The state of South Africa is troubled and after the events of 12 February we are all troubled. Troubled that jamming devices could be used, troubled by the public order police that stormed the House that evening, troubled by the water cannons used on civilians, troubled by the arrest of public representatives and even more troubled by the apparent glee of President Zuma and his apparent disinterest in the chaos of Thursday evening.
Many column inches have already been dedicated to the spectacle of 12 February and what this means for South Africa. The president would have preferred that we focus only on what the EFF MPs did instead of the jamming devices, the excessive force, the public order police or any of the other issues.
Mr Zuma believes strongly that "the talking people must condemn that behaviour... You must condemn the wrongdoings of the EFF”. The narrative suggested by Mr Zuma is that the events of Thursday, 12 February are external and not something that Parliament or the Executive need to account for. We are told that this is a conspiracy driven by Western interests and that the members of the EFF are “cockroaches” or “thugs”.
Mr Zuma’s version of events forgets that the members of Parliament, regardless of affiliation, creed or outlook, are accountable to the people of South Africa. That may be a minor issue for many of them but they are accountable to uphold the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution and their failure to do so on 12 February is an affront to all of us.
The fact that jamming devices could be utilised while members of the judiciary, including Chief Justice Mogoeng, were in attendance is completely shocking. Yet it happened in a democratic Parliament, which is supposed to be “our Parliament” but it is so much less that that after the events of Thursday. Less shocking, of course, is that this has all been explained away as a “glitch”. This is not unlike describing Ms Mbete’s remarks that Mr Malema is a “cockroach” as being meant “figuratively”.
This “glitch” is a reminder of how easy it is to avoid accountability, especially when you are sufficiently motivated. We only need look to Gupta-gate or any of the other scandals that have rocked our collective memory to remind us of that horrible truth.
It is easy in this age of confusion to get distracted by the events of 12 February, but we cannot allow it to take centre stage. The events are reflective of a country that is broken, a country that has for some time been wounded, and a country which seems to be without direction.
Mr Zuma unveiled a nine-point plan to ‘get the economy going’ but it appears that the context of South Africa was forgotten when the speech was prepared. Mr Zuma failed to address how this new plan would work with existing plans, and in particular the National Development Plan, which is supposed to be the cornerstone for our future.
If #SONA2015 was an indicator of the future, then it would seem that the lofty National Development Plan is not as important as we were once told - but I suppose the truth is fluid in this Administration.
We are all in a very precarious position. Nkandla still hangs over Mr Zuma; the EFF by all accounts will continue to agitate for answers from Mr Zuma, and Mr Zuma will in turn use every lever of power to avoid answering those questions. After all, Mr Zuma has emphasised that he is not liable to pay back any money. As a result of this impasse, the language has already shifted to one of retaliation, violence and aggression, without any attention being given to the much-needed work of governing and accountability. The absurd and mediocre have become the norm amongst all this chaos.
South Africans are troubled by what has happened and many feel that they are powerless to do anything about it. I think that the narrative of hopelessness and despair is a dangerous one as it often reduces our own ability to choose differently – we are in fact now part of this democratic South Africa. South Africa is not presided over by a despot or an illegitimate regime but we are part of that governance structure and we must ensure our voice is heard over the noise we saw last week Thursday.
It will be essential for us not to get lost in the idealism of the past, nor to look to the 1994 generation, but to remind ourselves that we have inherent power and that we must use it against the madness we now see.
Idealism is dangerous thing when left unchecked. There is a reminder from Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing, a TV show focused on the US president and his staff, about the role we must take up as South Africans:
“It has been suggested to me that party unity is more important than your democratic rights … Don't vote for us because you think we're perfect. Don't vote for us because of what we might be able to do for you only … Vote for the person who most embodies what you believe we need to keep our nation strong and free. And when you have done that, you can go back with your head held high.”
We cannot hold our heads high; we cannot say that our democratic rights have been placed above the needs of Mr Zuma. We have a choice to make. As we approach the 2016 Elections, we will be dragged down into more of the mediocre and abnormal, but we must resist this trend at all costs.
We must champion our own voice so that we can speak actively about xenophobia, identity, education, crime, patriarchy, inequality, and the economy, so that we begin on a different path. Our idealism and complacency may have allowed us to get lost, but it is that hope and optimism that was able to keep us warm in the dark days of Apartheid.
Mr Zuma will again be in Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday for the debate of the State of the Nation. I presume that as opposition benches will not be satisfied by Mr Zuma’s reference to “talking heads”; neither will South Africans.
Last week, I argued that the point of power is power, and it is about time that we take that power back before the abnormal is forever part of our lives. All is not lost and we still have a chance as South Africans to transcend the pettiness, divisiveness and petulance of our political leaders. This will not be an easy task after so many years of complacency and allowing the abnormal to become normal, but we must do better - after all, we only have South Africa. DM