South Africa

GUEST ESSAY

Dear South Africa, we are on our own – let’s be extra vigilant as we chart a new future

Dear South Africa, we are on our own – let’s be extra vigilant as we chart a new future
The top six during the African National Congress (ANC) elective conference on December 18, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Votes are being counted during the 54th National Conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Felix Dlangamandla)

The crisis South Africa is in is a golden opportunity to define the country’s progressive politics anew, ditching the old ideological dogmas whose preoccupation is contestation to defeat the other at the expense of progress on issues where there is broad social agreement. Here’s what we must pay urgent attention to.

I had initially decided to wait for the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting before writing this article, but I changed my mind. It occurred to me that whether President Cyril Ramaphosa resigns or not, nothing changes in terms of what South Africans need to do to protect the country’s democracy and the wellbeing of the people.

The most important thing is for all of us to accept that there is no “better ANC” or “better people in the ANC”. The entire organisation, from top to bottom, is rotten, with only smatterings of integrity. For those who believed that Ramaphosa could miraculously change the character of the party for the better, I hope they can now see that this was a pipedream.

We also have the benefit of knowing who his likely successors would be if he were to resign or be fired. All of them have been at the epicentre of the rot that has brought our country to its knees. Some are under criminal investigation, facing criminal charges or curiously have the endorsement of openly corrupt elements. 

It is critical that South Africans are not fooled by their false promises to, somehow, be visited by fresh ideas and energy or develop an allergy to corruption when they have fed off it for decades.

As Professor Mzukisi Qobo wrote in Business Day a decade ago, people like Ramaphosa, who are perceived to be clean, give ordinary people a false sense of hope that somehow the ANC can be rehabilitated when this is not possible.

It is from this perception that the ANC was able to knit together a fragile coalition to carry it to power in 2019, with Ramaphosa as its public face.

Except for die-hard ANC supporters, that coalition is dead, with many of those elements now looking for political consensus on their own, and with no horse to back.

Even if Ramaphosa were to survive the chop, he is severely compromised. There is simply no way around bricks of undeclared forex stuffed into couches. That is the stuff of drug smugglers.

It is unseemly for the president of any country to place themselves in such a position, especially one of a country like South Africa that claims to take itself seriously. 

The whole scandal is a further distraction from an already-distracted ANC national leadership that has no time to attend to the urgent needs of the people. Its agenda is dominated by its leadership corruption scandals and contestations. There will be further distractions in the future as some of its number face criminal charges for fraud and corruption. We are truly on our own and must take very clear steps to defend the republic between now and 2024. 


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Here is what we must pay urgent attention to:

  • First, we must vigilantly watch over the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the SARS, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks (which is still weak). The most urgent existential threat facing several ANC leaders at national and provincial level is being criminally charged. Avoiding criminal or civil liability means weakening these institutions once more by installing lackeys who will let them off without so much as a slap on the wrist. It is also for this reason that there have been so many pre-emptive strikes at the judiciary over the past few years.
  • Second, civil society organisations and political parties need to fortify oversight of the Electoral Commission. Loss of power is a terrifying possibility for the ANC, which does not only mean being vulnerable to prison but loss of prestige and the eventual death of the party itself. This question is particularly pertinent in the context of a deliberately botched Electoral Amendment Bill process that will create chaos when the election does take place.
  • Third, we must expect political violence, especially the targeting of political opponents of the ANC for assassination, to accelerate now that it faces a real prospect of losing national power. Having never been in such a weak position before, it has not previously been necessary to do this on a national scale, but that is changing rapidly.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ‘Sham’ Electoral Amendment Bill poses threat to 2024 elections, says Defend Our Democracy

Within its own ranks, especially in KwaZulu-Natal and increasingly the Eastern Cape, assassinations have been par for the course. This will now become nationally common, and strong voices that are an obstacle to its position in power will be under threat, if not already. There are far too many people with deeply vested interests in its continued incumbency, and some of them face the possibility of going to prison in any event. They will not fall over and surrender. They will fight and do so violently.

