COVID-19: Its effect on ANC leadership and support

COVID-19: Its effect on ANC leadership and support Survey – What impact have the measures taken by government to combat the coronavirus pandemic had on the leadership and support of the ANC? COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

COVID-19: Its effect on ANC leadership and support Survey – What impact have the measures taken by government to combat the coronavirus pandemic had on the leadership and support of the ANC?

In an effort to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the South African nation is currently under lockdown. This is resulting in a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods and on the life of society. As the ruling party of the country, it has to act in the national interest, despite the potential negative impact that some government decisions may have on its own support base. The survey covered in this report assesses the political impact on the membership and supporters of the measures taken by the authorities and the effect that it has had on the leadership of, and levels of support for the movement.

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Copyright Š 2020 Inclusive Society Institute 132 Adderley Street Cape Town, 8000 South Africa

NPO Registration: 235-515

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Inclusive Society Institute

DISCLAIMER Views expressed in this report do not necessarily represent the views of the Inclusive Society Institute or those of their respective Board or Council members.

All records and findings included in this report, stem from the survey undertaken from 13 to 15 May 2020 on the impact on the leadership and support of the ANC as a result of the measures taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

CONTENT 1. Purpose and objectives 4 2. Key findings 5 2.1 Questions aimed at measuring the level of support of ANC members and supporters for the measures being taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic

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2.2 Questions aimed at gauging the opinion of ANC members and supporters on government’s management of, and competence in, combatting the COVID-19 pandemic

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2.3 Questions aimed at assessing the impact of the measures on ANC members and supporters’ perception of the leadership of the ANC’s President, the Cabinet and the ANC itself

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2.4 Provincial comparisons 8 2.5 Findings in a nutshell 9 3. Methodology 10 4. Detailed summary of data 14 4.1 Demographic data 14 4.2 Perceptual data 15 4.3 Detailed summary of data by province 16 List of figures

Figure 2.1: Percentage breakdown of support for measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic

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Figure 2.2: Percentage breakdown of how the management of the COVID-19 crisis is being perceived

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Figure 2.3: Opinion with regard to the performance of the authorities and security forces in combatting COVID-19

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Figure 2.4: Breakdown on views for future prospects – personal wellbeing and the economy

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Figure 2.5: Breakdown of changes of opinion with regard to the President, Cabinet and ANC

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Figure 2.6: Provincial comparisons for selected data

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Figure 3.1: Breakdown of respondents surveyed per province

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Figure 3.2: Respondent demographics 11 5. References 17

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PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES 1. Purpose and objectives On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was informed about the outbreak of a pneumonia of unknown cause, which was detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan. On 30 January 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern; and on 11 February 2020 it announced the name for the new coronavirus: COVID-19 (WHO, N.d.). On 12 March 2020, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, confirmed that COVID-19 was declared a pandemic (WHO, 2020).

On 5 March 2020, South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases announced the first case of COVID-19 in the country (NICD, 2020). With more and more cases being declared on a daily basis thereafter, the President of the Republic of South Africa announced on the evening of Monday, 23 March 2020, that in terms of the Disaster Management Act, in a decisive effort to save millions of South Africans from infection, a nationwide lockdown for 21 days would come into effect at midnight on Thursday, 26 March 2020. During the lockdown, all South Africans, except for designated essential workers, would have to stay at home and would not be allowed to leave their homes, except under strictly controlled circumstances (RSA, 2020).

The president acknowledged that the measures would have a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods and on the life of society and the economy, but believed that “the human cost of delaying…[the] action would be far, far greater” (RSA, 2020).

On the evening of Thursday, 9 April 2020, the president announced a further two-week extension of the lockdown which would run to 30 April 2020 (News24, 2020). On Thursday, 23 April 2020, the president announced a 5-level lift of the national lockdown. The first level reduction – that is to level 4 – came into effect on 1 May 2020 (Nirrandes, 2020). The lockdown will continue to trouble society for some time to come. President Ramaphosa has in the interim initiated a consultative process to consider a move to level 3 of the lockdown in certain parts of the country as from the end of May 2020, but it is apparent that in the economic heartlands of Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, level 4 will continue for some time (Mvumvu, 2020).

The Inclusive Society Institute, with a view to post-COVID-19 policy planning, undertook a survey amongst members and supporters of the African National Congress (ANC), to assess the political impact of the measures taken by the authorities and the effect that it has had on the leadership of, and levels of support for, the movement. The objective of this particular survey was threefold: •

To measure amongst the ANC members and supporters, the level of support for the measures being taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic;

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To gauge their opinion on government’s management of, and competence in, combatting the COVID-19 pandemic; and

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To assess the impact of the measures on ANC members and supporters’ perception of the leadership of the President, the Cabinet and the ANC itself.

The survey period ran from Wednesday, 13 May 2020 and closed at midday on Friday, 15 May 2020. It should therefore be viewed as a snapshot of the ANC membership and supporters thinking during that period.

The institute will promote and use the survey to inform and help guide political thinking in the interest of strengthening democracy and civic awareness. The institute supports social democracy and policy that promotes equality, inclusiveness and solidarity.

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

KEY FINDINGS 2. Key findings This section contains the key findings with regard to the three objectives set out in the previous section of this report, namely the measuring of the support of ANC members and supporters for the measures being taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the competence as to the government’s handling of the pandemic and the impact of the lockdown on the support for the ANC and its leadership.

2.1 Questions aimed at measuring the level of support of ANC members and supporters for the measures being taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic There is overwhelming support for the measures being taken by the authorities to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Ninety per cent of respondents indicated their support therefore. Only 4 per cent were not in agreement of the measures, with 5 per cent indicating that they were not sure.

Figure 2.1: Percentage breakdown of support for measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

2.2 Questions aimed at gauging the opinion of ANC members and supporters on government’s management of, and competence in, combatting the COVID-19 pandemic Generally speaking, ANC members and supporters are satisfied with the government’s management of efforts aimed at combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, although there is some space for the authorities to improve. Thirty-nine per cent of the respondents believe the authorities to be “very good” in the management of the pandemic, 21 per cent thought they were “good” and 30 per cent were satisfied. Overall, 90 per cent of the respondents were therefore not negatively inclined towards the government’s efforts in this regard.

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Figure 2.2: Percentage breakdown of how the management of the COVID-19 crisis is being perceived (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

Similarly, 88 per cent of respondents were confident that the authorities will bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control (71 per cent confident and 11 per cent somewhat confident). Only 11 per cent of respondents were not in agreement.

Likewise, most of the ANC members and supporters, albeit to various degrees, believed the authorities and security forces to be exercising their duties responsibly and that they displayed competence in the exercising of their duties. Sixty-seven per cent thought they were carrying out their duties in a responsible manner, whilst 78 per cent of respondents considered the authorities and security forces to be displaying an acceptable level of competence in the carrying out of their duties (15 per cent highly competent, 34 per cent competent and 29 per cent somewhat competent).

Figure 2.3: Opinion with regard to the performance of the authorities and security forces in combatting COVID-19 (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

Despite the overwhelming support for government’s current efforts and measures, ANC members and supporters did not share quite the same level of optimism with regard to their own and the country’s economic future. Less than two thirds of respondents (64 per cent) believed that their own future would improve after the lockdown is lifted, whilst a staggering 84 per cent were not optimistic about the country’s economic future. In terms of the economy, only 14 per cent of respondents were of the opinion that the economy would improve in the year after lockdown to levels better than before the measures were announced. Twelve per cent thought the economy would not improve, 50 per cent supposed it would not grow to the level it was prior to lockdown and 22 per cent were of the opinion that it would only improve to levels the same as before lockdown, thus with no growth potential and further setting back prospects for addressing backlogs in society.

