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128-598: The African National Congress Women's League ( ANCWL ) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa . This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from being the Women's Section to the Women's League from its founding, through the exile years, and in a post- apartheid South Africa . After women were allowed to become members of
256-732: A broad church , and, like many dominant parties , resembles a catch-all party , accommodating a range of ideological tendencies. As Mandela told the Washington Post in 1990: The ANC has never been a political party. It was formed as a parliament of the African people. Right from the start, up to now, the ANC is a coalition, if you want, of people of various political affiliations. Some will support free enterprise , others socialism . Some are conservatives , others are liberals . We are united solely by our determination to oppose racial oppression . That
384-504: A developmental state – which the ANC has typically been cautious, at least in its rhetoric, to distinguish from the neighbouring concept of a welfare state . In the mid-2000s, during Mbeki's second term, the notion of a developmental state was revived in South African political discourse when the national economy worsened; and the 2007 National Conference whole-heartedly endorsed developmentalism in its policy resolutions, calling for
512-629: A fair trial; No one shall be condemned by the order of any Government official; The courts shall be representative of all the people; Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance; The police force and army shall be open to all on an equal basis and shall be the helpers and protectors of the people; All laws which discriminate on grounds of race, colour or belief shall be repealed. The law shall guarantee to all their right to speak, to organise, to meet together, to publish, to preach, to worship and to educate their children; The privacy of
640-557: A heated contest to succeed Madikizela-Mandela. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was also nominated for the presidency but declined to stand in the election. At the national conference in August 2003, the ANCWL's fourth since 1990, Mapisa-Nqakula prevailed and was elected ANCWL president, beating Modise by 528 votes. The conference also elected Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini as deputy president and Bathabile Dlamini as secretary-general. This leadership complement
768-456: A highly charged plenary session, the ANCWL failed to garner the requisite support for its proposal to insert gender quotas into the ANC constitution. Shope was replaced as president by Madikizela-Mandela in December 1993, at the ANCWL's second national conference; the conference also elected Thandi Modise as deputy president and Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as secretary-general. Adelaide Tambo
896-478: A key player in the negotiations to end apartheid , which began in earnest after the ban was repealed in 1990. For much of that time, the ANC leadership, along with many of its most active members, operated from abroad. After the Soweto Uprising of 1976, the ANC remained committed to achieving its objectives through armed struggle, led by its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. These circumstances significantly shaped
1024-553: A leadership vote in 1985. Also notable about this period was the extremely close relationship between the ANC and the reconstituted South African Communist Party (SACP), which was also in exile. In 1961, partly in response to the Sharpeville massacre, leaders of the SACP and the ANC formed a military body, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK, Spear of the Nation ), as a vehicle for armed struggle against
1152-487: A lifelong member of the ANC, he would not be campaigning for the ANC in the 2024 South African general election , and would instead be voting for MK. In July 2024, Jacob Zuma was expelled from the ANC, because of campaigning for a rival party ( MK party ) in the 29 May general election. Under the ANC constitution, every member of the ANC belongs to a local branch, and branch members select the organisation's policies and leaders. They do so primarily by electing delegates to
1280-401: A new policy platform referred to as radical economic transformation (RET). Zuma announced the new focus on RET during his February 2017 State of the Nation address, and later that year, explaining that it had been adopted as ANC policy and therefore as government policy, defined it as entailing "fundamental change in the structures, systems, institutions and patterns of ownership and control of
1408-589: A painting called The Pornography Power , portraying then-president Jacob Zuma receiving oral sex by an African American women in a circus tent. "Of late, the organisation has failed time and time again to check misogyny within the ANC and has made shallow attempts at best to check misogyny outside of it." The ANCWL in the North West suspended three of its members. The League's Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) placed three of its executive members on leave on January 21, 2022 due to fraud accusations. The accusation
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#17331246828451536-405: A parallel organization that the ANC could bring into the national liberation struggle through the ANCWL's key membership and leadership in the federation. On March 22, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville , South African police forces opened fire on a demonstration of Black South Africans against the pass laws. 69 people were killed by the police, and riots spread across South Africa in response to
1664-425: A presence, indicating a step towards building up a political organization for women in the ANC. This was rejected by the ANC on the grounds that it would be promoting a parallel feminist organization that could foster divisions within the nationalist movement. The tension between feminism and the nationalist movement was a constant struggle that ultimately resulted in a cyclical pattern of "double militancy" for women in
1792-572: A punishable crime; All apartheid laws and practices shall be set aside. The national wealth of our country, the heritage of all South Africans, shall be restored to the people; The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole; All other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the well-being of the people; All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions. Restrictions of land ownership on
1920-533: A racial basis shall be ended, and all the land redivided amongst those who work it, to banish famine and land hunger; The state shall help the peasants with implements, seed, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist the tillers; Freedom of movement shall be guaranteed to all who work on the land; All shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose; People shall not be robbed of their cattle, and forced labour and farm prisons shall be abolished. No one shall be imprisoned, deported or restricted without