This is a point that is likely to be taken lightly until it is too late because it is in the South African fabric to believe in the better angels of all our natures and refuse to acknowledge the signs of peril until it is too late. Were we vigilant, people such as Babita Deokaran and many other whistle-blowers would still be alive today.

Finally, our problems remain. Millions are still poor and unemployed. Eskom is still in crisis, and so is our national logistics system (Transnet). Municipalities are still falling apart and roads look like they have been hit by millions of grenades and mortars. In other words, the country is falling apart and being slowly taken over by criminal gangs aided and abetted by their accomplices in the national security establishment.

There is no doubt that the nature of the ANC’s demise may create a dangerous vacuum and hobble nationally important work between now and the 2024 election. That paralysis may continue even if it has lost power and there is a coalition government that may or may not include it.

That paralysis cannot be mitigated by one political party, or just the current party political actors who are preoccupied with removing the President with no discernible plan of what to do thereafter. In any event, none of them have shown the inclination to articulate the basis on which a new consensus can be built.

Moral contract

Such a consensus is only possible if we can define what the popular South African moral contract should be. In my view, that contract is premised on the idea that both the Constitution and the values of the majority of South Africans are social democratic in nature and outlook.

Social democratic values are freedom, equality, justice and solidarity. This frame provides space for measures to address our difficult history, continuing inequities and a moral contract premised on the idea that South Africans commit to use public and private assets in various ways to ensure no one is left behind on the road towards prosperity.

It provides for private enterprise, integrated human development, appropriate social entitlements and a strong, capable state whose three branches are the bedrock of democratic participation and accountability.

This crisis gives us a golden opportunity to define South Africa’s progressive politics anew, ditching the old ideological dogmas whose preoccupation is contestation to defeat the other at the expense of progress on issues where there is broad social agreement.

We must seize the chance to discuss pragmatic approaches that seek to urgently resolve the most serious challenges facing South African society.

I have no doubt that the majority of South Africans want a more representative and accountable political system as well as government policies centred on human safety, health and development so that every South African can reach their full potential.

Whatever happens in the next few days, weeks and months, we must not be naïve nor should we be overwhelmed. The important thing is to be clear-headed about the common threats we face, our continuing priorities and to find ways for patriotic South Africans to work together to keep hope and the country alive with actual solutions, some of which I have stated before here and, for purposes of length and time, do not bear repeating in this article. DM

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  • virginia crawford says:

    Naivete and loyalty can be as dangerous as malicious intent. Denial is just that – denying the facts. Time to face the truth. (especially the decent people who are still members if the ANC)

    • Jimbo Smith says:

      “Decent people”? Surely if there are any left in the ANC, they should have left a long time ago. How can one be a decent person and remain a member of a truly rotten organisation that has systematically destroyed South Africa?

    • Johan Buys says:

      Virginia, that part about the decent ANC is what blows my mind. Yes there are millions of honest ordinary lower and middle class South Africans that support the ANC. Yet, they are too ignorant to take back their party from this joke where less than a million branch members decide for 50 million South Africans which cadres, crooks and comrades will mess up the country’s departments, SOE and agencies. Maybe non-ANC citizens should capture the ANC branch system!!!

  • Tom Villet says:

    Such a clear logical approach to the challenges we face. How do we turn this into a mass movement that will drive the future of our beautiful country. We all have a responsibility to “be the change”! Many thanks Songezo, hopefully this can be the start of something big that most South Africans want

  • Paul T says:

    Songezo are you sticking your hand up to lead this movement? We need strong leaders with lots of backing. The current DA national leadership falls short, ActionSa has some troubling views on our immigrants, who else is there? Time is short, we need an alternative fast.

    • Carol Green says:

      Paul, that is exactly what Songezo is doing. I’ve been following him for years. But we can’t rely on one person, we all need to play our part. Although I agree that strong, bold, innovative leadership is essential.

  • Chris Wilkinson says:

    I sincerely hope that Songezo is regularly in touch with ALL the opposition party leaders to try to formulate something in parliament. The current finger-pointing and disruption must be overcome, with sensible, honest discussions taking place. This is NOT a competition. Teamwork is needed. I’m just a 76-year-old pensioner who hopes to live long enough to see the best that my beloved country can be. World champions in every endeavour!

  • Paul Davis says:

    54 countries on this continent. Why should we believe that we are going to be any different! Its just a matter of time and we fall in step with the rest. I think it will take a bit longer but its happening right in front of our eyes.

    • Matsobane Monama says:

      This is our ONLY HOME. No part of the world will take us in, we are left with no option but to fight back. With no external interference there’s HOPE.

  • L Dennis says:

    God bless our beautiful country. Bless those that build it up. Thank u to the DA for their progressive and inclusive approach to all their policies.

  • Gordon Bentley says:

    I agree with all these comments. Especially, 100% with Songezo, with some minor amendments and additions, which will become apparent as we proceed.
    This is a bold suggestion which we should not dismiss, lightly. It must work if we all subscribe to the suggestion. This is one of our our last and only chances to act with with some effectiveness that may change the course of SA’s history.
    Well done, Viva Songezo, yours is the voice of level-headed SA hero.

    • Jill Tyson Tyson says:

      Please Songezo get your movement positioned to stand for election, either as a party or through its component parts. We need good government now.

  • Brian Algar says:

    Songezo, I agree with your sentiment 100%. There are literally millions of good South Africans who just want a country that lives up to its potential, however have no idea of how to achieve that. I count myself in the aforementioned. What I do know is our current crop of politicians don’t appear to be the answer. The DA is a far better option than any other, given their better track record of governance where they have been given the opportunity, but they do not seem to be able to gain enough trust with the electorate to get meaningful numbers outside of the Western Cape to allow anything near a stable coalition. South Africa needs a new leader, preferably apolitical, who can galvanise the good elements of society into a mass movement that can be trusted. If that mass movement can become big enough and trusted to always be doing what is best for South Africa, (and not just to benefit the few), it can become a very powerful lever to get the unfortunately necessary politicians to do the right thing. And the mechanics of this. Start to provide answers and I could personally recruit at least 50 people to join the movement, who in turn could each recruit a significant number of people, and so the pyramid would grow. Let’s all wear SA flag bracelets to signify we believe in a prosperous and safe South Africa for all its peoples and get all these good people organised to do good. Let’s get rid of the scum currently destroying this country. We cannot be held hostage by these gangsters anymore.

    • Wayne Harris says:

      I agree with the main content & mostly with your remarks Brian.
      However, I do not believe nor do I know of any leaders of any country who would be clasified as apolitical. Unfortunately it is the nature of the beast.

  • stan garrun Garrun says:

    Great piece. But what you don’t get into and I would like to see some analysis on, is the predilection for theft in the ANC particularly. All the party values are flouted to be sure. But most significant is the occurance of theft of money and personal financial enrichment in every single instance of misdemeanour. Corruption is not spurred by power necessarily, nor fame, nor personal ambition nor even political ascendancy – but seems to be driven by money and pure lust for it and lots of it! These ANC people go to great lengths and take huge risks for cash.

    Even more puzzling is that there is little censure of theft and no abhorrence of thieves. They see nothing wrong with following, voting for and appointing well known convicted and documented thieves! Why is this? I thought all cultures sidelined people who steal and hated stealing and corruption.
    Among ANC cadres and supporters it is apparently not so.
    Does anyone have a theory on why this is?
    Is it because they were subject to extreme poverty during the ravages of Apartheid and had so little, that now when given access to and authority over money, can’t help themselves? And the society around them having experienced the same lack, tacitly condone it, and will continue to support them.

    I know that loyalty to the liberation organisation and the history of oppression by the ruling classes of the past has a lot to do with it.

