South Africa: the ANC National Conference in 2007 vs. 2012 and the attempts to fight corruption

The document contrasts the 2007 and 2012 ANC National Conferences, arguing that internal politics have shifted from ideological coherence to patronage. It highlights the failure of the state to recover funds from fraudulent contracts involving politically connected individuals and notes the erosion of the ANC's moral authority due to corruption.

• The internal dynamics of the ANC shifted between the 2007 Polokwane conference and the 2012 Mangaung conference, moving from a period of ideological coherence—where factions were split between right-leaning and left-leaning policies—to a system driven primarily by patronage and access to state resources.
• President Jacob Zuma's position for the 2012 conference was strengthened by a lack of consolidation among his opponents, who are described as a fragmented group without an agreed champion, whereas Zuma maintained a sizable power base.
• Corruption in South African government procurement results in annual losses of approximately R30 billion, exacerbated by the state's inability to secure convictions of politically connected individuals under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) since its 2000 promulgation.
• The case of Transnet and Abalozi Risk Advisory Services illustrates the difficulty of fighting corruption involving elites; Transnet appeared to abandon litigation to recover R95 million in 'fruitless and wasteful expenditure' from a company associated with former Minister General Siphiwe Nyanda, and the official who fraudulently awarded the contract, Siyabonga Gama, was reinstated by the ANC in April 2011.
• Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, stated during the 10th Annual Mandela Lecture in Cape Town that the ANC's moral authority has been eroded and tainted by allegations of corruption.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). South Africa: the ANC National Conference in 2007 vs. 2012 and the attempts to fight corruption. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-the-anc-national-conference-in-2007-vs.-2012-and-the-attempts-to-fight-corruption

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. South Africa: the ANC National Conference in 2007 vs. 2012 and the attempts to fight corruption. n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-the-anc-national-conference-in-2007-vs.-2012-and-the-attempts-to-fight-corruption.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=South Africa: the ANC National Conference in 2007 vs. 2012 and the attempts to fight corruption |url=https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-the-anc-national-conference-in-2007-vs.-2012-and-the-attempts-to-fight-corruption |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndsouth, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{South Africa: the ANC National Conference in 2007 vs. 2012 and the attempts to fight corruption}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-the-anc-national-conference-in-2007-vs.-2012-and-the-attempts-to-fight-corruption}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }