Identity politics and our national values
The eye-opening discussion between Helen Zille and Gwede Mantashe chaired by Justice Malala on his "Justice Factor" TV programme appears to have inspired two thoughtful contributions to the debate it sparked: "Mandela belongs to all" by Mamphela Ramphele and Marvin Meintjies' satirical "The idiocracy's indecision is final, finish and klaar".Zille expressed the hope that the country is entering an era of "issues and values based" politics meaning that, in time, voters will vote their hopes and aspirations rather than their fears and prejudices. Mantashe revealed his hegemonic tendencies when he claimed the ANC is the political home for everyone, and chided Zille for aligning the DA with the values of Nelson Mandela as a guiding light of the DA. He was also quick to distance the ANC from the racist utterances of Jimmy Manyi, the Black Management Forum (BMF) President who moonlights in the public administration, first as DG of Labour and now as the least communicative government spokesman ever. Deflecting the criticism in this way won't wash, as Manyi is supposed to implement the lawful policies of the government of the day. Less easy, and therefore unanswered, were the allegations of sexism (calling Zille a "madam" and Lindiwe Mazibuko "the madam's tea maker") and racism ("all whites are criminals") levelled against Julius Malema by Zille, not to mention the less-than-gracious-in-victory outburst of ANC Chair Nceba Faku in Port Elizabeth.
Identifying the values of Nelson Mandela, the first president of the new South Africa, is a good way to start unpacking this debate. His "do as you would be done by" statement, a core declaration of values, is framed in instructive terms:
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
If today's politicians were able to adopt this sentiment in their election campaigning there would be a lot more light and a lot less heat involved in the process of garnering the votes of the public. Instead the "identity politics" against which Dr Ramphele warns appear to be the main plank of the strategy of the tripartite alliance led by the ANC.
It has long been the case that South Africans vote their fears and prejudices. This is what kept the all white National Party in power for many years with the "rooi-en-swart gevaar" tactics that have now transmogrified into the ANC "witgevaar" slogans. Mainly used by the demagogues still accommodated in the "broad church" alliance, the new chants and slogans seek to marginalise and demonise minority groups such as those "Boere" who must be shot or killed, symbolically of course. These are the politics of the lowest common denominator in our society. These strategies are designed to keep voters in racial camps that lamentably remain, to put it mildly, suspicious of what "they" will do next.
It is perplexing, and idiotic as Mentjies suggests, that this outmoded form of thinking and campaigning to get voters to vote with their skins continue. The early nineties were spent in earnest debate aimed at transforming South Africa from a racist parliamentary sovereignty into a multi-party constitutional democracy in which the people would all be in a position to transcend the divisions of the past and live in harmony with each other in a new order characterised by peace, progress and prosperity. A new order facilitated by implementation of the Bill of Rights which the state is bound to respect and protect. The corrupting characteristics of power have apparently spoilt these aspirations. The people's struggle for freedom has been overtaken by elite infighting for power. Appeals to identity are de rigueur in this fraught process.
While the ANC is indeed a "broad church" that accommodates a wide range of views ranging from communist to capitalist, nationalist to unionist with a fair deal of social democratic thinking of the "progressives" that find themselves in the middle of this internal diversity, its rhetoric does not always match its actions. Some attribute this to the "theatre of the ANC" as rhetoric contrasts with the hard work of running a modern mixed economy prudently in hard times. SA remains a limping dominant party democracy.
The multi-party democracy under the rule of law, as envisaged in the national accord, is in disarray in these circumstances. The funding of political parties still goes unregulated 17 years into "free and fair" elections for all. Some funding is illegally obtained; all big parties jealously guard their secret sources of funding. This is not conducive to fair elections. Nor is there much commitment to a multi-party set up when it is claimed that the ANC is the only party for all, that it will rule "until Jesus comes" and that those who do not vote for it will be in trouble with their ancestors for breaking ranks.
The unanswered "why question" about putting "values politics" in place is that the Constitution should in theory, but does not in practice, serve as the blueprint for the values of all political parties. It is the product of the national accord: a state of the art Constitution that is the envy of the world. It encapsulates the values, principles and norms according to which our new order must be built, openly, accountably, responsively, non-racially and without sexism.
There is much in the values of the national democratic revolution (NDR), which guides the ANC, which is incompatible with the values of the Constitution. The ANC puts loyalty to the movement above the supremacy of the Constitution. It has little regard for the rule of law, preferring the rules made by party bosses. The checks and balances on the exercise of power that constitutionalism requires are regarded as an irritating fetter on the tyranny of the majority, which, according to the NDR, should be allowed to get its way irrespective of constitutional compliance. A judiciary and Chapter Nine institutions that function without fear, favour or prejudice are anathema to full cadre deployment under the NDR. The cadres seek control of all the levers of power in society. Their mission is the hegemony of the national democratic revolution in a one party state. Not for them a public service that is professional, ethical, unbiased, accountable to the people, fair and equitable - as required by the Constitution.
Our parliament is meant to exercise oversight powers over the executive and the public administration; instead the ANC uses it as a rubber stamp - for a whole raft of policies and legislation which the courts have overturned. The Bill of Rights requires respect for property, freedom of expression and access to information. The ANC is considering nationalisation of mines, property redistribution a la Mugabe, a media appeals tribunal and a secrecy bill of draconian proportions. Professor Kader Asmal's call for the scrapping of the NDR has been ignored.
In these circumstances it seems unlikely that the politics of values will take root any time soon. While Malema is given free rein to sing the lyrics he chooses, make the threats he makes, both in song and in speech, and generally behave as an ANC approved demagogue, there is little prospect of the nation rising above its troubled past to embrace the values of its current Constitution - those espoused by Nelson Mandela and the founders of the new order. It is only when sufficient South Africans want to rise above the misery, exacerbated inequality and continued oppression inherent in the effects of pursuing the NDR and instead assert their rightful constitutional claims to human rights that the politics of values will thrive. That day, in the light of the results of the municipal election, would appear to be some way off. The election will go down in history as "The Open Toilets War" in which most victims of open air toilets continued to vote with their skins, as Professor Jonathan Jansen, an abstainer, puts it, instead of for their dignity, equality and freedom. While the idiocracy, as Meintjies describes the current set up, persists the warnings of Ramphele against the temptations of deploying identity politics will sadly go unheeded.
Paul Hoffman SC
29 May 2011.
