The December national conference of the ANC is an event of central significance for all South Africans. The ANC played the leading role in South Africa's transition to democracy and has been the massively dominant player in our first decade of freedom. Conference delegates will therefore be making decisions that touch and indeed shape the lives of the nearly 50-million citizens of our country.
While much speculation has understandably been focused on which individuals will be elected to key leadership positions, this citizen is much more interested in what the conference will say and do about how our country is to be governed. I am even more interested in the vision that emerges of the South Africa the ANC wants to build in this second decade of freedom. In particular three aspects of that vision interest me. These relate to prosperity, identity and the quality of our democracy.
The years since 1994 have seen dramatic and impressive improvements in the state of the South African economy. Our new democracy inherited a fortress economy on the verge of bankruptcy, in which the interest on national debt continued to rise each year, displacing all other spending priorities. High inflation, negative foreign reserves, a rapidly weakening exchange rate and an economy that was essentially ex-growth was the legacy. All this has changed in a way that should certainly qualify the economic management team for a global best-in-class award.
Impressive progress has also been made in extending basic services such as water, electricity, schooling and healthcare to millions previously existing on the periphery of our society. About 11-million people receive a social grant of one form or another, making South Africa's social support system one of the most comprehensive among developing countries.
That said, problems of both poverty and inequality exist and demand the nation's urgent and effective attention. The challenge for the next decade must be to translate sustained high levels of economic growth into increasing levels of productive employment.
If we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals set for 2014, we need to add about five million jobs, as well as address the issue of the working poor. In the tough and unsentimental global markets in which South Africa's very open economy must compete, most of our industries need to up their game, both to win and retain export markets, and to compete effectively against foreign participants in our domestic markets.
With regard to social services the critical challenge we face is about quality. Most children are in school. But what is the quality of their learning? Most citizens do have access to healthcare. But how effective is that healthcare? Intense challenges must be addressed in all aspects of our criminal justice system if we are to reduce the very real level of fear in which most South Africans conduct their daily lives.
None of these challenges can be met by government alone, even a government with the best possible policies and effective implementation.
All these critical challenges require a partnership between government, other actors in civil society and, crucially, the constructive activity of citizens themselves. These partnerships in turn require both some measure of shared goals and significant levels of mutual trust. This alone will achieve the increased levels of prosperity that will make a better life for all South Africans a reality rather than a dream.South Africa is in the very early stages of constructing a nation out of our fragmented and often bitter past. Central to this is the creation of a national identity that unites the subsets of South Africans.
Here, too, important progress has already been made and a promising foundation laid. Our national anthem consists of four of our national languages, and two important pieces of our musical heritage. More and more South Africans are able to sing all four stanzas. Our flag has captured the emotional loyalty of the vast majority of our people.
We still have a way to go. Our history indicates clearly that a good future will be the result of both unity and cooperation between all the peoples of our country -- all who live here and who want to live here.
Perhaps we need to develop a "pledge of allegiance" similar to that recited by all American school children at the start of each school day. The preamble to our Constitution provides good words. We need to encourage all South Africans to live the language of inclusive patriotism: in this regard "African" cannot be a synonym for "black".
Language is a critical tool in building a national identity. English will continue to be the lingua franca for much of our daily lives. However, vital and resourceful parts of our culture will continue to use the currency of what we often refer to as "vernacular" languages, which clearly include Afrikaans. In this regard we need a national project to encourage South African citizens to become multilingual. South Africans have a campaign culture. Can we not create a movement that encourages all South Africans to learn, at least to the degree of some conversational ability, a second language? This will be a particular challenge to English-language mother-tongue speakers. Their efforts will be well rewarded by the quality of their social interaction and they will quite literally define the parameters of a shared national identity.
The story of South African politics so far is the contest between the obviously desirable goal of greater national unity and the seduction of mobilising political power around sectional appeals. The way in which the delegates at Polokwane choose between these competing forces will have consequences for all South Africans.
What will the ANC conference do about the state of our democracy?
Here it seems two distinct challenges exist. What will be the quality of the internal debate within ANC structures? And how does the ANC see its role in the broader society?
On the first two, divergent trends are apparent. Over the course of this year very serious attempts have been made to offer the ANC, and the nation that it serves, serious debate. Policy documents have been made public which address all of the issues above, and more. ANC members and formations have been invited to engage with the critical issues in a spirit of free and real debate.
The contrasting trend, however, has also been evident. This has subsumed debate in the quest for power. Here what individual ANC members believed about the issues has become secondary to who they will support in election races. This is an inevitable tension in any political movement. The way in which it is resolved, though, shapes not only who gets power, but how those empowered use power.
The ANC was created as a parliament of the African people of South Africa. Today it also serves as the largest party in the Parliament.
Our Constitution sets out to build democratic institutions that have legitimacy and life beyond that of individual political movements.
Every member of Parliament, from whatever party, is part of this construction project. Democratic institutions have little real life outside the political culture that creates (and sometimes destroys) them.
We urgently need a culture that seeks and respects the robust contestation of ideas. No individual and no organisation has a monopoly on truth. Those who shut down debate with crude appeals to party or sectional loyalty do our Constitution, and the spirit of 1994, no favours.
Equally, debate and discourse can only thrive in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Opposition parties need to acknowledge the electoral support enjoyed by the ANC. They also need to treat the offices of our government with respect. It is their patriotic duty so to do. The ANC in turn needs to accept the decision of voters to elect representatives from organisations other than themselves. They need to treat opposition parties as part of the national and democratic project, who can and will make a contribution to building a better future. The recent respectful and constructive meeting between the South African president and the leader of the opposition is an encouraging start.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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