Microsoft Word - RR124.doc

The purpose of the forums was to allow commentators to engage with the findings and recommendations in a synopsis of the report, and to stimulate debate, thus generating additional inputs to enrich the final report. [...] 1990 - 2009: Historical influences and experiences of the ANC For purposes of analysis, the period 1990–2009 can be divided into three phases: the transformation phase, from 1990-1999, referring to the political goal of qualitatively transforming society after the political transition in the early 1990s, which included the Government of National Unity (GNU) between the ANC and the New National Par. [...] The effect is that the ANC’s historical mission demands conflation of the movement with the state, argues for the collapse of civil society into the state, and arrogates the dispensation of political morality to those who hold power within the ‘national liberation movement.29 The strategy of appealing to loyalty as a mission controls dissent and critical debate. [...] According to Cronin, in the lead-up to the transition the ANC had not internalised all of the nuances of the struggle. [...] The ANC and civil society during the transition The following sections of this report address the relationship between CSOs and the ANC between the years 1990 and 1999.