2048-492: A reflection of the ANC's failure to implement genuinely radical transformation after 1994. Debate about ANC commitment to redistribution on a socialist scale has continued: in 2013, the country's largest trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa , withdrew its support for the ANC on the basis that "the working class cannot any longer see the ANC or the SACP as its class allies in any meaningful sense". It
2176-539: A series of bilateral accords with the government establishing a mutual commitment to negotiations. Importantly, the Pretoria Minute of August 1990 included a commitment by the ANC to unilaterally suspend its armed struggle. This made possible the multi-party Convention for a Democratic South Africa and later the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum, in which the ANC was regarded as the main representative of
2304-486: A state "at the centre of a mixed economy... which leads and guides that economy and which intervenes in the interest of the people as a whole". The proposed developmental state was also central to the ANC's campaign in the 2009 elections , and it remains a central pillar of the policy of the current government, which seeks to build a "capable and developmental" state. In this regard, ANC politicians often cite China as an aspirational example. A discussion document ahead of
2432-528: A surge in trade union activity and by the formation in 1944 of the left-wing ANC Youth League under a new generation of activists, among them Walter Sisulu , Nelson Mandela , and Oliver Tambo . After the National Party was elected into government in 1948 on a platform of apartheid , entailing the further institutionalisation of racial segregation , this new generation pushed for a Programme of Action which explicitly advocated African nationalism and led
2560-650: A wide audience during apartheid. " Amandla ngawethu ", or the Sotho variant "Matla ke arona", is a common rallying call at ANC meetings, roughly meaning " power to the people ". It is also common for meetings to sing so-called struggle songs, which were sung during anti-apartheid meetings and in MK camps. In the case of at least two of these songs – Dubula ibhunu and Umshini wami – this has caused controversy in recent years. The ANC has received criticism from both internal and external sources. Internally Mandela publicly criticized
2688-561: Is a member of the Socialist International , and its close partner the SACP traditionally conceives itself as a vanguard party . Specifically, and as implied by the 1969 document, NDR doctrine entails that the transformation of the domestic political system (national struggle, in Joe Slovo 's phrase) is a precondition for a socialist revolution (class struggle). The concept remained important to ANC intellectuals and strategists after
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#17331246828452816-486: Is based on the will of all the people; that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality; that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities; that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief; And therefore, we,
2944-412: Is considered a dominant-party state . However, the ANC's electoral majority has declined consistently since 2004, and in the 2021 local elections , its share of the national vote dropped below 50% for the first time ever. Over the last decade, the party has been embroiled in a number of controversies, particularly relating to widespread allegations of political corruption among its members. Following
3072-484: Is evident, however, that the ANC never embraced free-market capitalism , and continued to favour a mixed economy : even as the debate over GEAR raged, the ANC declared itself (in 2004) a social-democratic party, and it was at that time presiding over phenomenal expansions of its black economic empowerment programme and the system of social grants . As its name suggests, the RDP emphasised state-led development – that is,
3200-532: Is notable for its demand for and commitment to a non-racial South Africa, and this has remained the platform of the ANC. As a result, ANC members who held pro-African views left the ANC after it adopted the charter, forming the Pan Africanist Congress . The charter also calls for democracy and human rights , land reform , labour rights , and nationalisation . After the Congress was denounced as treason,
3328-413: Is overseen by so-called list committees and tends to involve a degree of broad democratic participation, especially at the local level, where ANC branches vote to nominate candidates for the local government elections. Between 2003 and 2008, the ANC also gained a significant number of members through the controversial floor crossing process, which occurred especially at the local level. The leaders of
3456-439: Is the only thing that unites us. There is no question of ideology as far as the odyssey of the ANC is concerned, because any question approaching ideology would split the organization from top to bottom. Because we have no connection whatsoever except at this one, of our determination to dismantle apartheid. The post-apartheid ANC continues to identify itself foremost as a liberation movement , pursuing "the complete liberation of
3584-634: The 2024 general election , the ANC lost its majority in parliament for the first time in South Africa's democratic history. It still remains the largest party however, with under 41% of the vote. The party also lost its majority in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Gauteng and Northern Cape. Despite these setbacks, the ANC retained power at the national level through a grand coalition referred to as the Government of National Unity , including parties which together have 72% of
3712-811: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the CCP having supported ANC's struggle of apartheid since 1961. In 2008, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding to train ANC members in China. President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC have not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine , and have faced criticism from opposition parties, public commentators, academics, civil society organisations, and former ANC members due to this. The ANC youth wing has meanwhile condemned sanctions against Russia and denounced NATO's eastward expansion as "fascistic". Officials representing
3840-517: The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). However, once negotiations resumed, they resulted in November 1993 in an interim Constitution , which governed South Africa's first democratic elections on 27 April 1994. In the elections, the ANC won an overwhelming 62.65% majority of the vote. Mandela was elected president and formed a coalition Government of National Unity , which, under the provisions of
3968-534: The National Conference , which is currently convened every five years. Between conferences, the organisation is led by its 86-member National Executive Committee , which is elected at each conference. The most senior members of the National Executive Committee are the so-called Top Six officials, the ANC president primary among them. A symmetrical process occurs at the subnational levels: each of
