By Twelopele Makoe
THIS past Tuesday, the Institute for African Alternatives hosted a lively colloquium titled Democracy Can Only Work if Parliament Works: South Africa After Zondo.
The colloquium had a plethora of attendees from all over the globe and was panelled by Former President Kgalema Motlanthe, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and Tessa Dooms, the director of political reform group Rivonia Circle.
The event befittingly took place in our legislative capital, Cape Town. It focused on the role of the Constitution, Parliament and political parties in the South African political landscape.
The open discussion interrogated the various ways in which our political sector functions in our society. It further analysed the ways in which citizens are directly affected by the political arena, as well as the ways in which citizens hold the authority to shape what takes place in the political arena.
Additionally, the discussion unpacked the role and efficacy of Parliament, its members and the various governmental roles in our society. It incorporated a critical analysis of the Zondo Commission ‒ the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector ‒ which was traced to 2018.
Panelling the discussion, Chief Justice Zondo highlighted the importance of Parliament in impeding fraudulence and corruption, particularly within the public sector.
The Zondo Commission was especially pivotal in the South African context, where corruption and palm-greasing is rife, particularly at the top levels of government.
At the time of its initiation, allegations of corruption against the government of the prior to the current administration were rampant. Although the findings of the Zondo Commission led to the recovering of R2 million, a total of R57 billion essentially vanished.
The R57bn was not only a perfect opportunity to address our various societal issues effectively and decisively, but to implement permanent infrastructure, efficient health-care systems, and allocate resources to development of our country.
This was an egregious time for the ruling party, the ANC, as the nation had been – and continues to be ‒ riddled with poor infrastructure, dilapidated health systems, food insecurity, inadequate public educational systems, and inaccessible institutions, to name a few.
The squandering of billions of rand was a clear eye-opener to the depths of criminality and misconduct in our body politic.
Through every ANC administration, our societal challenges sadly continue to pile up. According to Statista, in the past year, approximately 34% of the overall number of common assault cases reportsed were domestic violence-related.
Only two months ago, South African Crime Statistics reported a murder rate of 6 228 over a mere two months. This is a staggering rate of 68 murders a day.
Poverty ravages more than half our population. A third of all citizens are unemployed, and the literacy rate has plummeted to 4.4 million adults and affects 81% of 10-year-old schoolchildren.
To a greater extent, this is compounded by poor government service delivery, an overburdened public health system and ineffectual education system, among others.
All of these issues result in disempowerment and inaccessibility to systems and structures that are pertinent to one’s upliftment and actualisation as an effective member of society. South Africa is at a critical time, particularly with the upcoming 2024 elections.
In fact, November 18, this weekend, marks the official opening of the voter registration stations by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
It will be important, now more than ever, to engage citizens on the processes and mandates of the electoral candidates in the upcoming elections.
In my previous articles, I have written about the importance of public discourse in the transformation of a society. This colloquium facilitated a pertinent public discourse on the factors that led to the Zondo Commission, as well as the role of the Parliament in hindering rampant corruption in our government sector.
This further led to the emphasis on the role of parliamentarians in the upkeep and betterment of our democracy.
Ultimately, the challenges and experiences of the public should be reflected in the agenda of Parliament and political parties. Similarly, political parties are representatives of the people, and are voted in by the public.
The role of those in Parliament is to address the challenges of the public and to uphold the Constitution. Democracy necessitates that power is given to representatives who are elected by the people and represent the people.
We cannot expect the betterment of our society when there is no engagement with the people on the unique challenges that they contend with.
There is a clear structural misinterpretation within the governance of our nation, one that seemingly assumes that our democracy is run by the people in power. As Tessa Dooms accurately asserted, “democracy should allow the people to govern, but in our context it’s allowed the Parliament to govern”.
This grave misconception is one that leads to disempowerment and misinformation, particularly pertaining to politics.
However, as former president Motlanthe candidly reiterated: “The Constitution of the republic trumps the constitution of the party.”
At the very core of our democracy,is the valuation of the people. This promotes the transformation of our society in accordance with the needs of our people.
It is, in fact, the citizens that promote democracy, and that shape the laws, principles and governance of their society. It is vital that we remember this fact as we embark on the road to the 2024 elections.
We need to ensure that participant involvement and public discourse takes precedence in our society, in order to make our collective voices heard.
We, as the people, need to shape and assert our vision for our society. This can only be done by promoting collaboration, conversation and co-operation across our multicultural, multilingual society.
As a nation, we tend to undervalue our role in the political sector of our society. It is surely up to us, as citizens, civil society organisations and activists to mobilise our society and to ensure that our needs are being met by those who demand our votes.
It is the onus of the society to share information and resources. Many do not engage with politics because they do not know who their local representatives are, they do not know that there are interfaces and structures of communication with which to engage.
Without the knowledge of these systems, we cannot hold anyone accountable for their failures.
Ultimately, this democracy was built upon the vehement endeavours and triumphs of past and present generations. This democracy was intentionally shaped by those who fought against systemic subjugation.
The sentiments of collaboration, reciprocity and overall “Ubuntu/Botho” are central to the core meaning of democracy. It is pertinent that we, as the people, engage our democracy and political landscape with the meticulous and painstaking effort that it deserves.
We need to ensure that sentiments of the Constitution align with the realities of our society.
We have the inherent ability to shape our Constitution, our institutions and our society in accordance with our unique societal needs. We need to be fearless in interrogating the individuals that are running for parties and Parliament seats, their histories and values, their knowledge and expertise, and how they will contribute to the advancement of the South African people.
We need to be passionate in sharing ideas, collaborating, and trusting that the citizens know the country, they know their challenges and they have the power to enact meaningful change.
As we begin the countdown to the 2024 polls, I urge every single citizen to stay well informed about the present context, and to consider the future of this nation ‒ not only in a decade, but for the next generations.
The decisions we make now will impact us in the time to come. As Julius Nyerere accurately once said: “You cannot develop people, you must allow people to develop themselves.”
Tswelopele Makoe is a Gender Activist. She is also an Andrew W Mellon scholar, pursuing an MA Ethics at UWC, and affiliated with the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice. The views expressed are her own.