Bonginkosi Masiwa looks at a year of landmark political and governance developments at home and abroad

What a year it’s been. Firstly, at home, who would have thought that the arms deal saga would impact so heavily on political events in South Africa? The ripple effects of the saga have been truly historic – the saga has even seen the ‘ANC launch its own opposition!’

This cannot be a bad thing in a year that has had its share of historic moments, including the United States of America electing its first black president – something many people would never have deemed possible in their lifetime.

In South Africa, Professor Fatima Meer has summed it up: "A healthy democracy needs an effective opposition ... Whether the Congress of the People (COPE) will be that is yet to be seen".

Yet, as we brace ourselves for general elections in 2009, the ANC is the not the only political liberation movement that gave birth to a new party led by dissidents. The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) party recently saw the launch of a splinter faction in Bloemfontein, called the Pan Africanist Movement (PAM).

The year also saw South Africa get new provincial Premiers and a new President before the incumbent’s term expired. The ripple effects of the arms deal can be seen in the implications of the axing of former President Thabo Mbeki. Very few people could have predicted the string of high-ranking resignations by those close to the Mbeki camp. The resignations momentarily threatened national stability, leaving the country uncertain and vulnerable but the ANC moved quickly to dispel any market jitters.

Although the ruling party arrogantly believes it will last forever, the troubles within the ANC are now quite apparent. After the formation of the breakaway party, there has been utter panic and paranoia which have found expression in a surge in political intolerance and threats to unleash violence on opponents. Amid his former comrades’ warning that they were beginning to see the "signs of what's going on in other African countries" and emphasising the right to freedom of association, the ANC president, Jacob Zuma, has pleaded with his supporters not to disrupt Congress of the People (COPE) activities.

However, no disciplinary action seems to have been taken against unruly members of the ANC who went to the extent of chanting "kill Lekota" at a COPE meeting in Gauteng. There have also been statements stating a preparedness to kill ‘for Zuma.’ Analysts have predicted that it is not going to be easy for the ANC President to keep Malema in check as he owed his political fortunes at Polokwane to Malema’s ‘militancy.’ Future tolerance levels are not looking very good as long as the alliance leaders of COSATU and the SACP fail to denounce publicly hooliganism and violence against anyone who flouts political orthodoxy. 

On other fronts, more intolerance was displayed in the form of despicable xenophobic attacks that occurred nationwide in mid-2008, leaving tens of foreign nationals dead and thousands displaced. 

The judiciary has not been spared the political fallout. Its integrity and independence has been compromised by claims by Constitutional Court judges that Judge President Hlophe tried to influence other Judges to pass judgment in favour of ANC president Jacob Zuma in his corruption case.  The noble concept of the separation of powers between all arms of government must not only be pledged but be seen to be in effect if indeed our democracy is to remain intact. Furthermore, the police, intelligence and defence departments must clearly distance themselves from politics to avoid the creation of an all too powerful state and dictatorship.

At least all parties running for political office have agreed that an independent media is also one of the cornerstones of a true democracy. There were disturbing news reports after Polokwane, which suggested that the ANC in Parliament wanted to amend the Broadcasting Act to give Parliament the power to hire and fire the SABC Board during the course of the year. There is no doubt that such a move would compromise the independence of the media as the board will have to ‘toe the party line or be fired’.

The year will also be remembered for the demise of the Scorpions and their incorporation into the SAPS. The opposition parties and private individuals unsuccessfully tried to halt the parliamentary process arguing that should the bill be passed the scorpions would lose their sting. What good would a scorpion be without a sting?

Service delivery protests continued unabated during 2008. A resident in Doorns was killed and eight were injured during service delivery protests. Backlogs in services and housing, unemployment and local economic development still need to be prioritised if social unrest is to be averted. According to Benjy Mautjane, a study carried out by IDASA found that "elected representatives must be more transparent about decision-making processes – including providing proper feedback to ward committees, communities and citizens who have complaints or proposals".

A few fresh ideas have been ignited by the Congress of the People (COPE) arguing that South Africa's president, its provincial premiers and its mayors should be voted in by the electorate and not appointed by a party hierarchy. The new opposition has stated that they want to amend the electoral system in such a way that the power is put in the hands of the people. They have rightly pointed out that appointment to high political or administrative offices must not be based on nepotism and party loyalty but merit. Civil society would like to continue to see a strong IEC, one which is not bullied into holding early elections for whatever reason.

At the local government level, a ‘ground-breaking judgment’ in Johannesburg declared that the prepaid water-meter system was unconstitutional and free basic water must be increased. The judge found that the municipality had “‘discriminatory approach’ to the provision of water”. Historically poor black areas were paying more for water than the historically rich white areas.

In our back yard, Zimbabwe took central stage in governance issues discussions under the SADC. Ex President Mbeki’s mediation efforts have managed to secure an expressed commitment to a settlement. However nothing has since come of the deal as Mugabe attempts to cling onto the ‘lions’ share’ of power. Meanwhile ordinary Zimbabweans starve and are contracting cholera while Mugabe continues to thumb his nose at world opinion.    

References
Sapa (18 November 2008) ‘No bodyguards for Terror’
Cape Argus (8 June 2008) Pearce, S ‘Observing xenophobia’
Daily News (17 November 2008) Davis, G ‘Will Malema cost ANC votes?
The Star (17 November 2008) Mkhwanazi, S Tau, P 'There's a deep, deep fear'
Sapa (16 November 2008) 'SA should elect president directly'
Sapa (November 2008) ‘ANC praised for launching own opposition’ 
AFP (9 October 2008) ‘New party 'not a massive threat to ANC'
Sapa (7 October 2008) ‘Minister warns against eroding of judicial integrity’

First published in the Transformer Vol. 14 No. 6 / Dec 2008 - Jan 2009