Can our new government address South Africa’s many crises, and respond to its citizens’ needs?
South Africa’s new government of national unity (GNU) has a much-needed opportunity to redress past abuses of power and build a stronger democratic culture, but checks and balances are required to keep the fledgling coalition stable and functioning optimally. Good Governance Africa (GGA) held a webinar in partnership with the Mail & Guardian, exploring the theme of how we can ensure that the GNU is held accountable.
Some of the themes that emerged from the webinar discussion included that while most of the panellists agreed that the GNU does bring us hope, it still remains to be seen how it will work once we are past the initial euphoria. There were concerns that politicians would further the interests of their own parties, instead of those of the coalition; on the other hand, the parties may become mired in compromises. The subject of whether the GNU actors would actually listen to the public’s concerns was often raised, as “public participation” has become a mere tick-box exercise; and, linked to this, was the question of how citizens and communities can actually hold politicians accountable.
Lonwabo Patrick Kulati, CEO of GGA, introduced the panellists, providing background on their various fields of expertise, and opened proceedings by asking them their opinions of the GNU.
Dr Caryn Abrahams, Senior Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance (WSG) said the GNU has been called by many names, such as “marriage of convenience”, but she sees it as “mob lords” who are there to enforce their own “code of omerta” and keep their own organisations working. “Nothing has really changed because there is a GNU. The real test will be whether it works towards the common good, and whether there is broad accountability.”
Dr Mmabatho Mongae, Data Analyst, in the Governance Insights and Analytics Programme, GGA, said that it’s important to consider the intention and purpose behind the formation of the GNU. Beyond its symbolic representation of unity, the true measure of accountability within the GNU will be tested over time, particularly during critical situations and crises. It is during these moments that the commitment of GNU leaders to accountability will become evident. “Perhaps the parties can hold each other accountable, more than the citizens,” she opined.
Dr Kagiso “TK” Pooe, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance (WSG), compared this GNU to the first one, when democracy finally happened in South Africa. The GNU is not a natural phenomenon; it only happened because the ANC failed dismally over three decades, he said. There needs to be some humility on the part of the ANC and the DA, and some self-reflection. “It is not really a GNU, it is a grand coalition,” said Pooe.
Lukhona Mnguni, Acting Executive Director, Rivonia Circle, said accountability is built on the pillars of transparency and responsiveness. He gave an example of a district mayor who was congratulated excessively for receiving a clean audit, and wondered if the bar would be raised in the GNU. “A clean audit should be the baseline, not considered an achievement,” he said.
The presidency is bloated and now contains the state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which have many private-public relationships within them, so there has to be an appetite for accountability. The GNU represents about 70% of political parties in parliament, and there have to be mechanics to regulate accountability, added Mnguni.
Kulati said South Africa has experienced an accountability crisis under the ANC, and asked, can we expect a different outcome under the GNU? Should we be hopeful?
Mongae said only time will tell, once we have overcome the initial euphoria. It depends on the interests of the parties in the GNU; will decisions be based on what serves an individual party, or the GNU?
Pooe was not very hopeful; he said that SA has many problems, such as its huge youth unemployment. We are in a crisis, and we are not asking how to solve the underlying crises. The Southern African Development Community is at its weakest, because SA has been asleep behind the wheel. “We do hope, but I fear that this hope is amiss.”
Abrahams said that accountability must not remain normative, but actually be put into action. The GNU has the opportunity to make some bold new decisions about accountability, such as who are the individual office bearers answering to?
Kulati said we must look into the mechanisms of accountability, such as parliamentary oversight, and asked, is this adequate?
Mnguni said the parliamentary oversight has basically collapsed over the past 30 years, due to the poor quality of our badly educated politicians. We have entered a rat race in our politics, and we often cannot rely on those who are entrusted with oversight. Will we see more public participation in the formation of legislation? He said that accountability was circumvented under the ANC, for example in the arms deal saga.