Figure 2.4: Breakdown on views for future prospects – personal wellbeing and the economy (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

2.3 Questions aimed at assessing the impact of the measures on ANC members and supporters’ perception of the leadership of the ANC’s President, the Cabinet and the ANC itself All things being equal, the president and his Cabinet can draw solace from the data on the ANC membership and supporters base’s changing opinion of them. The results for both the president and the Cabinet show an improved opinion of them since the measures aimed at combatting the COVID-19 pandemic were announced.

In terms of support for the president, 62 per cent of respondents’ opinion of him improved since the measures were announced, whilst 30 per cent’s opinion remained the same. Only 7 per cent of respondents indicated that their opinion of him declined.

In terms of support for the Cabinet, 46 per cent of respondents’ opinion of the Cabinet improved, whilst 34 per cent’s opinion of them remained the same. Nineteen per cent of respondents indicated that their opinion of the Cabinet has declined. The latter aspect deserves careful consideration as to what has led to the decline.

The ANC itself, also shows that a material number (48 per cent) of respondents’ opinion of the movement has improved, whilst 34 per cent’s view has remained the same. Seventeen per cent of respondents indicated a diminished opinion for the movement.

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It is important to note that these percentages do not necessarily correlate with electoral support for the particular leaders. It is an indication of changed opinion, which, in itself, is a basis on which to grow a leadership mandate.

Figure 2.5: Breakdown of changes of opinion with regard to the President, Cabinet and ANC (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

2.4 Provincial comparisons In line with the methodology as set out in section 3 of this report, comparisons were done to test the national validity of the conclusions. In all three of the sampling exercises done, it was found that the trends were similar across the three provinces selected. These three provinces, Gauteng, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, between them, made up 81 per cent of the total number of valid responses received from the survey.

In all three sampling exercises, the provinces were all within a 10-percentage point margin of the national average.

In testing the ANC members and supporters’ support for measures taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, 90 per cent of respondents from Gauteng were in support, 89 per cent from the Free State and 84 per cent from KwaZulu-Natal.

The national average in this respect was 90 per cent.

In assessing the ANC members and supporters’ views with regard to the government’s management of the pandemic, 91 per cent of Gauteng respondents were favourably inclined. Of this, 41 per cent thought government was managing the pandemic “very good”, 22 per cent “good” and 28 per cent “satisfactory”. In the Fee State, the overall percentage of 97 per cent was slightly higher, with the breakdown being 37 per cent very good, 22 per cent good and 38 per cent satisfactory. Respondents from KwaZulu-Natal, were, on the other hand, slightly more critical, with the overall percentage being 86 per cent, broken down as 33 per cent very good, 26 per cent good and 27 per cent satisfactory. The national average in this regard stood at 90 per cent.

And finally, in gauging the impact of the lockdown measures on the political support for the ANC and its leadership, it was found that in Gauteng, 93 per cent of respondents either had an improved opinion, or the same opinion of the president, as compared with immediately prior to the lockdown measures. In the Free State, this was a similar 91 per cent of respondents and in KwaZulu-Natal it was 86 per cent. The national average in this regard was 92 per cent.

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

Support for government measures National

Positive w.r.t. govt management Gauteng

Free State

Opinion of President remained unchanged or improved

KwaZulu-Natal

Figure 2.6: Provincial comparisons for selected data (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

The institute is of the opinion that in light of the clear trend in similarities across all data sets, that the validity of the national trends have been confirmed. The national results conveyed in this report can, in the opinion of the institute, be relied upon.

2.5 Findings in a nutshell The following general observations are deemed fair: (i) In general, both government and the country’s political leadership, as does the ANC, enjoys the overwhelming support of the ANC supporters for the measures they are taking to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. (ii) ANC supporters are generally satisfied with the competence and way in which the aforementioned measures are being carried out. (iii) The opinion of the President, Cabinet and ANC has changed for the better. (iv) Despite their support for the measures being taken, ANC supporters are concerned about their own and the country’s economic future. (v) Despite the favourable change for the good in terms of opinion of ANC supporters for both the members of Cabinet and the ANC, there are a meaningful number of supporters whose opinion declined. This is an area that deserves careful consideration and further research.

