expressions of horror at the violence conveniently ignored the role of several government agencies in encouraging the attitudes which made it possible. Since the government has, through the period in which anti-immigrant perceptions were created, been either dominated by or entirely run by the ANC, it might seem appropriate to assume that the government’s actions and attitudes were also those of the ruling party and to dismiss a separate inquiry into the ANC’s role as superfluous. But, there are good reasons, conceptual and empirical, why it is inappropriate to assume without further inquiry that the ANC’s and the government’s role can be conflated. 4 THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE VIOLENCE OF MAY, 2008 Conceptually, there is a clear distinction between ruling party and government. The former may provide the elected officials who preside over the machinery of government, but it does not necessarily – and should not, according to mainstream democratic theory – control all aspects of government: thus it may appoint the minister of police, but usually does not and should not, according to normative democratic theory, appoint the tens of thousands of officers who perform police functions. Nor can a governing party be reduced to its function in government: many dues-
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