Warwick Bruce Chapman

As our democracy matures, we need a small revolution of our own, a revolution in voter thinking about choice. Before we see the real balance our democracy needs, we must see a rapid swing away from racial voting and toward issue voting. The dominant issue in South Africa is delivery; the delivery of jobs and the delivery of services most crucially.

Many South Africans, across the spectrum have not yet experienced a government which is truly good to all. The NP government of white privilege and the ANC government of cadre privilege will be remembered for serving only some South Africans.

The Apartheid government made itself infamous for harnessing the wealth and human resources of a country to enrich a racial minority, and the new government was always going to have a mammoth task transforming it into a government which delivers for all.

But in too many respects, the ANC Government isn’t doing much better than its predecessor. Non-whites in general, and blacks in particular, continue to live in poor conditions, with little real prospect of material improvement. Cadres of the ANC meanwhile have jobs and contracts which they aren’t doing well enough to ensure the required service delivery and economic growth required.

What we saw in Egypt over the past weeks was not a people’s struggle for better delivery, but instead for the fundamental bedrock we already take for granted here in South Africa: a democratic system of government. The Egyptians want to be able to choose one party over another, one public representative over another. They want real choice.

Technically, we have real choice in South Africa but only to the extent that everyone in the country has the theoretical freedom to vote as they so choose. I believe that there are two practical limitations to that choice: intimidation and lack of experience.

First, threats that pensions and grants will be cancelled if beneficiaries do not vote ANC are widespread and well-known. This claim is repeatedly rubbished by the ANC as being unfounded and unproven and yet political activists come across it election after election and on an increasingly regular basis.

Second, the structural inertia among South Africans communities means that few South Africans get to experience the level of service delivered by a party other than the ANC. By this I mean that the lack of economic resources to travel or live in another part of the country means that a great many South Africans have no frame of reference when considering their choices beyond beyond the ANC they know.

I am regularly contacted by friends who have been to Cape Town or another DA-run municipality for the first time. Quite often they say something like, “Now I understand what you guys are on about”, because for the first time they have actually experienced the quality of government delivered by a government focused on delivery.

The miracle of our South African democracy came with a ryder, which like a nasty spell, keeps our democracy from realising its full potential. The race-obsessed mindset which most South Africans have regardless of their desires one way or another is the barrier to the informed choices we need South Africans to make.

The democratic system has become so popular, despite its inherent inefficiency, because it is the only system which manages to put real power in the hands of the people governed by the system. Democracy, however, does not functional very well when one party dominates with an overwhelming majority. This scenario allows that party to abuse its popular position without the real fear of enough voters turning against it in favour of another. One party or one party-dominant democratic systems the world over, with few exceptions, bear testament to the abuses which take place when the voter is dis-empowered.

In the wake of the Egyptian revolution, we are reading of Zimbabweans in South Africa being told to go back to Zimbabwe and stage a revolution of their own. Why such a revolution is not likely to happen, given the proximity of the army to Mugabe is clear, but the topicality of the subject reminds us of the widespread unhappiness with the number of Zimbabweans living in South Africa.

And yet the policies which drove the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy and the flight Southward of millions of its people are too often cited by individuals within the ANC as examples of how South Africa could be doing things. Nationalisation is forever being placed on the agenda, the land problem is regularly directed toward the Zimbabwean solution and the question of foreign ownership remains a concern. These are the grand populist policies, efficacy cast aside, that dominate the politics of out-of-balance democracies such as ours.

I want to see the control of South Africa’s democracy where it needs to be, in the hands of voters who genuinely believe that they have the power. Voters need to believe that their vote can bring the change they want to see in their government, and that is only possible through stiff political competition.

Written in response to: http://allafrica.com/stories/200711230160.html

Mr Mavunga

I’m white. My family is ex-Rhodesian. I was born in South Africa just after your country won it’s independence. Many people very close to me fought in the same war as you and your compatriates fought, only, they fought on the other side. I am a passionate and committed South African. I don’t believe in white rule and I don’t believe in black rule. I believe in a rule of a people by its own people. Race is a concept Africa needs to free itself of before you or I will see peace and prosperity on this continent.

You’ve wasted an entire article berating Ian Smith, Basson and others in order to paint a picture of gross racism and disrespect of whites for blacks while at the same time painting a pretty picture of the ‘innocent’ ZANU and ZAPU participants in the struggle. Are you forgetting Viscount? Are you forgetting the terrible torture, maiming, murder and intimidation of your own people by your own guerillas? I am about as likely to believe your propaganda aimed at us racist whites as I am to believe those black on black and black on white atrocities did not happen.

Peter, the war is over. The war was over nearly 28 years ago. Forget Ian Smith, forget Wouter Basson… Zimbabwe has more important priorities than redressing suspected crimes from decades ago. You have an economic and political crisis in your country. Your people are suffering under worse oppression than they have ever experienced before – they’re poor and hungry. Further, they’re subject to a more and more powerful government every day.

Absolute power currupts absolutely. Mr Mugabe has destroyed the Zimbabwe that your ZANU and ZAPU compatriates fought so hard to win in the 60′s and 70′s. It’s time to be frank with yourself and see through the misinformation. Robert Mugabe has ruled your country for nearly 30 years. The AU stipulates 2 terms maximum. He’s three times over the limit. The man has systematically extended his grip on total power over the country and in the process whipped the rug from beneath your economy, exacted gross human right abuses against his own people and consistently denied the opposition the freedom they deserve to campaign for a better Zimbabwe for all Zimbabweans.