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METHODOLOGY 3. Methodology The African National Congress (ANC) is the ruling party of South Africa. With 10 026 475 votes received in the 2019 general election, it holds 57,50 per cent of the vote (IEC, N.d.). As the ruling party of the country, it has to act in the national interest, despite the potential negative impact that some government decisions may have on its own support base.

Sampling, data collection and data subjects Sampling was carried out through the dissemination of the survey by electronic means to representative databases comprising members and supporters of the ANC. In total, 499 valid responses to the questionnaire were obtained. Since “the quality of the sample will be higher, the more completely the sampling frame covers the target population� (European Social Survey, 2016), the database selected contained, with only a few exceptions, individuals that have in general expressed their support for the ruling party. Responses, although strongly biased towards Gauteng, were received from across all provinces.

Figure 3.1: Breakdown of respondents surveyed per province (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

In terms of the respondent demographics, there was, as indicated in Figure 3.2 below, a good spread across all age groups and levels of education. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents were men and 31 per cent were women.

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

Figure 3.2: Respondent demographics (Source: Inclusive Society Institute, 2020)

Confidence level and margin of error In determining the sample size, the research relied on the standard 95 per cent level of confidence and 5 per cent margin of error, which is common for social sciences studies (Royse, 2008:209).

Sample size In determining the sample size required to achieve a confidence level of 95 per cent and a margin of error of approximately 5 per cent, the author was guided by the table published in Israel (1992) and Cochran’s (1963) formula for calculating a sample for proportions.

The former suggested a sample size of 400 obtained responses and the latter, 385. Whereas the survey size should accordingly not be smaller than 400, the actual valid number of obtained responses amounted to 499, thus around 20 per cent above a standard academic minimum.

Limitation This survey was done by means of electronic dissemination. This therefore restricts the interpretation to be representative of those members and supporters that have access to electronic means of communication. Furthermore, whilst pro-active steps have been taken to ensure data integrity, and all indications are that data is beyond reproach, the possibility of external manipulation of data input cannot be completely excluded.

Question set The survey, as it pertains to the objectives of this report, contained a total of 10 questions, in three parts, which is set out hereunder:

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•

Part 1 – questions aimed at measuring the level of support of ANC members and supporters for the measures being taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic

1.

•

Do you support the government’s current efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Support • Do not support • Unsure Part 2 – questions aimed at gauging the opinion of ANC members and supporters on government’s management of, and competence in, combatting the COVID-19 pandemic

2.

In your opinion, how is the government managing the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Very good • Good • Satisfactory • Bad • Very bad

3.

Have you got confidence that government will be able to bring the pandemic under control?

• Confident • Somewhat confident • Not confident

4.

Are the authorities and security forces seen to be carrying out their duties responsibly?

• Yes • No

5.

What is your opinion of the level of competence displayed by the authorities, including security forces?

• Highly competent • Competent • Somewhat competent • Lacking in competence • Very poor competence

6.

Do you believe that the economy will in the year after the lockdown be able to recover and to what degree?

• It will not recover • Will not recover sufficiently to grow the economy to higher levels than before the lockdown • It will recover to levels better than before lockdown • It will recover to levels the same as before lockdown

7.

Do you believe your life will improve after the lockdown?

• Yes • No

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

•

Part 3 – questions aimed at assessing the impact of the measures on ANC members and supporters’ perception of the leadership of the ANC’s President, the Cabinet and the ANC itself

8.

Has the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis changed your opinion of the President?

• My opinion has improved • My opinion has remained the same • My opinion has declined

9.

Has the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis changed your opinion of the Cabinet?

• My opinion has improved • My opinion has remained the same • My opinion has declined

10.

Has the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis changed your opinion of the ANC? • My opinion has improved • My opinion has remained the same • My opinion has declined

Testing national validity Given the out of proportion number of responses received from the various provinces, and in particular, given the large number of responses from Gauteng, it was important to do sampling within the various provinces to ascertain whether the national average was reflected in the individual provinces. If this was so, it could comfortably be concluded that the national average stood. On the contrary, were it to be found that the various provinces have considerably different views on the questions posed, an argument could be made as to the validity of the national conclusions.

To this end, a sample question was selected from each of the set of questions related to the three objectives of the research. The first question, “Do you support the government’s current efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic?”, was obvious, since it was the only question that tested the support for the measures being taken by government to combat the coronavirus. The question selected to test the opinions with regard to the effectiveness of government’s management of the COVID-19 crisis was: “In your opinion, how

is the government managing the COVID-19 pandemic?’’. And lastly, with regard to testing the impact of the measures on the political support for the ANC and its leadership, the question selected was: “Has the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis

changed your opinion of the President?”.

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SUMMARY 4. Detailed summary of data 4.1 Demographic data Number of valid responses

499

100

Gender * Male * Female * Undisclosed

344 155 0

69 31 0

Age * 18-25 * 26-35 * 36-45 * 46-55 * 56-65 * Older than 65

10 101 130 164 79 15

2 20 26 33 16 3

Province * Eastern Cape * Free State * Gauteng * KwaZulu-Natal * Limpopo * Mpumalanga * North West * Northern Cape * Western Cape

32 63 261 82 8 8 15 14 16

6 13 52 16 2 2 3 3 3

Level of education * Less than matric * Matric * University degree or diploma * Post-graduate qualification

24 124 189 162

5 25 38 32

Card carrying member of ANC, supporter of ANC or neither * Card carrying member * Supporter * Neither

380 102 17

76 20,5 2,5

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4.2 Perceptual data Support for government’s current efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic * Support

448

90

* Do not support

20

4

* Unsure

25

5

* Undisclosed

6

1

* Very good

197

39

* Good

107

21

* Satisfactory

148

30

* Bad

30

6

* Very bad

14

3

* Undisclosed

3

1

Confidence level of government bringing COVID-19 pandemic under control

* Confident

355

71

* Somewhat confident

87

17

* Not confident

55

11

* Undisclosed

2

<1

Opinion on how government is handling the management of the COVID-19 pandemic

Are the authorities and security forces seen to be carrying out their duties responsibly?

* Yes

335

67

* No

160

32

* Undisclosed

4

1

Opinion on the level of competence displayed by the authorities and security forces

* Highly competent

73

15

* Competent

170

34

* Somewhat competent

147

29

* Lacking in competence

73

15

* Very poor competence

34

7

* Undisclosed

2

<1

* It will not recover

61

12

* Will not recover sufficiently to grow the economy to levels higher than before the lockdown

251

50

* It will recover to levels better than before the lockdown

71

14

* It will recover to levels the same as before lockdown

109

22

* Undisclosed

7

<2

* Yes

318

64

* No

175

35

* Undisclosed

6

1

To what degree do you believe the economy will recover in the year after lockdown?

Do you believe your life will improve after the lockdown?

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Has government’s handling of COVID-19 changed your opinion of the President? * My opinion of him has improved

308

62

* My opinion of him has remained the same

150

30

* My opinion of him has declined

35

7

* Undisclosed

6

<1

* My opinion of them has improved

231

46

* My opinion of them has remained the same

170

34

* My opinion of them has declined

94

19

* Undisclosed

4

<1

* My opinion of the ANC has improved

240

48

* My opinion of the ANC has remained the same

169

34

* My opinion of the ANC has declined

85

17

* Undisclosed

5

<1

Has government’s handling of COVID-19 changed your opinion of the Cabinet members?

Has government’s handling of COVID-19 changed your opinion of the ANC?

4.3 Detailed summary of data by province Gauteng No.

%

Free State

KwaZulu-Natal

No.

No.

%

Number of respondents

261

Do you support government’s efforts to combat COVID-19? * Support * Do not support * Unsure * Undisclosed

236 12 12 2

90 4,5 4,5 1

56 1 4 2

89 2 6 3

69 5 5 3

84 6 6 4

Opinion on how government is managing the crisis * Very good * Good * Satisfactory * Bad * Very Bad * Undisclosed

108 57 72 17 7 0

41 22 28 7 3 0

23 14 24 2 0 0

37 22 38 3 0 0

27 21 22 4 6 2

33 26 27 5 7 2

Opinion with regard to the President * Improved * Remained the same * Declined * Undisclosed

176 68 15 2

67 26 6 1

37 20 5 1

59 32 8 1

35 35 10 2

43 43 12 2

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63

%

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

REFERENCES 5. References Cochran, W. G. 1963. Sampling Techniques, 2nd Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. European Social Survey. 2016. Sampling Guidelines: Principles and Implementation for the European Social Survey. [Online] Available at: https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/round8/methods/ESS8_sampling_guidelines.pdf [accessed: 13 April 2020].

Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). N.d. 2019 National and Provincial Elections. Results Dashboard. National Assembly 2019.

[Online] Available at: https://www.elections.org.za/NPEDashboard/app/dashboard.html [accessed: 15 May 2020].

Israel, G.D. 1992. Determining sample size. Fact sheet PEOD-6. Gainesville: University of Florida.

Mvumvu, Z. 2020. SA's big cities and coronavirus 'hotspots' could remain under level 4 [Online] Available at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2020-05-13-sas-big-cities-and-coronavirus-hotspots-could-remain-underlevel-4/ [accessed: 15May 2020] National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). 2020. First case of covid-19 coronavirus reported in SA. [Online] Available at: https://www.nicd.ac.za/first-case-of-covid-19-coronavirus-reported-in-sa/ [accessed: 10 April 2020].

News24. 2020. Struggle is far from over. [Online] Available at: https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/in-full-struggle-far-fromover-read-ramaphosas-statement-on-2-week-lockdown-extension-20200409 [accessed: 10 April 2020].

Nirrandes, N. 2020. President announces 5-level lift on nationwide lockdown. [Online] Available at: https://www.capetownetc.com/ news/president-announces-5-level-lift-on-nationwide-lockdown/ [accessed: 6 May 2020].

Republic of South Africa (RSA). 2020. President Ramaphosa announces a nationwide lockdown. [Online] Available at: https://www. sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-ramaphosa-announces-nationwide-lockdown [accessed: 10 April 2020].

Royce, D. 2008. Research methods in social work, 5th edition. Belmont: Thomson Higher Education.

World Health Organisation (WHO). N.d. Rolling updates on coronavirus disease (COVID-19). [Online] Available at: https://www.who. int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen [accessed: 10 April 2020].

World Health Organisation (WHO). 2020. WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. [Online] Available at: http://www.euro.who. int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic [accessed: 10 April 2020].

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T h i s r e p o r t h a s b e e n p u bl i s h e d b y t h e I n cl u s i v e S o c i e t y I n s t i t u t e.

The Inclusive Society

through a value system

tates international and

Institute (ISI) is an

that embodies the social

multilateral cooperation.

autonomous and inde-

and national democratic

As such, the ISI also

pendent institution that

principles associated

seeks to achieve its

functions independently

with a developmental

ideals at a global level

from any other entity.

state. It recognises

through cooperation

It is founded for the

that a well-functioning

with like-minded parties

purpose of supporting

democracy requires

and organs of civil

and further deepening

well-functioning politi-

society who share its

multi-party democracy.

cal formations that are

basic values.

suitably equipped and The ISIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is moti-

capacitated. It further

In South Africa, ISIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

vated by its desire to

acknowledges that

ideological positioning is

achieve non-racialism,

South Africa is inex-

aligned with that of the

non-sexism, social jus-

tricably linked to the

African National Con-

tice and cohesion, eco-

ever-transforming and

gress (ANC) and others

nomic development and

interdependent global

in broader society with

equality in South Africa,

world, which necessi-

similar ideals.

www.inclusivesociety.org.za

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COVID-19: ITS EFFECT ON ANC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT