Greed, flamboyance, palace politics and the arrogance of falsified numbers: has the ANC become an orphan?

Is the ANC really in court, or are ANC factions in court fighting over the soul of the ANC?

That is the question many South Africans are asking as internal battles within the organisation continue to spill into the courts. What should ordinarily be dealt with through political structures, internal processes and democratic engagement is increasingly becoming a matter for judges and lawyers.

But perhaps the bigger question is this: why has the ANC reached a point where different factions can claim to speak on behalf of the same organisation while fighting each other over who actually has the right to do so?

When one faction is treated as the ANC and another is treated as something outside the ANC, the public is left asking who has the authority to make that determination.

These are not small questions.

The ANC has a long history, and its name carries political weight far beyond its current leadership. It is an organisation that was built through decades of struggle and sacrifice. It cannot therefore be reduced to whichever faction happens to control a particular structure at a particular moment.

The danger is that the organisation can slowly become bigger in name than it is in substance.

What we are witnessing is not simply a disagreement between politicians. It is a contest over structures, influence, positions, numbers and ultimately control. And when politics becomes primarily about control, principles can easily become secondary.

This is where the politics of numbers becomes particularly dangerous.

Numbers are important in any political organisation. Branches, delegates, memberships and voting figures determine political outcomes. But numbers must be credible. Once there are serious disputes about how numbers were obtained, verified or presented, the political process itself begins to lose credibility.

You cannot build lasting political authority on numbers that people do not trust.

That is why the repeated disputes and court battles should concern not only ANC members, but South Africans more broadly. The issue is bigger than one conference, one province or one faction.

It is about trust.

If political leaders cannot resolve their differences internally, why should ordinary people continue to believe that the organisation can effectively deal with the much bigger problems facing the country?

South Africans have their own battles.

People are struggling with the cost of living. Families are worried about unemployment, crime, electricity, water, healthcare, education and housing. Young people are looking for opportunities. Businesses are trying to survive. Parents are worried about what kind of country their children will inherit.

These are the issues that should occupy political energy.

Ordinary South Africans are not waking up every morning asking which ANC faction has won another internal battle. They want to know whether their lives are improving and whether their political leaders are serious about the future of the country.

This is where palace politics becomes dangerous.

When political leaders become more interested in who sits where, who controls which structure and who has the numbers, the organisation can lose sight of the people it is supposed to serve.

Greed and political ambition have always existed in politics. So have factional battles. But there comes a point when factionalism begins to consume the organisation itself.

And that is the real danger facing the ANC.

The enemy of the ANC and the broader Congress movement does not necessarily have to come from outside. Sometimes an organisation can damage itself through its own conduct.

Arrogance can do that.

So can entitlement.

So can the belief that historical legitimacy will protect an organisation forever.

History gives an organisation a foundation. It does not give it a permanent guarantee of public trust.

That trust has to be renewed.

The ANC therefore needs to ask itself some difficult questions. Are its internal battles strengthening the organisation or weakening it? Are its structures resolving disputes or simply moving them from one political meeting to another and eventually into court? Are leaders protecting the organisation or protecting their factions?

Most importantly, what happens when everyone wins the factional battle but the ANC itself loses?

That is the question that appears to be missing from much of the current debate.

The ANC is not supposed to belong to a faction. Factions come and go. Leaders come and go. Conferences come and go. Political seasons change.

The organisation should remain.

But an organisation cannot remain strong if those entrusted with protecting it continuously place factional interests above institutional interests.

Perhaps this is why the image of an orphan is so appropriate.

The ANC is not an orphan because it has no members. It is an orphan when those who claim to love it become so busy fighting over it that nobody appears willing to protect the organisation itself.

Everyone wants the ANC.

But who wants to protect the ANC?

That is the question.

The people of South Africa deserve a political organisation that can argue, disagree and compete without losing sight of its responsibility to the country. They deserve politics that produces solutions, not endless internal battles.

The ANC still has an opportunity to step back and look at itself honestly.

It can continue along the road of factional confrontation, disputed numbers and court battles, or it can return to the more difficult work of rebuilding trust, strengthening its internal processes and putting the interests of South Africans ahead of factional ambition.

The choice ultimately belongs to its members and leadership.

But one thing should be clear: no faction can own the soul of an organisation forever.

If the ANC is to survive as a meaningful political institution, it must become bigger than the people fighting to control it.

Otherwise, the tragedy will not be that one faction defeats another.

The tragedy will be that, while everyone was fighting over the ANC, there was nobody left fighting for the ANC itself.

By Fundile Gade, Writing in his own personal capacity, ANC PEC Member and Social Rights activist