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4096-518: The Oilgate scandal, in which millions of Rand in funds from a state-owned company were funnelled into ANC coffers. The ANC has also been accused of using government and civil society to fight its political battles against opposition parties such as the Democratic Alliance . The result has been a number of complaints and allegations that none of the political parties truly represent the interests of
4224-463: The Orange Free State province to require Black women to carry passes. Passes were documents that were used as a means by which local state authorities and white capitalists could regulate the movement of Black South Africans, most of whom were migrant workers. The pass was seen as a symbol of racist oppression and the Bantu Women's League was built to channel women's militancy in order to protest
4352-729: The Rivonia trial and Little Rivonia trial . From around 1963, the ANC effectively abandoned much of even its underground presence inside South Africa and operated almost entirely from its external mission, with headquarters first in Morogoro, Tanzania , and later in Lusaka, Zambia . For the entirety of its time in exile, the ANC was led by Tambo – first de facto , with president Albert Luthuli under house arrest in Zululand ; then in an acting capacity, after Luthuli's death in 1967; and, finally, officially, after
4480-520: The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960. In the aftermath, the ANC was banned by the South African government. It was not unbanned until February 1990, almost three decades later. After its banning in April 1960, the ANC was driven underground, a process hastened by a barrage of government banning orders , by an escalation of state repression, and by the imprisonment of senior ANC leaders pursuant to
4608-688: The South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress . It is characterised by its opening demand, "The People Shall Govern!" After about a decade of multi-faceted resistance to white minority rule, and in the wake of the Defiance Campaign of 1952, the work to create the Freedom Charter was in part a response to an increasingly repressive government which was bent on stamping out extra-parliamentary dissent. In 1955,
4736-433: The conservative , educated, and religious professional classes of black South African society. Although they would not take part, Xhosa chiefs would show huge support for the organisation; as a result, King Jongilizwe donated 50 cows to during its founding. Around 1920, in a partial shift away from its early focus on the "politics of petitioning", the ANC developed a programme of passive resistance directed primarily at
4864-500: The executive in each sphere of government – the president , the provincial premiers , and the mayors – are indirectly elected after each election. In practice, the selection of ANC candidates for these positions is highly centralised, with the ANC caucus voting together to elect a pre-decided candidate. Although the ANC does not always announce whom its caucuses intend to elect, the National Assembly has thus far always elected
4992-499: The freedom of the press . Opposition to the bill included otherwise ANC-aligned groups such as COSATU . Notably, Nelson Mandela and other Nobel laureates Nadine Gordimer , Archbishop Desmond Tutu , and F. W. de Klerk have expressed disappointment with the bill for not meeting standards of constitutionality and aspirations for freedom of information and expression. The ANC have been criticised for its role in failing to prevent 16 August 2012 massacre of Lonmin miners at Marikana in
5120-547: The 1955 Congress of the people, where the Freedom Charter was adopted. Then secretary-general of the ANC, Oliver Tambo, remarked that the "Women's League is not just an auxiliary to the ANC and we know that we cannot win liberation or build a strong movement without the participation of women." This remark was made coming off of the heels of the ANCWL's large involvement in the Defiance Campaign , which saw women members taking important roles and leading massive actions. Women saw
5248-472: The 1970s, conditions for armed struggle soon improved considerably, especially after the Soweto uprising of 1976 in South Africa saw thousands of students – inspired by Black Consciousness ideas – cross the borders to seek military training. MK guerrilla activity inside South Africa increased steadily over this period, with one estimate recording an increase from 23 incidents in 1977 to 136 incidents in 1985. In
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5376-505: The ANC National Executive Committee announced that, while Dlamini would not be required to "step aside", the entire national executive of the ANCWL would be disbanded because it had exceeded its five-year term. The disbandment ended Dlamini and other national leaders' terms and leadership of the ANCWL was entrusted to an interim task team, pending fresh leadership elections. South African artist Ayanda Mabulu once created
5504-466: The ANC Youth League acted as international observers for Russia's staged referendum to annex Ukrainian territory conquered during the war. In February 2024 ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula attend a "forum on combating Western neocolonialism" hosted by Russia, thereby drawing further criticism for the party's perceived support for Russia's invasion. The ANC had received large donations from
5632-411: The ANC but without full membership rights. It was founded to give organization to women's issues and to channel women's politics into the ANC's nationalist struggle. The organization operated on the ANC's patriarchal nationalist conception of women's political interests as solely issues that inhibited women in their roles as wives and mothers. A central issue that led to its formation were the attempts by
5760-623: The ANC during its years in exile. In the post-apartheid era, the ANC continues to identify itself foremost as a liberation movement , although it is also a registered political party. Partly due to its Tripartite Alliance with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions , it had retained a comfortable electoral majority at the national level and in most provinces, and has provided each of South Africa's five presidents since 1994. South Africa
5888-402: The ANC in 1943, the ANCWL was created as the means by which Black South African women could contribute to the national liberation struggle by channeling Black women's political activity into the ANC by way of the ANCWL. From its founding until the present the organization's structure, internal debates, and activity have been influenced by critical events in the national liberation struggle and by
6016-430: The ANC president as the national president. The ANC has adhered to a formal policy of cadre deployment since 1985. In the post-apartheid era, the policy includes but is not exhausted by selection of candidates for elections and government positions: it also entails that the central organisation "deploys" ANC members to various other strategic positions in the party, state, and economy. The ANC prides itself on being
