my foundational analysis
The South African polity has not failed. We, plainly, in the light of expectations of liberation delivered too little success.
Our elections of 1994 and the birth of our constitution in 1996 brought the promise of a deracialized, democratic and wealthier future for all citizens. Democratic, progressive control of the state with the purpose of righting historic legacies of race and tribe-based allocation of national assets gave hope not only to South Africans but to the people of Africa and thinking citizens scattered around the world. We expected the construction of a political economy that tackled poverty, improved education, dispensed justice, healing the deep psychological and economic wounds of apartheid and colonialism.
Unfortunately, the hard work of democracy was abandoned. Whether consciously or not is immaterial. The achievements of the 70’s and 80’s which produced thousands of “leaders” schooled in values, history, economics, negotiations and communication were undermined and bridges between academia, civil society, and business quickly collapsed. The argument held that with the ANC in power civil society (other than simple charity) was not needed and aid would best be channeled through the state.
Despite valiant efforts we – the ANC – were not “Ready to Govern” Pockets of excellence and realism vied with pockets, ideologically driven, for funding of uncoordinated visions for the future. With much less in the fiscus than expected and too few hard skills at hand some poor decisions were made. These were exacerbated by competition for power within the ruling party as well as incompetence and corruption which steadily spread through government as poor allocations of human capital became commonplace. The objective of controlling government was contested with raw greed for power and cash beating those committed to the constitution’s objectives. This not to say we failed absolutely. We dismantled Bantustans, built clinics, derived great policies, delivered huge numbers of houses to the poor, ran excellent elections, took moral positions globally, stabilized our economy and the like. We simply got trapped in a system of governance and an economic model which served power and not people.
With promises unfulfilled hope was slowly abandoned. Mothers allowed their sons to join gangs instead of dragging them to school – what was the point? Pension funds ceased investing in long term assets – infrastructure was not maintained. If there was no hope for a better future, why invest? All this not to say that little or nothing was achieved. Given the historical moment and the goodwill of world leaders we failed to fully capitalize a better future. A growing fascism in our polity and society is fed by these failures and threatens our future.
An emerging analysis that we are drifting through crisis to chaos is gaining ground. In crisis repair is possible. In chaos the best of us can but watch for small opportunities to limit damage.
What is the “hard work of democracy? The choosing of one system over another and finding individuals to fill spaces and roles is not trivial, but not hard. The Hard work of Democracy is the building of a citizenry which is informed, has values and understands their role as defenders and builders of the future they want for all our children. Slow, careful, sensitive, not supportive of a particular political party but very political in character. This to be supplemented with emotional & spiritual commitment to the aspirations of our constitution.
Many detailed studies of the “State of our Nation” have been done. The human, economic and environmental stresses are well documented. Whilst some responses from government, civil society and business have been very effective, these have not slowed the spiral and the threats to our constitution’s vision grow.
Not one of the major parties has a credible plan. Added to this is that many small parties have entered Parliament without the resources to tackle policy issues or contribute significantly to improvements to governance of the instruments of state. A review of the leadership of many of these show a lack of experience of developing or implementing anything at scale. The cancer of hopelessness in our population will grow unless a better vision, hard skills and quick implementation of practical solutions is achieved. There is a strong probability that parliamentary power has been won by coalitions unable to wield it to the betterment of the future.
A distilled problem statement: Poverty, unemployment and inequality, instead of being eradicated as promised by the liberation struggles, have been exacerbated by unfulfilled promises and collapsed hope. Contesting elites exploit fractures in our social fabric. Weakened democratic practices render citizens helpless to staunch corruption or replace the incompetent.
Our purpose therefore is to reverse the above and engage in the hard work of democracy helping to set an agenda for the future, limiting the decent into fascism and building the foundation for hope.
