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Opinionista

Expediency is the ultimate hallmark of South African politics

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Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar was born in Cape Town and raised by his determined mother, grandparents, aunt and the rest of his maternal family. He is an admitted attorney (formerly of the corporate hue), with recent exposure in the public sector, and is currently working on transport and infrastructure projects. He is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, and a WEF Global Shaper. He had a brief stint in the contemporary party politic environment working for Mamphela Ramphele as Agang CEO and chief-of-staff; he found the experience a deeply educational one.

The implosion of the leadership of the official Opposition will not simply end because the leader has resigned. There will be a reconfiguration internally around direction, philosophy and dogma.

An implosion or unravelling in any political party in South Africa has impact on all South Africans especially those South Africans and residents that live in towns, cities and province within which that political party governs. However, there should be a far more profound question that all South Africans should be asking themselves – are our political parties serving the interests of our Republic?

The introspection required for change within those political parties is often difficult to coalesce around. Political formations regardless of their claimed “ideology” are peddlers of group-think and the single-minded focus on suspending personal beliefs at the altar of the political party’s position. Dogma has no place in furthering the agenda of our Republic, yet political parties are focussed on creating and shaping a narrative of unity, single-minded focus on achieving their policies and creating leaders who inspire.

The outcomes of the national elections earlier this year have been important for a number of reasons. It has been a reminder that extremist outlooks are on the fringes of mainstream South African politics. Divisive rhetoric whether issued by the quasi-left or the ultra-conservatives (or even the alt-right) are not something the majority of South Africans wish to accept. The election outcomes also reaffirm the exclusionary nature of our society, which is illustrated in the many millions of South Africans who refused to come to the polls, and the many more who opted never to register. There are some who may think South Africa is a burgeoning democracy, but we continued to fail in attracting millions to the polls even with 48 political parties on the ballot sheet.

The underlying nature of our politics is what we should be wrestling with. The re-arrangement of the deck chairs of the official Opposition should not trouble us too much. Except the nature of our political economy is that the health and well-being of our political parties have a profound impact on the ability of governments to deliver services and fulfil its mandate. There will be a cost – in real terms – for South Africans (some of whom have voted for that political party) across the board especially if the factionalism, which is firmly rooted in all our politics, continues to spike and unravel. The implosion of the leadership of the official Opposition will not simply end because the leader has resigned. There will be a reconfiguration internally around direction, philosophy and dogma. South Africans are not unaccustomed to the damaging outcomes of politics failing us, and we only need to look at the governing party and the lost decade that continues to plague South Africa.

There is always a certain amount of reconciling one’s own values with that of a political party. This type of reconciliation process and discomfort is natural for anyone joining any organisation, except the expectation from dogma-driven political formations in South Africa is that the individual must always put their personal beliefs aside in order to further the agenda of the political party. Of course, there may be some who speak of “liberalism” and how the individual is crucial, but the successive leaders of the official Opposition have always found themselves struggling between their own beliefs and the beliefs of the dominant faction of the political party. The end result is that those leaders – regardless whether they find themselves in Cabinet positions or as resigning leaders – made the choice to join the official Opposition because it fed in to their own ambition and aspirations.

However, there is a fine line between balancing personal views and suspending them in order to further one’s career within a political party. Expediency is the ultimate hallmark of our politics today. Far too many South Africans enter the political arena driven by blind loyalty to a political party or worse still their own self-interest. We as a country must unshackle ourselves from this dangerous tendency especially if we are ever going to rebuild South Africa and begin to invest in our future. South Africa requires to reaffirm the role of citizens at the centre of our politics. Political parties ultimately by design and structure must be focused on serving the people and its Republic. We cannot afford to hoist fragile men and women on to pedestals.

A fundamental shift in our politics is required, and that change is not going to come through comrades, activist, democrats or fighters that are shrouded in secrecy and party colours. South Africa has an opportunity to reflect on the dysfunction of our political functionaries and their fragile glasshouses. Surely, we should be able to demand more from those who seek high office? Surely, this is an opportunity to consider whether our electoral system requires reform. Reform that should have taken place in the second administration already! If we continue to peddle dogma and expediency then we are bound to be trapped by myopic and disingenuous peddlers who have no real interest in service but rather in their own interest and personal brand.

The implosion of South Africa’s official Opposition is not unexpected given the expediency it has peddled for many years. It is unfortunate that the wounds and laundry have only been aired recently, and the Fourth Estate would be encouraged to consider whether the claim that “where we govern, we govern well” is true especially in light of the string of resignations that have unfolded this past week. There is much to consider in what has unfolded in the back room deals that resulted in Johannesburg being governed by a coalition government, and yet the rot and sale of Johannesburg came at a great cost. South Africa deserves to know what the real cost of coalition politics is – especially politics that is rooted in back room deals and expediency.

Far too many people aspire towards politics but are not driven to do so by the urgency of the societal and economic challenges facing millions of South Africans. Those people are ambitious, often young, but they lack a true appreciation for what public service is about. It is not about the trappings of power, it is not about a personal brand, and it is most certainly not about saving South Africa.

Now is the time to look beyond the personalities of our broken political system, and to consider how principled and committed South Africans take back the public square and begin to do the hard work of charting a meaningful path that confronts our challenges and not simply the optics of service. DM

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