6144-498: The ANC president to publish annually a so-called January 8 Statement: a reflective letter sent to members on 8 January, the anniversary of the organisation's founding. In earlier years, the ANC published a range of periodicals , the most important of which was the monthly journal Sechaba (1967–1990), printed in the German Democratic Republic and banned by the apartheid government. The ANC's Radio Freedom also gained
6272-600: The ANC reduced its presence inside South Africa, however, MK cadres were increasingly confined to training camps in Tanzania and neighbouring countries – with such exceptions as the Wankie Campaign , a momentous military failure. In 1969, Tambo was compelled to call the landmark Morogoro Conference to address the grievances of the rank-and-file, articulated by Chris Hani in a memorandum which depicted MK's leadership as corrupt and complacent. Although MK's malaise persisted into
6400-565: The ANC sent out 50,000 volunteers into townships and the countryside to collect "freedom demands" from the people of South Africa. This system was designed to give all South Africans equal rights. Demands such as "Land to be given to all landless people", "Living wages and shorter hours of work", "Free and compulsory education, irrespective of colour, race or nationality" were synthesised into the final document by ANC leaders including Z.K. Mathews , Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein , Ethel Drus, Ruth First and Alan Lipman (whose wife, Beata Lipman, hand-wrote
6528-595: The ANC was attracting individuals who viewed the party as "a route to power and self-enrichment." He added that the ANC leadership "did not know how to deal with this problem." During a lecture on 10 December, Mbeki reiterated concerns about "careerists" within the party, and stressed the need to "purge itself of such members". In May 2024, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in association with amaBhungane showed in documents that R200 million in
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#17331246828456656-482: The ANC was building a mass base to achieve its goal of national liberation. The interwar period was marked by an increase in Black women's mobilization against apartheid. The increase in secondary industry and the reduction of the reserve economy prompted the mass urbanization of women into townships, creating the conditions for a massive wave of resistance in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1943, the ANC decided to allow women to join
6784-442: The ANC was unbanned, but has deeper historical roots: the SACP had worked closely with the ANC in exile, and COSATU had aligned itself with the Freedom Charter and Congress Alliance in 1987. The membership and leadership of the three organisations has traditionally overlapped significantly. The alliance constitutes a de facto electoral coalition: the SACP and COSATU do not contest in government elections, but field candidates through
6912-462: The ANC's 2015 National General Council proposed that: China['s] economic development trajectory remains a leading example of the triumph of humanity over adversity. The exemplary role of the collective leadership of the Communist Party of China in this regard should be a guiding lodestar of our own struggle. Towards the end of Jacob Zuma 's presidency, an ANC faction aligned to Zuma pioneered
7040-662: The ANC's election fund was siphoned off to the church of controversial archbishop Bheki Lukhele in Eswatini; the Chief Financial Officer of the ANC, Bongani Mahlalela along with the Ambassador of Eswatini to Belgium, Sibusisiwe Mngomezulu , were implicated in the scheme. In late 2011 the ANC was heavily criticised over the passage of the Protection of State Information Bill , which opponents claimed would improperly restrict
7168-482: The ANC, as it was no longer the party that he and Nelson Mandela fought for. He stated that the party had lost its way, and was in danger of becoming a corrupt entity in power. Since at least 2017, the ANC has encountered significant problems related to financial mismanagement. According to a report filed by the former treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize in December 2017, the ANC was technically insolvent as its liabilities exceeded its assets. These problems continued into
7296-481: The ANC, for the first time, to the sustained use of mass mobilisation techniques like strikes, stay-aways, and boycotts. This culminated in the 1952–53 Defiance Campaign , a campaign of mass civil disobedience organised by the ANC, the Indian Congress , and the coloured Franchise Action Council in protest of six apartheid laws. The ANC's membership swelled. In June 1955, it was one of the groups represented at
7424-552: The ANC, hold senior positions in the ANC, and influence party policy. However, the SACP, in particular, has frequently threatened to field its own candidates, and in 2017 it did so for the first time, running against the ANC in by-elections in the Metsimaholo municipality, Free State . Under South Africa's closed- list proportional representation electoral system, parties have immense power in selecting candidates for legislative bodies. The ANC's internal candidate selection process
7552-415: The ANC; women had to struggle against the patriarchal notions of women's roles in the ANC's nationalism, struggle for a political space for women, and struggle against critiques or attacks from their mostly male comrades when they tried to seek autonomy for the ANCWL. Despite this, women's own political strength would push against assumed gender roles within the ANC. The ANC had asked it to help in organizing
7680-479: The ANCWL are elected at regular national conferences; the 12th was held in August 2015. Since the ANCWL was relaunched in 1990, its presidents have been: In 1956, Lilian Ngoyi became the first elected female member of the ANC National Executive Committee . Among the activists and politicians who were allied with the ANC during the apartheid decades are: Many of these women were members of
7808-591: The ANCWL or worked with them in organizations like FEDSAW to advance the national liberation struggle. African National Congress The African National Congress ( ANC ) is a political party in South Africa . It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election resulted in Nelson Mandela being elected as President of South Africa . Cyril Ramaphosa ,
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#17331246828457936-471: The ANCWL returned to being a formal organization within the ANC. The most recent president of the ANCWL was Bathabile Dlamini , who held the office from 2015 until April 2022, when the entire national executive of the league was disbanded by the National Executive Committee of the mainstream ANC. The Bantu Women's League (BWL) was founded in 1913 by Dr. Charlotte Manye Maxeke as a part of
8064-589: The Northwest. Some allege that Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa gave the go ahead for the police action against the miners on that day. Commissioner Phiyega of the ANC came under further criticism as being insensitive and uncaring when she was caught smiling and laughing during the Farlam Commission 's video playback of the massacre. In 2014, Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced that he could no longer bring himself to vote for
