REPORT ON A JOINT ISS/UNISA SEMINAR

The seminar featured speakers including Gwede Mantashe, who dismissed the Lekota/Shilowa breakaway group as being driven by power rather than ideology. Panelists discussed whether the Polokwane conference represented an ideological shift, the clash between different political cultures (exile vs. internal struggle), and the emergence of a new class system and youth identity crisis in post-independent South Africa.

• Gwede Mantashe argued that the Lekota/Shilowa breakaway group is motivated by "anger and the hunger for power" rather than ideology, and asserted that ANC polarisation began prior to the Polokwane conference with the removal of Jacob Zuma as Deputy-President.
• Dr. Somadoda Fikeni identified a potential "clash of political cultures" between the alliance's centralised, exile-based structure and the decentralised structure of the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM), which could allow the breakaway group to exploit local discontent.
• Dr. Fikeni noted contradictions within the alliance, where the ANC leadership maintains that policies will not change while the SACP and COSATU argue that "policies must change".
• Prof. Zodwa Motsa expressed concern over a perceived "new class system in South Africa" and argued that youth in post-independent South Africa have lost their identity and lack role models.
• Mr. Aubrey Matshiqi stated that the ANC failed to provide sufficient leadership to address the internal divide and accused both the ANC and the breakaway leaders of "selective invocation of the ANC’s history".

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2008). REPORT ON A JOINT ISS/UNISA SEMINAR. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/UNISASEMREP.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. REPORT ON A JOINT ISS/UNISA SEMINAR. 2008. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/UNISASEMREP.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=REPORT ON A JOINT ISS/UNISA SEMINAR |date=28 October 2008 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/UNISASEMREP.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2008report, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{REPORT ON A JOINT ISS/UNISA SEMINAR}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2008}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/UNISASEMREP.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }