Crossword Genius

A worthless African party orig­inally encouraged shirking (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

avoidance

'shirking' is the definition.
(shirking is avoiding responsibility)

'a worthless african party originally encouraged' is the wordplay.
'worthless' becomes 'void' (void can mean worthless or invalid).
'african party' becomes 'anc' (African National Congress, South African party).
'originally' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'encouraged' is 'e'.
'a'+'void'+'anc'+'e'='AVOIDANCE'

(Other definitions for avoidance that I've seen before include "Not dealing with" , "Steering clear of" , "The shunning of something undesirable, like tax" , "Dodging" , "Evasion" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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