8192-514: The People campaign and therefore symbolises a united and non-racial movement for freedom and equality. The logo uses the same colours as the ANC flag, which comprises three horizontal stripes of equal width in black, green and gold. The black symbolises the native people of South Africa; the green represents the land of South Africa; and the gold represents the country's mineral and other natural wealth. The black, green and gold tricolour also appeared on
8320-460: The Putin linked Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg , whilst the party's investment arm, Chancellor House , has a joint investment with Vekselberg in a South African manganese mine. The logo of the ANC incorporates a spear and shield – symbolising the historical and ongoing struggle, armed and otherwise, against colonialism and racial oppression – and a wheel, which is borrowed from the 1955 Congress of
8448-502: The RDP with the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programme, which was maintained under President Thabo Mbeki , Mandela's successor. GEAR has been characterised as a neoliberal policy, and it was disowned by both COSATU and the SACP. While some analysts viewed Mbeki's economic policy as undertaking the uncomfortable macroeconomic adjustments necessary for long-term growth, others – notably Patrick Bond – viewed it as
8576-431: The South African government banned the ANC and arrested 156 activists, including Mandela, who were put on trial in the 1956 Treason Trial , in which all were acquitted. The Charter continued to circulate in the revolutionary underground and inspired a new generation of young militants in the 1980s. When the ANC finally came to power after democratic elections in 1994, the new Constitution of South Africa included many of
8704-430: The Women's League became dormant, although much of its work was continued by the "Women's Section" of the mainstream ANC, which had multiple branches across different exile states. Leaders of the section included Florence Mophosho and Gertrude Shope . The formal roles of the women in the Women's Section was to act as "social workers" for the members in exile. However, women in exile also took on roles of diplomats, like in
8832-676: The administration of the country; The rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex; All bodies of minority rule, advisory boards, councils and authorities shall be replaced by democratic organs of self-government. There shall be equal status in the bodies of state, in the courts and in the schools for all national groups and races; All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs; All national groups shall be protected by law against insults to their race and national pride; The preaching and practice of national, race or colour discrimination and contempt shall be
8960-537: The apartheid state. Initially, MK was not an official ANC body, nor had it been directly established by the ANC National Executive: it was considered an autonomous organisation, until such time as the ANC formally recognised it as its armed wing in October 1962. In the first half of the 1960s, MK was preoccupied with a campaign of sabotage attacks, especially bombings of unoccupied government installations. As
9088-409: The basis of merit; Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan; Teachers shall have all the rights of other citizens; The colour bar in cultural life, in sport and in education shall be abolished. All people shall have the right to live where they choose, to be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security; Unused housing space to be made available to
9216-427: The black majority even within a market-capitalist scheme. We must develop the capacity of government for strategic intervention in social and economic development. We must increase the capacity of the public sector to deliver improved and extended public services to all the people of South Africa. Since 1994, consecutive ANC governments have held a strong preference for a significant degree of state intervention in
9344-409: The border to target ANC members and ANC bases, as in the 1981 raid on Maputo , 1983 raid on Maputo , and 1985 raid on Gaborone . During this period, MK activities led the governments of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to condemn the ANC as a terrorist organisation. In fact, neither the ANC nor Mandela were removed from the U.S. terror watch list until 2008. The animosity of Western regimes
9472-556: The case of Mophosho, or they were able to rethink their politics and incorporate a feminist politics into their nationalist struggle through encounters with feminists in other countries, like the feminists of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola . This was an important period for ANC women in exile because when they were allowed to return in 1990, they would bring the lessons from these political exchanges into advocating for advancing
9600-457: The country from all forms of discrimination and national oppression". It also continues to claim the Freedom Charter of 1955 as "the basic policy document of the ANC". However, as NEC member Jeremy Cronin noted in 2007, the various broad principles of the Freedom Charter have been given different interpretations, and emphasised to differing extents, by different groups within the organisation. Nonetheless, some basic commonalities are visible in
9728-462: The creation of the ANCWL there began debates within the organization about whether the ANCWL should be a more autonomous or decentralized organization for advancing women's politics and position within the nationalist movement and in the future post-apartheid state. In 1945, the Executive Committee of the ANCWL passed a resolution to allow itself to establish branches wherever the ANC already had
9856-400: The demands of the Freedom Charter. It addressed directly nearly all of the demands for equality of race and language. The original document is housed at Liliesleaf Farm , now a museum. We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know: that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it
9984-423: The dispute: the women met with Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and then, reportedly for four hours, with President Nelson Mandela . Upon Madikizela-Mandela's death in 2018, it was still not clear exactly what precipitated the protest; most of the women later rejoined the ANCWL. At the ANC's 50th National Conference in December 1997, the ANCWL nominated its president, Madikizela-Mandela, for the deputy presidency of
10112-542: The economy . The ANC's first comprehensive articulation of its post-apartheid economic policy framework was set out in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) document of 1994, which became its electoral manifesto and also, under the same name, the flagship policy of Nelson Mandela's government . The RDP aimed both to redress the socioeconomic inequalities created by colonialism and apartheid, and to promote economic growth and development ; state intervention
