ANC uses ‘white gevaar’ scare tactic to get votes

Professor William Gumede said the ANC is using a ‘white gevaar’ election campaign to scare its voter base into thinking that the opposition will bring back apartheid.

Gumede is one of South Africa’s most prominent public intellectuals, academics, and governance experts.

He is known for his honest political commentary and his work on black economic empowerment (BEE) in South Africa.

He shared his views on South Africa’s political landscape during an interview on the Indaba Conversation.

He said that the ANC is running a psychological fear campaign to scare its voter base into thinking that opposition victories will automatically bring back apartheid.

“The ANC tells voters that if they do not support it, the whites are going to come back and they’re going to bring apartheid,” he said.

“That claim by the ANC is so absolutely ridiculous. That’s just not possible. The country has moved on.”

He explained that the ANC has failed spectacularly to properly govern South Africa over the last three decades.

This is partly because the skills needed to create and run a successful liberation movement differ from those of an effective government.

“In a liberation movement, the people who normally rise to the top, and the talents that are appreciated, belong to those people who shout the loudest,” he said.

He added that in a violent liberation movement, those who get promoted are those who attack the enemy the loudest.

“Furthermore, a liberation movement doesn’t really need policies because all you need to do is say you are against something,” he said.

He explained that when the ANC took power, it needed people with actual competencies and experience to run the country.

However, those in charge were still the liberation movement leaders who had gained power by shouting the loudest.

“If you say you are a revolutionary, or you are radical, or you can dance like a Jacob Zuma, that propels you to the leadership of the party,” he said.

“Because the ANC and many of these other liberation movements are arrogant, they do not admit that they need the skills of the wider country.”

“They do not even concede that they need skills of non-South Africans and other countries to partner with. That has been the ultimate downfall of the ANC.”