Pooe said that we do need an opposition, and sometimes MK does make valid points, but we need to start asking questions like, do we really want to be a liberal democracy? Do we really need our three tiers of government? What is our role in the continent? He said that we need to find out what people on the ground really want.
Abrahams said that we need to put issues on the table to discuss and debate them, instead of just manufacturing consent. Kulati agreed, but said we need to balance debate with pragmatism, and move forward on pressing issues like unemployment.
Mongae said the GNU is a symbol of our maturing democracy. It shows South Africans that change is possible, even though voter turnout has declined with each election. There is a huge task at hand for the GNU, and policy outcomes take years to come into full effect, so there is often frustration in the waiting period. Do South Africans have the patience to see the waiting period through?
Mnguni said that in some countries, politicians work, but in SA they don’t, so debate is a problem, because the politicians are merely debating among themselves, not with the people who matter. This is because the politicians are not responding to the people’s needs; the public should be able to pressure politicians to do their job.
Comments from the audience
An audience member agreed, and said that politicians do what they want, because the public has become docile. The issue must be how the communities pressure politicians, as they used to in the street committees of the 1980s. Another audience member said that the opposition is very unstable, and changes its leadership too often. A third member asked, how can multiple parties in public institutions result in better outcomes? There is too much political correctness, and not enough diversity of thought and opinion. Public participation has become a tick-box exercise.
Kulati read some comments from the webinar’s online audience. One was that clean audits don’t necessarily mean good service delivery. Another said that we must credit those ministers who are doing their jobs, which will put other ministers under pressure.
One audience member said it will take much commitment from participants for the GNU to actually work. Another asked, what can the GNU do to gain the public’s trust? How is the GNU good for SA? And, what are the alternatives?
Abrahams said “public participation” has become about placating the public, among politicians, instead of really addressing their needs. Accountability has become about pushing papers and reporting to the “right structures”. The public has become docile because it is treated like a client base, and politicians make decisions on its behalf.
She also warned that the GNU should not rush its decisions. “Urgency is not the answer, because there are no silver bullets.”
Pooe said his worry is that the GNU participants may become mired in compromise, in not making each other look bad, in mutually assured non-destruction, resulting in little being achieved, and the work on the many crises in the country not being done.
He said that the public must really hold politicians accountable, by voting, by participating in civil society, and by learning who their councillors are and talking to them.
Mnguni said that he realised in the last election how many people are illiterate when it comes to voting. He warned that we have failed to realise how disruptive the 29 May elections were. There are so many different interests and alliances happening, for instance in Gauteng; everybody is bargaining for their own interests. What kind of consensus will be reached on issues like the NHI and the minimum wage? There is no consensus on what “public good” or the “common good” is.
10 points to put in place
The GGA has identified 10 priority areas that the GNU needs to tackle to turn the tide on voter dissatisfaction and our stagnant economy, which Mongae read out:
- Deepening political accountability
- Fostering greater public engagement
- Navigating the coalition era
- Bolstering the civil/public service
- Improving local governance outcomes
- Reconfiguring SOEs
- Unlocking mining and industrial potential
- Addressing peace and security issues in the SADC
- Maintaining credibility in a volatile global environment
- Set an example on climate change.
Closing remarks
Abrahams read her comment out as a letter: “Dear GNU, you have the potential to make real change, so be bold, but allow yourself to be questioned as parties, because the citizens want to believe in you; give us a reason to trust the government. Don’t just pick an audience with big business; show us that you care, and that you are legitimate.”
Pooe said that former Chinese leader Deng Xiaopeng said something important: “hide and bide” — meaning, work quietly, and get things done. He added that we need to work on the fact that women can’t walk alone at night; our infrastructure needs to be rectified; and that we need anticipatory, not reactive governance.
Mnguni said that the public must become more literate in knowing how the state functions. We can’t judge how the government performs in terms of how the ANC has failed; we need to start thinking more holistically.
Mongae said that a democratic system and government that leaves people behind is one that will be punished. There is hope and possibility, but this must be accompanied by political will and imagination.