10240-449: The economy, in favour of all South Africans, especially the poor". Arguments for RET were closely associated with the rhetorical concept of white monopoly capital . At the 54th National Conference in 2017, the ANC endorsed a number of policy principles advocated by RET supporters, including their proposal to pursue land expropriation without compensation as a matter of national policy. The ANC has long had close ties with China and
10368-446: The end of apartheid. Indeed, the pursuit of the NDR is one of the primary objectives of the ANC as set out in its constitution. As with the Freedom Charter, the ambiguity of the NDR has allowed it to bear varying interpretations. For example, whereas SACP theorists tend to emphasise the anti-capitalist character of the NDR, some ANC policymakers have construed it as implying the empowerment of
10496-516: The equal rights, opportunities and status of all; The people of the protectorates-Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland-shall be free to decide for themselves their own future; The right of all the peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognized and shall be the basis of close co-operation. Let all who love their people and their country now say, as we say here: 'THESE FREEDOMS WE WILL FIGHT FOR, SIDE BY SIDE, THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, UNTIL WE HAVE WON OUR LIBERTY.' Adopted at
10624-554: The exiled ANC dedicated much of its attention to a campaign of sabotage and guerrilla warfare against the apartheid state, carried out under its military wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe , which was founded in 1961 in partnership with the South African Communist Party (SACP). The ANC was condemned as a terrorist organisation by the governments of South Africa, the United States , and the United Kingdom . However, it positioned itself as
10752-413: The expansion and entrenchment of pass laws . When Josiah Gumede took over as ANC president in 1927, he advocated for a strategy of mass mobilisation and cooperation with the Communist Party , but was voted out of office in 1930 and replaced with the traditionalist Seme, whose leadership saw the ANC's influence wane. In the 1940s, Alfred Bitini Xuma revived some of Gumede's programmes, assisted by
10880-612: The flag of the KwaZulu bantustan and appears on the flag of the ANC's rival, the IFP; and all three colours appear in the post-apartheid South African national flag . Since 1996, the ANC Department of Political Education has published the quarterly Umrabulo political discussion journal; and ANC Today , a weekly online newsletter, was launched in 2001 to offset the alleged bias of the press. In addition, since 1972, it has been traditional for
11008-593: The former South African President, was charged with fraud, bribery and corruption in the Arms Deal, but the charges were subsequently withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa due to their delay in prosecution. The ANC has also been criticised for its subsequent abolition of the Scorpions , the multidisciplinary agency that investigated and prosecuted organised crime and corruption, and
11136-473: The historical injustices perpetrated against the indigenous majority and thus lay the basis for a new – and deeper internationalist – approach". For the movement's intellectuals, the concept of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) was a means of reconciling the anti-apartheid and anti-colonial project with a second goal, that of establishing domestic and international socialism – the ANC
11264-427: The house from police raids shall be protected by law; All shall be free to travel without restriction from countryside to town, from province to province, and from South Africa abroad; Pass Laws, permits and all other laws restricting these freedoms shall be abolished. All who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers; The state shall recognise
11392-647: The incumbent national President, has served as President of the ANC since 18 December 2017. Founded on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress , the organisation was formed to advocate for the rights of black South Africans . When the National Party government came to power in 1948 , the ANC's central purpose became to oppose the new government's policy of institutionalised apartheid . To this end, its methods and means of organisation shifted; its adoption of
11520-602: The interests of the anti-apartheid movement. However, ongoing political violence , which the ANC attributed to a state-sponsored third force , led to recurrent tensions. Most dramatically, after the Boipatong massacre of June 1992, the ANC announced that it was withdrawing from negotiations indefinitely. It faced further casualties in the Bisho massacre , the Shell House massacre , and in other clashes with state forces and supporters of
11648-587: The interim Constitution, also included the National Party and IFP. The ANC has controlled the national government since then. In the post-apartheid era, several significant breakaway groups have been formed by former ANC members. The first is the Congress of the People , founded by Mosiuoa Lekota in 2008 in the aftermath of the Polokwane elective conference , when the ANC declined to re-elect Thabo Mbeki as its president and instead compelled his resignation from
11776-494: The latter half of the 1980s, a number of South African civilians were killed in these attacks, a reversal of the ANC's earlier reluctance to incur civilian casualties. Fatal attacks included the 1983 Church Street bombing , the 1985 Amanzimtoti bombing , the 1986 Magoo's Bar bombing , and the 1987 Johannesburg Magistrate's Court bombing . Partly in retaliation, the South African Defence Force increasingly crossed
11904-579: The league's support by selecting Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (a provincial leader of the ANCWL in KwaZulu-Natal at that time) as his running mate. At the ANCWL national conference in 2008, outgoing secretary-general Dlamini contested with Angie Motshekga for election to the presidency; Motshekga won the vote. Also elected at the conference were Nosiphiwo Mwambi as deputy president, Sisisi Tolashe as secretary-general, Mpai Mogori as deputy secretary-general, and Hlengiwe Mkhize as treasurer. Motshekga remained in
12032-528: The leverage this gave them and took the opportunity to demand that their demands be incorporated into the charter. On August 9, 1956 , league members representing the Federation of South African Women , confronted Prime Minister J. G. Strydom with a petition against pass laws. The experience of the Defiance Campaign also led to the ANCWL's role in creating the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW),
12160-474: The mainstream ANC, but the nomination was invalidated on a technicality. An attempt by the ANCWL to nominate her again, this time from the floor of the conference, also failed. Although Madikizela-Mandela was elected to a second term as ANCWL president at the league's 1997 conference, she was convicted of fraud and theft in April 2003 and resigned from the office. Modise stepped in as acting president. In subsequent months, Modise and Mapisa-Nqakula were engaged in
12288-626: The massacre at Sharpeville. The National Party government declared a state of emergency and moved to ban the ANC and the Pan African Congress , among others. While the organization was banned, some members created organizations such as the Federation of Transvaal Women (FEDTRAW), Natal Organisation of Women (NOW) and United Women's Congress (UWCO) in the Western Cape. The ANC itself operated primarily in exile from headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia ;
12416-511: The multi-racial Congress of the People in Kliptown, Soweto , which ratified the Freedom Charter , from then onwards a fundamental document in the anti-apartheid struggle . The Charter was the basis of the enduring Congress Alliance , but was also used as a pretext to prosecute hundreds of activists, among them most of the ANC's leadership, in the Treason Trial . Before the trial was concluded,
12544-547: The national presidency. The second breakaway is the Economic Freedom Fighters , founded in 2013 after youth leader Julius Malema was expelled from the ANC. Before these, the most important split in the ANC's history occurred in 1959, when Robert Sobukwe led a splinter faction of African nationalists to the new Pan Africanist Congress . uMkhonto weSizwe rose to prominence in December 2023, when former president Jacob Zuma announced that, while planning to remain
12672-563: The nine provincial executive committees and regional executive committees are elected at provincial and regional elective conferences respectively, also attended by branch delegates; and branch officials are elected at branch general meetings. The ANC has three leagues: the Women's League , the Youth League and the Veterans' League . Under the ANC constitution, the leagues are autonomous bodies with
12800-427: The organization as full members. In 1948, the ANC created the Women's League, the organization that was to be the home for women members of the ANC and the mechanism through which their politics and participation would be directed. Madie Hall-Xuma became the first president of the auxiliary organization, and the organization was allowed to govern itself within the boundaries set by the ANC. Almost immediately following
12928-463: The original Charter). The Charter was officially adopted on Sunday 26 June 1955 at a gathering of about 3,000 people, known as the Congress of the People in Kliptown , Soweto . The meeting was broken up by police on the second day, although by then the Charter had been read in full. The crowd had shouted its approval of each section with cries of "Africa!" and " Mayibuye !" Nelson Mandela escaped
13056-543: The orphans, the disabled and the sick shall be cared for by the state; Rest, leisure and recreation shall be the right of all; Fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished, and laws which break up families shall be repealed. South Africa shall be a fully independent state, which respects the rights and sovereignty of all nations; South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation-not war; Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding
13184-476: The party, following the conclusion of his presidency, for ignoring instances of corruption and mismanagement, whilst allowing for the growth of a culture of racial and ideological intolerance. The most prominent corruption case involving the ANC relates to a series of bribes paid to companies involved in the ongoing R55 billion Arms Deal saga , which resulted in a long term jail sentence to then Deputy President Jacob Zuma 's legal adviser Schabir Shaik . Zuma,
13312-648: The passes. Black men had already been required to carry passes. Whites did not have to carry passes. In 1912, the BWL obtained 5000 Black and Colored women's signatures. The petition was sent to Prime Minister Louis Bothaasking, requesting the repeal of the pass laws. The women received no response. In response and led by Maxeke, the members burned their passes in front of municipal offices while chanting, protest and even fighting with police. Many members were arrested in Jagersfontein, Winburg and Bloemfontein. This militant action by
13440-417: The people of South Africa, black and white together - equals, countrymen and brothers - adopt this Freedom Charter. And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won. Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws; All people shall be entitled to take part in
13568-413: The people; Rent and prices shall be lowered, food plentiful and no one shall go hungry; A preventive health scheme shall be run by the state; Free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all, with special care for mothers and young children; Slums shall be demolished, and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, creches and social centres; The aged,
13696-420: The police by disguising himself as a milkman , as his movements and interactions were restricted by banning orders at the time. The document signified a major break with the past traditions of the struggle; this was no longer a civil rights movement seeking to be accommodated in the existing structures of society, but called for a fundamental restructuring of all aspects of South African society. The document
13824-409: The policy and ideological preferences of the organisation's mainstream. The ANC is committed to the ideal of non-racialism and to opposing "any form of racial, tribalistic or ethnic exclusivism or chauvinism". The 1969 Morogoro Conference committed the ANC to a "national democratic revolution [which] – destroying the existing social and economic relationship – will bring with it a correction of
13952-454: The poor. This has resulted in the " No Land! No House! No Vote! " Campaign which became very prominent during elections. In 2018, the New York Times reported on the killings of ANC corruption whistleblowers. During an address on 28 October 2021, former president Thabo Mbeki commented on the history of corruption within the ANC. He reflected that Mandela had already warned in 1997 that
14080-450: The presidency but was elected in a vote, receiving only 196 votes to Shope's 633; Albertina Sisulu had declined a nomination to stand for the presidency and had reportedly supported Shope's campaign, and she was elected ANCWL deputy president. Baleka Mbete (then known as Baleka Kgositsile) was elected secretary-general . At the 48th National Conference of the mainstream ANC in July 1991, in
14208-494: The presidency until 2013 – although the league's constitution required it to hold national conferences every five years, the conference was delayed by two years. When the next conference was held in Pretoria in August 2015, it hosted a repeat of the 2008 leadership battle; on this occasion, Dlamini won, earning 1,537 votes to Motshekga's 1,081. Sisi Ntombela was elected unopposed as ANCWL deputy president, and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane
14336-464: The right and duty of all to work, and to draw full unemployment benefits; Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work; There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, and sick leave for all workers, and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers; Miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work; Child labour, compound labour,