I want to tell you, Peter Mavunga, to put up your hand now and say ‘I want a new Zimbabwe… I want a Zimbabwe where democracy is the only absolute power… I want to stand up and fight for that new Zimbabwe!’, but I cannot. I cannot ask you to do such a thing because your President and his compatriates will have you silenced. What now Peter? What now?

This is a response to Jonty Fisher‘s ‘South Africa’s going the way of Zimbabwe’ posted on the Mail&Guardian‘s ThoughLeader blogging paltform.

I have read with interest the article and most especially the comments over the past few days.

I understand these first comments are not directly related to the topic at hand, but in the context of the debate which has ensued since the article being published, I wish to make a few points.

I, like Jonty, am one of those optimist types and am often accused of being blinkered to the rest of the goings on in this country. I still believe, however, that reading the good news, recognising the positive progress where it exists and being generally optimistic about our future will do more for the country than outright negativity masqueraded as realism or pragmatism.

I’ve spent much time, energy and frustration trying to convince South Africans abroad that South Africa is worth being positive about. I have found that by-in-large the South Africans abroad that trash the country at braais, dinner parties and the like do so because of a need to justify their decision to leave South Africa.

We live in (legally) one of the free countries in the world. If someone feels like South Africa is not for them now, or too risky, or the economic interventions affect them too much, or crime is too much to deal or any other valid reasons, they are free to leave South Africa and venture abroad. Indeed, were it not for my business here in South Africa, I am sure I would’ve spent a few years here and there already myself.

Any South African choosing to leave South Africa, either temporarily or through emigration, should not feel they need to justify their decision by convincing themselves, as well as the people around them, that South Africa is a Zimbabwe in the making and that it is indeed a matter of time. Surely you can be a South African living abroad and still be PROUD of where you come from and of the positive progress being made back home. www.southafrica.info, www.sagoodnews.co.za, www.sarocks.co.za and the like will all give these people the information they need to be proud of the advancement everyday in this country.

Then to the not-so-good: we have a young baby of a democracy and a whole lot of growing up lies ahead of us. Right now we’re teething, and it hurts. The sagas around Selebi, Pikoli, Hlope, Manto and the like are all extremely difficult pills for us to swallow but these scandals are not insurmountable. Our media is still free and can (within the limitations of the law) ensure truth is demanded of those in the highest echelons of government. If the Sunday Times broke the law in getting the Health Minister’s Health Records, then, unfortunately, they need to be prosecuted. Nobody should be exempt from the law and the leadership challenge during this time of teething will be for President Mbeki to show us that nobody is immune from investigation and prosecution; not the editor of a national newspaper, not the Chief Justice, not the Minister of Health, not the Commissioner of Police and so on.

As to the topic at hand, both sides of my family tree arrived in South Africa with the 1820 settlers. Both sides then moved to Rhodesia and both sides returned to South Africa by the middle of the 80’s. It was clear to them then, only a few years into democracy, that the effects of the debilitating civil war coupled with the rushed and flawed Lancaster House Agreement which led to the farce that saw Robert Mugabe take power was a recipe for yet another African National Disaster.

No doubt when our time came CODESA, the GNU and indeed our own constitution all took into account the lessons learned in the rest of Africa. CODESA started negotiations in December 1991, the GNU took over national governance in 1994 and only in February 1997 when the constitution was finalized, was power handed directly to the ANC. The process of handing control of the country from the NP to the ANC took nearly five and a half years.

By comparison, Zimbabwe saw hostilities end with the signing of Lancaster House just before Christmas in 1979 and by April 1980 Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF had control of the country.

Compare 5 months for Zimbabwe and 5 years for South Africa. We did it properly.

South Africa will not go the way of the rest of Africa. Zimbabwe is the quoted example at present because it is in such a shocking state right now. Have no misconceptions that most Africans states have not been where they are now. By-in-large, the rest of Africa have been to the lowest low and are now rebuilding. Zambia, Mozambique, Angola are regional examples. They are building their economies, attracting investors, focusing on agriculture (thanks in no small part to ex-Zimbabwean farmers), building competence as responsible democratic leaders and generally trying to ensure their countries move only forward.

South Africa cannot and will not go the way of the rest of Africa. We have enough examples to learn from, enough education, modernity and intelligence in our leadership and enough goodwill from our neighbours and the rest of the world to ensure we never forget what we’re working toward.

We live a miracle every day in this country, but like most things these days, that miracle is dynamic and changing. In 1994 the miracle was democracy without civil war, through the nineties it was Madiba and his capacity to reconcile and in the new millennium the miracle is the rapid progress and integration we see taking place every day in this country. We’re moving forward. We sing the national anthem like we don’t remember the old one. We get angry when some idiot pulls out the old flag. We have black South Africans in France supporting the Bokke alongside white. We have roads, water, electricity, telephones, clinics, houses and schools where there were never any before – the places white generally don’t go and thus progress whites aren’t seeing.

We have a long, long way to go and a very many challenges to deal with along that road. We will succeed and of that I am absolutely certain. How can I be so certain?

“All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke

The very fact that every single one of us, whether living in South Africa or not, is engaged in this conversation right here is testament to the sheer volume of resource, goodwill and hope behind the desire to see South Africa succeed.

I thank you all for your passion for our wonderful country.