As we approach yet another local government election and freely and fairly participate in the ritual of participatory democracy, we do so fully aware that we fought so hard for the privilege. But in doing so, we must ask the question: is this enough to consolidate our democracy or do we need to do more? It certainly seems a rather difficult endeavour. After all, we don’t possess the power to determine our own destiny, never have. What I mean by this is that our future path, socioeconomically, is determined by others and not ourselves as South Africans.
International investors, ratings agencies, foreign financial institutions and indeed it seems foreign governments too — these are the people that can and are determining our future. Just as they were the ones who decided when apartheid could end, that we cannot possess nuclear bombs, nor sophisticated satellite technology and most certainly not advanced missile technology. They destroyed all of the above in the early 1990s before entering into negotiations with the liberation organisation, the ANC.
I would like to believe that they must have had a plan when deciding to take this bold step. After all, we are told in great detail about how Mandela was courted and eventually brought to a point where he agreed that although he could not speak for the ANC, we were ready to talk about talks. You don’t simply negotiate a new constitution without having taken stock of the fundamentals and the non-negotiables.
How do we protect minority rights now that we have agreed to hand political power back to the black majority? What about private property rights, inheritance wealth, the asset base of the state, pension funds and so much more? Surely, there must have been a plan according to which Roelf Meyer and Co were guided? Where is the blueprint of that plan, I wonder? Perhaps then we can understand why certain matters of state fall outside our purview. Why certain matters like our destiny as a country do not reside with us, but with others.
Why does Empire still determine our path? We are constantly reminded that we must avoid a Zimbabwe scenario. Sounds awfully like they are actually saying to us, if you don’t watch it, we will ensure you end up like Zimbabwe. Because like us, Zimbabweans also were not in charge of their path and destiny. So, when Mugabe made the fatal mistake of thinking he could determine that country’s own destiny and put it on its own path by seizing farmers’ land and returning it supposedly to the people, he and his people certainly were made to suffer the consequences of their foolishness. Till today, 20 years later, they still suffer from their very bad decision. To think they could determine their own future path? The gall, I tell you.
Clearly, we must avoid such a fate at all costs and this really does mean not to mess with private property rights and the land question in SA, among other non-negotiables, I would imagine.
And when some of us attempt to raise these matters, it is met with a strangling of honest criticism, as WEB du Bois put it. The only narrative that must find expression is that the terrible plight of the poor and black majority in our country is in large part due to inept governance and corruption of our largely black government these past 27 years. We must not talk of the past 300 years of colonialism and apartheid. No, must we dwell on the past, can’t we move on already? Always blaming apartheid!
This argument is tantamount to telling the Jews, really, must you remind us continuously of your pain and suffering during the Holocaust? Must you remind us year after year for the past 70 years? Would it not be so inconsiderate, so insensitive and indeed denying this very important historical atrocity? We must never forget what the Germans did to the Jews, so why would you want us as Africans to accept such a shallow argument as to agree to move on from 300 years of oppression, exploitation and death?
Stop trying to change and/or direct the narrative away from the critical issues and let’s rather work together to attempt to resolve them. Hence it beckons the question, what must we do to consolidate our democracy?
Perhaps someone from the old National Party can provide us with that ever-elusive plan in order to shed some light on these matters. I mean, let’s take phase one of such a plan. The decision to return the country to majority rule through the vote. This is huge! The Americans and the British certainly would have been consulted and they would have inquired about what the actual plan would be, surely? And I don’t think the answer would simply have been we negotiate towards a democratic election, ensure a good constitution and leave the rest of everything else up in the air and pray that these blacks, who just yesterday climbed down from the trees, according to many whites in South Africa at the time, will govern properly. Surely, that was not the answer to such a pertinent question — what is the plan?
We now know that the so-called black-on-black violence in the years leading up to the 1994 election was certainly part of a plan, hence the involvement of a Third Force consisting of police and army personnel; the training of Inkatha Freedom Party members in parts of KZN to fuel the violence, murders and massacres. This initiative to destabilise liberation parties during the negotiations period did not just fall from the sky, it was planned in a room somewhere.
It was part of a bigger plan — where is it?
We observe the boldness with which some in our country are advocating for the privatisation of basic services at the municipal level, the building of a private Afrikaans university, the secession demands of one of our provinces. Are all these just the natural evolution of our democracy or is this one form of consolidating our democracy? Is this not playing into the hands of identity politics which is not good for us as a nation, surely?
It’s good that we can go and participate in a democratic process by voting in the upcoming local elections, but what is the point when we cannot determine our own future as a country? We are not allowed to take radical and bold decisions to address poverty, unemployment and inequality in any meaningful way.
Perhaps this was always the grand plan, stagnation, so that the status quo may remain.
I wonder… DM