14464-489: The scope to devise their own constitutions and policies; for the purpose of national conferences, they are treated somewhat like provinces, with voting delegates and the power to nominate leadership candidates. The ANC is recognised as the leader of a three-way alliance, known as the Tripartite Alliance , with the SACP and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The alliance was formalised in mid-1990, after
14592-664: The seats in Parliament . A successor of the Cape Colony 's Imbumba Yamanyama organisation, the ANC was founded as the South African Native National Congress in Bloemfontein on 8 January 1912, and was renamed the African National Congress in 1923. Pixley ka Isaka Seme , Sol Plaatje , John Dube , and Walter Rubusana founded the organisation, who, like much of the ANC's early membership, were from
14720-636: The second half of 2021. By September 2021, the ANC had reportedly amassed a debt exceeding R200-million, including over R100-million owed to the South African Revenue Service . Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance , which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress ,
14848-545: The status of women in a post-apartheid South Africa and its new constitution. Several months after the ANC was unbanned by the apartheid government, the ANCWL was relaunched in Durban on 9 August 1990, the anniversary of the famous 1956 Women's March . In April 1991 the league held its first national conference in several decades in Kimberley and elected Gertrude Shope as ANCWL president. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela also stood for
14976-528: The techniques of mass politics , and the swelling of its membership, culminated in the Defiance Campaign of civil disobedience in 1952–53. The ANC was banned by the South African government between April 1960 – shortly after the Sharpeville massacre – and February 1990. During this period, despite periodic attempts to revive its domestic political underground, the ANC was forced into exile by increasing state repression, which saw many of its leaders imprisoned on Robben Island . Headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia ,
15104-630: The tot system and contract labour shall be abolished. The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life; All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands; The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace; Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on
15232-428: The ultimate authority of the ANC. Although the ANCWL was established as a way to incorporate women and their issues into the ANC, there are conflicting accounts over the extent to which women and their issues were represented by this organization, the degree to which organizational autonomy was desired, and the organization's relationship with feminist politics . After the ANC was allowed to return to South Africa in 1990,
15360-434: The women resulted in the exclusion of women from the pass laws until 1956 when the South African government attempted to subject women to pass laws again. The mass mobilization of the women caught the ANC by surprise; this high level of political activity continued throughout the interwar period, prompting the ANC to reconsider the role of women in the nationalist struggle. The women made up a powerful political constituency, and
15488-527: Was an extremely controversial topic within the organisation. Following preliminary contact between the ANC and representatives of the state, business, and civil society, President F. W. de Klerk announced in February 1990 that the government would unban the ANC and other banned political organisations, and that Mandela would be released from prison. Some ANC leaders returned to South Africa from exile for so-called "talks about talks", which led in 1990 and 1991 to
15616-491: Was elected treasurer, winning in a vote against Edna Molewa . Mookgo Matuba beat Tolashe in a vote to take her post as secretary-general, and Weziwe Tikana was elected Matuba's deputy. On 1 April, incumbent ANCWL president Dlamini was convicted on perjury charges; there was some controversy within the ANC about whether the mainstream organisation's so-called step-aside rule required Dlamini to step down as ANCWL president following her conviction. Ultimately, later in April,
15744-610: Was elected treasurer-general. On 11 February 1995, eleven members of the ANCWL national executive resigned from their positions in protest of Madikizela-Mandela's leadership, vaguely citing undemocratic practices and a lack of accountability. The Mail & Guardian said that treasurer-general Tambo led the walk-out, and the group also included secretary-general Mapisa-Nqakula and former secretary-general Mbete, as well as Ruth Mompati , Nomvula Mokonyane , Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini , Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma , and Lindiwe Zulu . The ANC sent in its own national leadership to attempt to mediate
15872-605: Was heavily involved in the investigation into Zuma and Shaik. Tony Yengeni , in his position as chief whip of the ANC and head of the Parliaments defence committee has recently been named as being involved in bribing the German company ThyssenKrupp over the purchase of four corvettes for the SANDF. Other corruption issues in the 2000s included the sexual misconduct and criminal charges of Beaufort West municipal manager Truman Prince , and
16000-538: Was judged a necessary step towards both goals. Specifically, the state was to intervene in the economy through three primary channels: a land reform programme ; a degree of economic planning , through industrial and trade policy; and state investments in infrastructure and the provision of basic services, including health and education. Although the RDP was abandoned in 1996, these three channels of state economic intervention have remained mainstays of subsequent ANC policy frameworks. In 1996, Mandela's government replaced
16128-524: Was partly explained by the Cold War context, and by the considerable amount of support – both financial and technical – that the ANC received from the Soviet Union . From the mid-1980s, as international and internal opposition to apartheid mounted, elements of the ANC began to test the prospects for a negotiated settlement with the South African government, although the prudence of abandoning armed struggle
16256-490: Was that the three individuals were plotting to illegally take money from the party. The issue allegedly lay with provincial secretary Briget Tlhomelang, who at the time was not the secretary but still accessed the ANC's bank accounts. The suspended chairperson, Fetsang Molosiwa, claimed only the party's executive committee could suspend the three and not the PEC. An investigation was underway in early 2022. The top national leadership of
16384-418: Was viewed as aligned to the incumbent ANC president and national president , Thabo Mbeki. In the fierce campaigning that preceded the mainstream ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, the ANCWL reportedly supported Mbeki's unsuccessful bid for re-election as ANC president, although secretary general Dlamini supported his opponent, Jacob Zuma . The Mail & Guardian reported that Mbeki had secured
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