And if I re-call, we had a similar discussion after the passing of the 3 ANC stalwarts.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device -----Original Message----- From: "Trevor Kekana" <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2012 09:59:54 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] NEWS ANALYSIS: A political party in need of young blood ANC intellectual suggests new way to produce tomorrow's leaders, writes Sam Mkokeli THE African National Congress (ANC) should identify a pool of young leaders who can be groomed to take over from the current generation, says national executive committee (NEC) member Joel Netshitenzhe. Ahead of the ANC's policy and elective conferences this year, the focus has been on renewing the party as it faces serious leadership problems at all levels. Such problems associated with being in power have eroded some of the values that have underpinned the party's growth in the 100 years of its existence. Mr Netshitenzhe last week gave a lecture organised by the Young Communist League, at which he warned against the sins of incumbency - basically the problems associated with being in power. However, his call for younger leaders is different to the ANC Youth League's call for a "generational mix". The league wants its former president, Fikile Mbalula, to become the ANC's secretary-general - equivalent to the third in command. Mr Netshitenzhe said: "Not so much 'generational mix' talked about by others, but so that we do not end up with 10-year cycles of locked-in leadership into old age, but we should rather identify a corps of young cadres, say in their forties, who can be deployed and redeployed in various capacities in government, the organisation and elsewhere, and the best among them can then form the pool from whom we can select and elect the most senior leaders in the ANC and government." Mr Netshitenzhe, considered one of the foremost thinkers in the ANC, says the party needs to avoid the current trend where its presidency is "locked" for two decades, without younger leaders getting a shot. He refers to the "two terms" trend - where a president serves two terms of five years each, and is succeeded by a deputy, who would eventually spend two decades in the presidency - firstly during two terms as deputy, then two terms in the number one position. President Jacob Zuma is 70, and could retire at 77 if he gets a second term in government. He replaced Thabo Mbeki , who is the same age. While Mr Mbeki and Mr Zuma's rise to the ANC presidency was a big jump from Nelson Mandela's generation, the ANC could once again find itself seeing only older leaders occupying its top positions. Kgalema Motlanthe , a possible challenger to Mr Zuma in Mangaung, is 63. If Mr Motlanthe does not challenge Mr Zuma and is re-elected as Mr Zuma's deputy in December, he could be next in line come the 2017 ANC elections. He will be 70 in 2019 - the time he would get a nod to be the first citizen if he doesn't win in Mangaung this year. Mr Netshitenzhe's warning fits with the broader discussion about renewing the ANC, which is taking place ahead of the policy conference later this month and the elective conference in Mangaung in December. The ANC is grappling with the competing identities of a revolutionary movement, and a political party in government whose attainment of power brought problems. In line with the ANC's renewal policy paper, which calls for a shift in the management of leadership contestation, Mr Netshitenzhe calls for leadership ambitions to be welcomed and managed "so we can dispense with the current pretence that everyone is waiting for October, when nominations will start, while people are actually organising factional meetings about slates in the middle of the night". Ambitious leaders should declare their interests, and after being vetted they should be given a platform in the branches and regions to explain and present what they stand for. The ANC policy document suggests ways to open up and democratise the candidate selection process by subjecting those nominated for positions to a rigorous screening process that officials have likened to the primaries of US parties. Mr Netshitenzhe says the ANC needs to spend time building members with strong characters, in tune with the values of the party. That way its members would be able to respond to the problems and benefits associated with being in power. [email protected] http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=173450 http://www.investec.com/legal/email-disclaimer.html The disclaimer also provides our corporate information and names of our directors as required by law. The disclaimer is deemed to form part of this message in terms of Section 11 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. If you cannot access the disclaimer, please obtain a copy thereof from us by sending an email to: [email protected] -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. 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