I have had numerous opportunities to undertake research and teach in several parts of our continent. Among these has been South Africa, which I have visited often in the past 30 years.
Most recently, I had an opportunity to travel to Rwanda after several years of absence from the Great Lakes region of Africa, and after reading scholarly works on the country for many years, I was so impressed by the country’s transformation since the genocide.
The visit prompted me to write this short reflective piece focusing on what South Africa could learn from Rwanda, and conversely.
Calamitous histories as the backdrop
Thirty-one years ago, the political curtain came down on apartheid South Africa, and 1994 ushered in what has become a neoliberal democratic order. The new republican dispensation liberated all South Africans, but most resolutely removed the scourge of subjugation and restored citizenship rights to black people.
Liberated and democratic South Africa under the ANC government has made advances in many areas over the past three decades, before the ANC’s electoral fortunes waned. However, the ANC-led government has had great difficulty in revitalising the economy and meaningfully reducing the country’s deep economic inequality, except for a sliver of Africans and others who joined the elite.
Likewise, the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994 was the diabolical final step of a sectarian political system inherited from German and Belgian colonial practices that segregated the indigenous population into ethnic political camps, all subject to the degrading whims of the European overlords.
Sadly, most of Rwanda’s post-colonial elite internalised the colonial mentality that led to the denaturalisation of segments of the population, which precipitated the genocide.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which courageously ended the genocide, has subsequently transformed Rwanda from a deeply divided society to one that has real potential to overcome that horrible legacy, as well as making sustained advances in the livelihoods of its citizens.
Despite this progress, there is a concern about the absence of checks and balances in the political system.
A germane question is: given their horrific historical backgrounds, can the two countries learn from each other’s successes?
The ANC and South Africa’s sustained democratic march
The enduring and deep struggle against colonialism and apartheid ingrained a tenacious democratic spirit in the South African people. South Africans’ resolute activism, and the actions of some of the more realistic or faithful political leaders, have enabled South Africa to step back from what could have been an irreversible catastrophe.
First, there was President FW de Klerk’s belated realisation that apartheid and white minority rule were doomed. Thereafter, he accepted political defeat and saved the country from a certain nightmare. Similarly, Nelson Mandela and the ANC leaders’ willingness to accept a new dispensation that fell short of their enduring ambition of a liberated and just South Africa made the “peaceful” transition possible.
Second, then president Mandela’s wise and pathbreaking decision not to seek a second term when he could have done so was a new milestone, not only in South African politics, but African postcolonial affairs, where many leaders lust to hang on until Mother Nature calls them home.
Third, President Thabo Mbeki’s honourable and dignified acceptance of his unjustified recall by the ANC staved off a fundamental political crisis in the country.
Fourth, the ANC’s removal of President Jacob Zuma from office as a result of the litany of corruption and other scandals stabilised the state.
Fifth, the ANC’s willingness to accept defeat in local government elections and the loss of its majority in Parliament after the 2024 national elections signalled a sense of democratic maturity.
Finally, and most critically, the judiciary has retained its autonomy and is the foundational anchor of the democratic order.
The RPF and its developmental march
From the ashes of the Rwandan genocide, a determined regime that had all the appearance of a military junta rescued the haunted population and hunted down the perpetrators. Led by a visionary military officer, Paul Kagame, stability and peace were restored in a society that was bereft of trust and civic commonalities. Most of the genocide perpetrators fled, and still lust for a return to power to finish their ghastly mission.
Once the RPF secured the country and stabilised its footing, it embarked on a radical political and economic programme. First, it sought to bring the genocide perpetrators to justice.
Second, it restructured the political makeup of the country by turning it into a single-party state where the RPF totally dominates the political landscape, despite the existence of other small parties.
Third, it banned ethnic political identity in an attempt to create a more inclusive political culture.
Fourth, it has made significant progress in rooting out corruption. In fact, Rwanda is the third-least corrupt country in Africa, after Seychelles and Botswana.
Fifth, it embarked on a thorough economic development programme, such that Rwanda has earned the enviable title of a “development state”. The country’s infrastructure has been revamped, and Rwanda boasts an excellent physical and administrative infrastructure.
Finally, Rwanda has the largest number of female parliamentarians in the world at 63%.
Overcoming the SA developmental deficit and Rwanda’s democratic shortfall
Broadly speaking, each country has a major weakness which can be remedied by learning from the other’s successful experience. Such learning does not mean each mechanically copying the other’s success, as that would not work.
Instead, it entails figuring out creative ways of imagining solutions that can deliver the desired objective.
South Africa’s shortcoming
South Africa has failed to generate significant economic growth to meaningfully reduce its obscene poverty and inequality. This has been a direct result of two policies.
First, the post-apartheid regime unwittingly accepted a neoliberal agenda that glorified free, rather than governed markets. Neoliberalism required the state to facilitate its agenda, which created rent havens for corrupt officials and contractors.
Second, despite maintaining the expansive state apparatus inherited from apartheid, the leadership failed to streamline and transform it into disciplined institutions that pursued well-defined “growth and development” targets.
The combination of neoliberalism and state indiscipline has been catastrophic: the litany of parastatal organisations that have collapsed or are in great need of rescue is a testament to this failure.
The lesson from Rwanda: to reverse these liabilities, the South African civil society movement might consider learning from Rwanda’s anti-corruption strategy and compel the coalition GNU to change the modus operandi governing the country.
Rwanda’s shortcoming:
Despite its success in building infrastructure and establishing institutions that are effective, critics often accuse Rwanda of operating as a single-party state.
The absence of any serious opposition party with thoughtful civic and development credentials raises legitimate questions about the claims of the government pertaining to its democratic character.
However, given the awful history of ethnic politics and the genocide, it is understandable that many in the country would be sceptical as to whether the importation of a conventional multiparty political system to the country would serve the population better.
The relevant question is whether there is another means to ensure accountability and greater civic debate.
The lesson from South Africa: the independence of the judiciary could be a place to advance the progressive journey. Creating an independent judiciary council whose members consist of the most respected ethical, legal and civic minds in the country could be a place to jump-start the journey. Such a council will have the necessary autonomy and term limits. South Africa has much to offer Rwanda in this regard. DM