    Or is it something more complicated?

    • Sam van Coller says:

      There is definitely a link between extreme inequality and the scramble to climb the ANC ladder as the best route to quick wealth when you don’t have the skills to get there legitimately. Not sure how strong the link is but suspect it is pretty strong.

  • James Francis says:

    Ah, another “we can solve it if we pull together!” article. But yet we are still in the same mess. Too often these articles dismiss the ruling party as if they are no longer relevant. But that same ruling party still names the majority of ministers that influence outcomes. They still control the fates of the police, the IEC, the NPA and other crucial institutions. And they still routinely exploit poor people through regional politicking that includes using loan shark debts and taxi violence. It matters greatly who leads the ANC, because as the ANC goes down it will drag the rest of us with them. Mr Zibi’s essay should have appeared a decade ago. We’re in a much greater crisis, snowballing from 20 years of criminal mismanagement. His suggestions are now naive with broad characterisations and vague sentiments. We already knew these things. If our thinking is still a decade behind our problems, we are in serious trouble.

  • Cedric de Beer says:

    “Social democratic values are freedom, equality, justice and solidarity. This frame provides space for measures to address our difficult history, continuing inequities and a moral contract premised on the idea that South Africans commit to use public and private assets in various ways to ensure no one is left behind on the road towards prosperity.” Well said. I wish we could have a proper debate on the role of the private sector within such a framework. Because the still current conventional wisdom that the private sector should be left along to serve the interests of shareholders is forty years out of date, and we need a new vision.

  • Kobus Smit says:

    I suspect the 1st casualty of an RET Gov will be De Ruyter. They need funds and he has closed too many taps as it stands. Subsequent that will be as per the above …

  • Cunningham Ngcukana says:

    This is an important article for discussions taking place around the future of our country. To seek to immerse ourselves into what Ivor Chipkin correctly characterises as a Ramaphosa crisis and an ANC crisis. Yet some analysts and journalists want and do immerse the country into Ramaphosa’s crisis and the ANC crisis when citizens have to seriously look beyond an organisation that has destroyed every SOE and every state institution in the very presence of Ramaphosa. To define South Africa in terms of what is going on within the ANC is very wrong. You are dealing with people who are not prepared to accept the democratic precepts of our country if they do not suit their political agenda. Our flawed democratic system that has appointed MPs to have oversight over those who decide whether they are MPs or not is the fundamental flaw. Some are very critical of what is happening in coalition in local government but some of us say these are good developments because these are the green shoots of a real democracy we never had. We were never going to get coalitions correct first time and we need to go through these teething problems. The fact that there discussions about the direction and future of our country by citizens and civil society is a very encouraging sign. When people take interest in the political life of their country and understand that their future is linked to how it functions is a phenomenon that must be encouraged. If Cyril is in trouble it is his jacket.

    • Matsobane Monama says:

      Our democracy is finally tested and maturing i couldn’t agree more Tata. We were very very naive by not putting in the checks and balances.

  • Christopher Lang says:

    Well said Mr Zibi!
    These words could have come out of my mouth, but I couldn’t have articulated it better than you!

  • Carsten Rasch says:

    We need black voices making statements like this like we need oxygen to breathe. And I guess we should pull together despite the great herd of elephants in the room (like what do we do with the thousands of cadres that dominates the entire state machinery after we win the election; and what do we do with the chiefs and the kings and the tribal trusts, one of the enduring leftovers of the old regime; and the millions of people without jobs and even the prospect of a job; etc. etc.). I would wholeheartedly support any project that has social democratic principles as its spine, but how one pulls this off, I have no idea. There is no argument with the spirit of this piece, but we need more. We need a pragmatic plan, and we need individuals to step up to the plate, and take control of the ship of fools heading for rocks. Another Dakar Conference is urgently required. Like yesterday.

  • Karen Wolfaardt Wolfaardt says:

    Thank you. Songezo for president 🙂

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