Turning Point for ANC Municipalities, or more of the same after the councillors' roll call?
Editor's Note
ANC members during the party's councillors' "roll call" gathering at the FNB Stadium. The event has been criticised as an electioneering ploy ahead of next year's local government elections.
Image: Supplied
There were two "turning points" that made the headlines these past few days. US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's, and the one mentioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the FNB Stadium on Monday.
The ANC's national roll call conference should be a turning point for the entire movement, not just councillors, said Ramaphosa. But, if you ask me, the only thing that looks like it's turning is Ramaphosa. He has already turned into a DA campaign volunteer. Wanna-be Joburg Mayor Helen Zille will be laughing to the council chambers.
"We mustn't protect people who are implicated in corruption," continued Ramaphosa at the roll call gathering, conveniently forgetting for a moment that he has a couple of such cadres in his Cabinet.
He spoke another sad but indubitable truth: "Citizens are clear: we must move incompetent people out of the way!"
The trouble, though, is when the incompetent one is heading the moving-out-of-the-way process.
Eye of the Needle
Each councillor will report quarterly on what they are doing? Well, many will do one thing and report another. Besides, who will read the reports and do something about their contents before the councillor's term in office is over?
And, as can be expected on such straight-talk occasions when the movement has to once again choose between letting the downward spiral continue, and finding a "new beginning", the Eye of the Needle document was mentioned. This narrow-gate principle should have been in use for decades now to select councillors and other leaders, but clearly the gates have been left wider than those at FNB Stadium.
As for the Turning Point USA, I can’t understand how the “Land of the Free” - one of the oldest and longest-running democracies in the world - transmogrified into the terribly polarised "left" and "right", each fighting for their version of "freedom". These "lefties" and "conservatives" were not so long ago fine examples of civil and democratic adversaries in a well-functioning and mature democracy.
There are no turning points at this point in time or anywhere in the near future. It looks like downward spirals everywhere, on these shores as well as over yonder across the Atlantic.