Zubeida's Blog

Politics is ninety percent perception. This is considered accepted wisdom. The messages that political parties send out in the run-up to the elections thus become crucial as they compete for the public vote.

With just ten weeks to go before the elections, the National Assembly has concluded its session this week freeing Members of Parliament to campaign across the country.

Those at the coalface of every political party will be under enormous pressure to make the best possible impression in the public mind. Besides the policies of each party, citizens will make decisions based on the extent to which they can trust the individuals associated with that party.

The exposure of the ANC’s Carl Niehaus could not have come at a more inopportune time for his party. In a short space of time this year, he has become the public face of the organisation eclipsing his team mate, Jessie Duarte who had become the spokesperson post-Polokwane. He has confessed to a string of activities that point to him being an individual of extremely weak character. Not only has he acknowledged forging the signatures of four Gauteng MECs while he was running the Guateng Economic Development Agency(Geda), but has left behind a string of bad debt and broken promises made to people who say they have lost thousands of rands. Further disclosures continue to come to the fore.

While some in the ANC say they had no conclusive knowledge of his past conduct, they do admit that there were rumours doing the rounds in the organisation. They could be excused for believing that the stories being spread were a consequence of intense office politics and had no real basis in fact.

However, there were those who knew more. Surely they cannot say they did not know that Niehaus had certain tendencies that could discredit the organisation. The present Gauteng Premier, Paul Mashatile, had some idea that this man was untrustworthy. Then there were all those whom he borrowed money from. One has to assume that they did not know the extent of his borrowing but it was a talking point in some circles.

The concern here is not that Carl Niehaus is a disturbed individual. This sadly is his problem and the problem of his family. The concern is that the ANC could have appointed him to such a crucial position. Surely there are many smart young people who could have done the job? It brings to mind the irrepressible Parks Mankahala who at 30 years of age became spokesperson for Nelson Mandela. With a good support team, he became one of this country’s most admired media spokespersons and will be remembered for his skill and flair.

The concern too is that both his response and the ANC’s response to the disclosures were not unequivocal. He did the right thing by offering his resignation but then left the door open for his organisation to decide. The secretary-general of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe, was hesitant. If he had understood that politics is ninety percent about perception, he would have realised that “looking after” Niehaus was not his immediate priority. His immediate priority was to protect the interests of his organisation so that the public could trust him.

This insistence that the ANC looks after its own is erroneous. It is not looking after its own. There are countless activists and members who have made enormous contributions all over the country who are not being looked after. And rightly so. It would be impossible for the organisation to make this its mission. But when it says the ANC “looks after its own”, it says that it is “looking after” those whom it has chosen to “look after”. And this is a message that is clearly communicated to those whom it has chosen not to “look after”.

It is not the ANC’s responsibility to look after anyone. It is its responsibility to run an organisation that will express the will of the people and to protect the interests of those who have voted for them. Its history however places a further responsibility on its shoulders. Whether it likes it or not, it carries the hearts of many in the palm of its hand. Many whom I have spoken with over the past months are unable to move to a point where elections represent a period of normal competition between different political parties. It remains for them more about the heart and the emotional attachment to an ideal they fought for.

There appears to be no distinction between support given to an individual in need of help and protecting the integrity of the organisation. Surely the integrity of the organisation must at all times be uppermost in the minds of its members and leaders. The ANC was built with the sweat of thousands over nearly a century. It is an organisation that carries the spirits of countless South Africans in its bosom. And it is being unwittingly trampled upon with a casualness that is astounding.

Where does all this confusion come from? Why could Mantashe not say that Niehaus will face an immediate disciplinary hearing and will henceforth be removed from any position of authority pending the outcome of such a hearing? Why did he not say that the ANC will not allow any of its staff to bring disgrace to the organisation and will not tolerate or sanction conduct that falls outside the norms of healthy societies? In not doing so, he is chipping away at the public trust.

Where does all this confusion come from? Does it have its roots in the compromise made at the negotiating table? Did we take the trade-offs made then as part of the normal course of things? We did not punish those whose conduct destroyed our social fabric because we considered ourselves to have been at war. Instead, we called for full disclosure and in return granted amnesty for those who transgressed. How full Niehaus’s disclosure has been is uncertain. Nevertheless when caught out, he hung his future on disclosure or confession. This is not surprising considering his strong theological background. However, trading truth for amnesty, may have been a useful way years ago to navigate past a difficult patch in the life of a nation.

The rules we adopted then were designed to take us through a period of transition. They were designed to deal with our past and to find a way to move on as a collective. The problem appears to be that this set of temporary rules has permeated the body politic. Those rules were forced upon us at a particular time but cannot be the norm. The Constitution and the law it upholds are the norm.

Even more so, the Niehaus affair sends a strong message of moral degeneration. Even if the law does not find him guilty, he is by his own confession, guilty of immoral conduct.

Surely it is in the interests of the ANC to send out a message that is unequivocal in its condemnation of such behaviour. If it does not do so, it further confuses an already confused message.

ends.

Outside the city of Cape Town, in a northern suburbs home, COPE party leader, Mosiuoa Lekota, sips a glass of cold apple juice. A small boy, with large innocent eyes, toddles into the lounge and he takes him onto his knee as he speaks. There is no sign of the anger, agitation and frustration he displayed a few weeks ago when he left the ANC. The child too is still and quiet sensing the calm.

The past weeks of contact with South Africans of all walks of life have energised Lekota. “We are attracting people from all sectors of society, many who had abandoned politics,” he said. “Young people in particular see in COPE a party of their time.”

He ascribes his sense of well-being particularly to acknowledging the mistakes he and others had made. “I share responsibility for failures in full,” he said. “It is not for lack of effort. It is partly because we missed some fundamentals.” He feels peaceful since deciding to make a fresh start. “There is nothing more painful than being at loggerheads with one’s conscience,” he said.

The party he leads will launch its manifesto in Port Elizabeth on Saturday barely two weeks after the ANC’s impressive launch in nearby East London. Will their manifesto signal a changed approach to the huge challenges facing our country? Will this inject fresh hope into the body politic or can we expect more of the same?

Lekota identifies two areas that require considerable change – non-racialism and economic empowerment. COPE will not challenge the broad philosophy of these policies. Instead it believes that substantial change has to take place with the implementation.

Huge effort has gone into popularising the idea of non-racialism but some fundamentals were missed in implementation. “On the side of the ANC, we did not read the mood and were unable to fashion an approach that would help all sections of the population feel they belonged,” he said.

He argues that the language used by the democratic government has sustained an apartheid mentality. “We should strongly have spoken about South Africans,” he said.

In terms of Chapter three of the Constitution, citizens were all equally entitled to rights and benefits and all equally bound by duties of responsibilities, he said. “We communicated a message that in this democracy you pay tax but when it comes to your rights, you are less of a citizen.” COPE will stick closely to the founding provisions of the Constitution and make sure that the language used be fully inclusive.

This will require a neutral approach to economic empowerment. Instead of emphasising black economic empowerment, COPE will call for economic empowerment for all and provide assistance to those who need it based on a means test. “In all sections of the population, people are poor. We need to find ways to reverse these trends in all communities,” he said.

If COPE has its way, Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) will become Grassroots Economic Empowerment (GEE). The country will become a food exporter not a food importer by working the land effectively and will increase the production of tradeable goods. Since 1994, the industrial sector in the country has slowed down dramatically, forcing South Africa to import many goods.

He is sensitive to the need to fashion an approach that will draw on the strengths of all South Africans irrespective of race, gender or religious affiliation.

Not only was there an emphasis on being black, there was also an emphasis on being ANC. “We need to depoliticise the civil service and draw on people from all political parties with the necessary skill to do the job,” he said.

For Lekota, COPE has revived people’s hopes of achieving a genuine democracy. “If we stay on course, we will inject new life into the political process.”

Will his message of change resonate with the South African public? Much depends on his parties conduct over the next few weeks. The proof will be not in only in what they say but in how they conduct themselves. The reality is that many of those who have moved into COPE bring their experience of the ANC with them. The question is whether or not they will leave behind that which is bad and take with them that which is good?

Genuine change requires serious personal reflection. Listening to Lekota and observing him suggests he has done some soul-searching. When the pressure builds up over the next few months, it will be interesting to see whether he will remain resolute in his determination to chart a different course – one that recognises as Mandela said that there are good men and women in every political party. There are good men and women irrespective of race who are keen to work to make South Africa function optimally.

By Freedom Day this year, we are likely to know whether we have reached a level of freedom that allows us to consider new and fresh ideas and welcome these into the body politic. The danger however remains that in the process, we may carelessly break down painstaking gains that have been made. Once again, the challenge will be how to find the balance between the old ways of doing things and the new. In his inaugural address on Tuesday, US President Obama put his finger on the essence when he said : “Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to those truths.”

Since 1994, we have moved our country towards the contemporary and dominant way of the world. We have been encouraged to believe that greed is acceptable, that personal well-being requires massive accumulation of material wealth, that the welfare of our neighbours are not essentially our responsibility, that there is no right or wrong. The rapid collapse of the global economy says something different. It challenges us to reconsider the dominant way of today’s world and will force us to rethink our “anything goes” approach.

It is the dreams of greater equality and kindness that moved us to create a movement for change that found expression in the ANC. It is those values of peace and goodness that we all yearn for. COPE will just be another one of the many political parties, if its leaders are not seen to be seriously reflective of how they have conducted themselves in the past and demonstrate in right actions a commitment to a fresh approach.

Observing Lekota, it appears that he has taken a step in the right direction. He has indeed been given a second chance but he needs to know that for him and those around him, there will be not be a third. COPE has a huge responsibility. It will not be easy to breathe fresh life into our fledgling democracy again if citizens discover that hidden behind the rhetoric and veneer of deepening democracy lies a shallow interest in self-promotion. It is not only poverty that destabilises public life. It is the perceived unfairness in the way important decisions made and politics is conducted.

