Publication: Business Day
Issued:
Date: 2006-01-30
Reporter: Anthony Butler
Reporter:
Reporter:
[a
shortened version]
Appraising SA’s political soul
Elections should be the joyous festivals of democratic politics. At
election time, at least, we should all be equals, the poor and the rich alike
holding our leaders to account and giving the lazy and
corrupt among them a bloody nose.
Yet a pall of depression hangs
over the forthcoming municipal elections. The political equality of voters seems
only to highlight the drastic inequalities in their everyday lives. Citizens
feel powerless to influence policy or to punish incompetent
and corrupt local politicians. Contests are rarely truly competitive, and
it is the parties, rather than the citizens, who seem to decide on our local
rulers.
Sceptics claim that a parasitical political elite is once again
using elections to pull the wool over our eyes. Prevailing egalitarian doctrines
force politicians to make a show of deference to our wishes and interests. The
people are too numerous to all be manipulated through stage-managed izimbizo and
consultative forums. For this reason the party hacks, “traditional leaders”,
local business dynasties and “liberation heroes” who largely
monopolise public office are obliged to demonstrate through the ballot
box their supposed deference to the will of the people. But these elections’
primary purpose, so cynics claim, is to entice us to commit our hearts and souls
to the political system. Our act of voting somehow makes the abuse of office our
fault rather than theirs, and persuades us that we must submit meekly to
injustice and the arrogance of our betters.
This year’s centralised ANC
list process has been a trial run for 2009. Early indications are that the
centre is determined to marginalise those who have declared themselves for Jacob
Zuma. Mbeki created Zuma by managing his ascent to
the deputy presidency of the ANC and then SA. The deputy proved to be a magnet
for all those unhappy with the style and substance of the Mbeki presidency.
These disaffected activists stood up to be counted, only to
be cut down, leaving Mbeki and his allies stronger than ever.
The
managed cull of leftist malcontents has also been
designed to encourage these activists to run as independents. These reluctant
rebels-without-a-cause will not be elected and they will make themselves
vulnerable to expulsion from the ANC. This will preclude them from standing, or
even canvassing, in the more important 2009 elections. Such leadership
manoeuvres should also be understood as preparatory to the 2007 ANC national
conference, before which we can expect further initiatives to exclude
individuals and whole branches hostile to the Mbeki project.
• Butler
teaches public policy at UCT.
With acknowledgements to Anthony Butler and Business Day.