A number of opinion polls and social and economic indicators reflect the consensus of South Africans that our country is headed in the wrong direction and declining faster than in any period since 1994. No further debate is required on a subject exhausted by thousands of column inches and talk radio hours, and countless TV interviews.

South Africa needs saving and rebuilding. This task is beyond urgent. 

We all know the major issues. The number of South Africans entering the job market far exceeds the number of jobs created by the economy, which is further exacerbated by the number of economic migrants arriving daily from the rest of the continent.

The number of South Africans who have given up hope of ever finding a job in this economy keeps increasing – 3.7 million (62%) young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 are not in employment, education or a training institution and thus face the prospect of being poorer than their parents.

Poverty levels continue to rise, with many families battling to provide for themselves and put food on the table every evening, a situation aggravated by the rising cost of food and transport.

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On top of this battle for survival, South African families live in fear of criminals and criminality, even those who can afford private security. No one is free from the spectre of being a victim of violent crime.

And then, of course, there is our crumbling infrastructure: power outages, access to water, and municipalities across the country simply failing to fulfil their core duty of providing basic services.

South Africans are responding to the worsening situation by losing trust in those with the mandate to lead us. Turnout in both the 2019 and 2021 elections shows us that the trust deficit between the government and the governed is widening at an increasing rate. By “government” I am referring to both the political leaders and the institutions of the state such as the police, courts, municipalities, etc. Trust in politicians and political parties is at an all-time low.

Voters feel that the current political players are in it solely for themselves, their friends and families. The people have given up on the current political parties’ ability to realise or fulfil the 1994 promise of building a South Africa that is safe, secure and economically thriving, where its people can live in dignity and provide for themselves and their families.

Among the South Africans I have been interacting with, there’s a feeling that the country’s democracy and the rights enshrined in the Constitution only work for people with money and connections.

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In the past, one would have asked, “what’s to be done?” In 2022, this question has been asked and mostly answered. We generally know what needs to be done to save and rebuild our country. We have a surfeit of quality plans, proposals and policies prepared and shared by an array of incredible South Africans.

The better question is, “who is going to do what needs to be done. Who is going to enable and empower the people with the solutions to rebuild our country to execute their strategies?”

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Democracy is defined as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy only works when the people participate, contribute and feel involved in the running of their communities. The start of any answer to the question of who is going to do what needs to be done lies with building a new political culture that returns the power to the owners of South African democracy: the people of South Africa.

Such power extends far beyond voting for public representatives to include holding public officials such as police station commissioners, local magistrates and the heads of the local hospitals accountable. For instance, the appointment of a local police station commissioner should be a two-stage process involving interviews and the community making their preference known through a voting process. 

In addition to selecting the head of local institutions, the community must be empowered to regularly evaluate the service received from public institutions which will serve as performance appraisal for bonuses and reappointment.

One could prescribe that the current political players implement these ideas and build a new culture. However, that assumes they have both the capability and will to do it. Our collective experience shows that the current players have neither. Building a new political culture threatens their power and influence.

‘We must do’

Johan Wolfgang von Goethe once said: “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”

We South Africans are great at diagnosing a problem and prescribing solutions. We never ask and answer the question of who should implement the solutions and if not the current political players and leaders, then who?

Speaking for myself, I have no faith in the ability of our current political parties and politicians to save and rebuild our country by building a new political culture. I know this view is shared by millions of my fellow citizens. If this is the case, then we the people must accept the responsibility to do something about this situation.

It is time for a different kind of politician and public servant: a collective of capable and ethical leaders who will place the people, their communities, and the general well-being of society at the centre of South Africa’s focus. This collective will not be imported. It exists – within the people of South Africa.

We can upgrade the face and character of our public leaders in Parliament, legislatures, councils and public institutions by stepping up to the plate ourselves.

Since my resignation as a member of the DA and Gauteng legislature, I have advocated for the building of a political alternative that returns power to the people and returns the South African people to lead our democratic project. This political alternative must be multiracial, multicultural, multigenerational and inclusive of civil society, labour, business, sports, arts and culture and religious sectors.

In short, it must embody who we are as the South African people enabling the people to change the entire political culture of our country by putting themselves first.

The task of saving and rebuilding our country is in our collective hands, there is no messiah or Superman or Superwoman to do it for us. We are truly the ones we have been waiting for.

Citizens of our neighbouring countries are fortunate to a degree that they still have a South Africa to migrate to. We don’t share the same fortune. More than 95% of us have nowhere to migrate to should we become a failed state. We must make it work for ourselves, our children and their generation.

I can’t afford to leave behind for my kids a worse South Africa than the one my generation inherited. I know millions of fellow South Africans share that view. It’s time for the people to reclaim their democracy and lead the implementation of what needs to be done. DM