If we cannot reshape the way in which we do the business of politics, what will be the future of that small boy with the large innocent eyes perched on Lekota’s knee?

ends

The world as we know it is coming to an end. Barack Obama has taken over the White House. Global capitalism is facing the worst crisis in its history. Millions across the world face losing their jobs. A young man who by his own admission has trained at the feet of Nelson Mandela has been propelled onto the center stage.

Few expect that he will be able to effect great change immediately. The constraints of the American economic and political system will limit him in the same way as it has always limited others before him.

His election however does bring with it a strong message of hope at a time when the world most desperately needs it. For the past eight years, the international reputation of the United States has steadily declined. Obama's election signals that ordinary people can make a difference when they exercise their democratic vote. It also moves issues of race and racism onto another level. No longer will people of colour have to submit to the prejudice that they are inferior. No longer will they in turn be able to pigeon-hole all white people.

Not only does Obama epitomise the fusion of black and white, he also brings into the equation an Arab- Muslim dimension that potentially could help subside present-day hostilities. His name Barack derives from the Arabic word baraka which means blessings.

His refreshing and easy connection with millions of people in his country and across the world paves the way for a symbiotic relationship which may just release fresh energies of ordinary people as the world struggles to deal with a crisis of unprecedented proportions.

We in South Africa are so insular that we spend a great deal of time bemoaning our fate rather than carefully examining our strengths and weaknesses. The United States has lived through at least eight years of terribly poor leadership but has come back fighting for the ideals envisioned by their founding fathers. Obama's election creates the kind of space in the world for those with fresh ideas to come forward without fear.

His election is also an indication that citizens want their leaders to lift them beyond themselves. They want their leaders to provide a moral compass and create a context within which they can help create a decent and respectful life.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the East-West divide, the world has endured a period of unfettered change that has left greater poverty and spiritual dislocation.

In South Africa, our Obama stepped into our lives during this time. Not only did Nelson Mandela lift us beyond ourselves, he also inspired Obama and countless others around the world. Strangely we seem to have forgotten that we have been blessed with a legacy of great leaders – Luthuli, Smuts, Tambo, Sobukwe. Mandela who took this legacy to its greatest heights is 90 years old this year and perhaps not too long away from leaving us. Either we recognise that this legacy has today been championed by one of the most important countries in the world or we miss this moment and tie ourselves up in internecine warfare.

The weekend's national convention in Sandton contains within it the possibilities of both paths. It is too early to say which path will dominate. It depends on how those who were part of the national convention conduct themselves over the next few months. It also depends on how creatively the ANC responds to this unexpected upheaval. The world as we know it is coming to an end.

Old ways of dealing with this new situation is not going to advance the quality of life much. Terror Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa as well as the existing opposition parties will have to realise that they too can be left behind by the groundswell of change that is taking place. They may garner 15 to 20% of the vote next year and secure seats in parliament for loyal party members but will they have understood that we are living in a time of the internet, and an economic and spiritual crisis that cries out for something wholesome and different.

The South African electorate is not as unsophisticated as many may want to believe. Those who characterise this national convention as purely the response of petulant losers will find they have misread the signs of the times. The convention leaders must also remembers that people are aware that they were in positions of leadership during the past 14 years when the floods of change swept through the country. In a short space of time, they have played a part in dashing the hopes of many who fought alongside them.

Some South Africans have benefited from the end of racism but many can be seen scratching in bins for food. They say they scratch for food and clothes that people throw away in order to feed and clothe their families. There is no stronger indictment against this democracy. In a land of plenty, millions eat very little daily.

Lekota and Shilowa made some of the right noises this weekend when they spoke about the need for respect, their commitment to family values and non-racial inclusivity. However they are a loose group of individuals that have yet to forge an identity. They will have to bear in mind that large numbers of the South African electorate has experienced Obama's direct and simple appeal. They also carry within themselves the memory of the grandness of Tambo and Mandela. Rudeness, insults and uncouth conduct will not win many votes. Constantly excluding sections of citizens from public life also does not bode well for democracy. Empty promises will not fall favourably on the voters ears. Both they and the ANC will have to come to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is coming to an end. What lies ahead is unknown. The only message that will make any impact is one of hope and change expressed through respectful personal conduct.

However weakly organised they might turn out to be, there is a great chance that South Africans may decide to give the new kids on the block their protest vote. The ANC will have to shift from sticking to positions and conduct that do not resonate with large numbers of South Africans. By calling them "the black DA" and "counter-revolutionary", they may further unleash the groundswell of disappointment and anger that is definitely simmering below the surface. If it chooses to use this unexpected turn of events to recognise fully the feelings that have emerged and respond to these creatively, it may yet undermine those who have broken away

Both the ANC and the new group will have to come to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is coming to an end. What lies ahead is unknown. The only message that will make any impact is one of hope and change practically demonstrated through respectful and thoughtful personal conduct. No one person has the answer to the difficulties confronting us. There is a desperate need for political space that will give a wide range of South Africans the opportunity to help solve the many challenges facing us.

Posted by Zubeida Jaffer at 11/06/2008 09:36:00 AM