wiseMusings

Land reform has been a contentious issue in South Africa, and the ANC leaped to center stage when it announced plans to bring about expropriation of land without compensation. Regardless of where you stand on this debate, you must ask yourself why it took almost a quarter of a century for a political party with its fingers on the pulse to realise that land reform was a priority (some say it isn’t, but we won’t talk about them today).

Land reform – which is a much broader concept than the loaded EWC – is a viable option to improve economic prospects, only if the ANC has a solid plan to bring it about, so it can be judged on its own merits. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s comments on EWC have been more about what it isn’t and what it will not do than what it is. That’s dangerous – firstly, because it showcases the decision to expropriate land as utter politicking over other parties and secondly, because the impending Constitutional amendments can be used in nefarious means by non-Ramaphosa factions within the ANC. The sooner the ANC can lay out whether the land up for grabs is only for agricultural use (as implied in the manifesto) or the outskirts of cities, where informal settlements abound, will also see a change – the better.

Another interesting tidbit is the paradox between celebrating the Fourth Industrial Revolution (the term of 2019) and wanting to prioritize agriculture, mining and manufacturing as key fields for job creation. It showcases the real problem in South Africa – it is not a shortage of labour, but a shortage of SKILLED labour that hampers our progress. The agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors might be able to absorb unskilled labour, for now. But if their strand of technological innovation reaches its tentacles far enough, there will be little need for manual farm workers, miners or stock packers. Education is the only thing that will give them a competitive edge.

* Advance social transformation

Speaking of education, the ANC has solid intentions on how to better improve the education of children – including a mandatory two years of early childhood development. They would be best served, though, to realise that the problem of school-going learners is not only their failure to comprehend concepts, but the failure of their teachers to effectively teach. I’d like to see a greater focus on teaching teachers how to teach – especially in no-fee schools, which apparently constitute 90% of all public schooling, and which is a hotbed of poor education. The manifesto did point this out, thankfully, and also did a whole lot more. In fact, the ANC talked the walk on education in a way that almost gives me hope. There’s an entire chapter that must be devoted to TVET colleges, but.. not today.

* build safer communities

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has a bad reputation. They are seen as lazy, unmotivated loafers who laugh at rape survivors and eat more than they chase criminals. When such a bastion of our society is seen in this way, high crime rates come as no surprise.

The SAPS needs to be given sensitization training en masse. Thousands of rape and domestic abuse victims fear going to the police to lay charges, because of their infamous attitude towards these people, particularly if those people are members of the LGBTI community. That in itself – combined with an actual sea change in the behaviours of the police – could lead to more reports of gender-based violence, and more perpetrators being brought to justice.

Also, there needs to be greater oversight on the police, ensuring that every police officer, from warrant officer to colonel, consistently does their job to the best of their abilities. Fines and even suspensions should be more commonplace, especially because the police are a law unto themselves. The police cannot police the police.

* fight corruption and promote integrity

It is funny how the ANC speaks about corruption and state capture as being things that have haunted South Africa, but never sharing with us who exactly was responsible for corruption and state capture.
It is as if another party entrenched these things, and now the ANC has come to save the day.
Their weird disjointed acknowledgement of the crime, but no acknowledgement of any perpetrators (least of all the ANC itself) is important when going through this section of the ANC manifesto, because here, talk is cheap. The ANC will either continue to charm us with wording, or they’ll act.

* strengthen governance and public institutions

It was here where I realised the main flaw (at least, for this writer) with the entire document. The Constitution was sparsely mentioned. Instead, earlier in the manifesto, the Freedom Charter was exalted. Not to piss in the Freedom Charter’s tea or anything, but the Freedom Charter is not currently the highest law in our land. The Constitution is. And so every intention of the ANC under this section should be directly aligned to the Constitution and the constitutional framework. The absence of such a distinction coloured my perception of this section, I am afraid.
There were some nice lines about strengthening the oversight role of Parliament and spatial inequalities, but for the most part, it was not far off from anything that has been said before by the ANC. Protecting the judiciary from state intervention is par for the course. So too is working with Contralesa to give the chiefs whatever they want when they throw tantru..

Oh never mind.

* build national unity and embrace our diversity

This was standard ANC non-racialism speak, which was crucial in 1994, but less so now. The credentials of the ANC as a “catch-all” party are without doubt. Historically, the ANC has been a progressive party (which is probably why “promote the study of history in schools” is here, and not under the education section). In recent years, though, the ANC has brought out terms such as “clever blacks” and “White Monopoly Capital” to our cultural lexicon. The ANC Women’s League is in shambles. Gender quotas are heralded as an all- progressive act rather than a failure to organically develop capable woman leaders within the ANC. But yet, despite all this, this is the section I am most sure that the ANC can fulfill. Discrimination within our society will unfortunately be a constant. But Cyril Ramaphosa, having a good head on his shoulders, will ensure the ANC doesn’t lead or follow suit.

* South Africa, Africa and the world

South Africa has one of the biggest economies in Africa. It holds significant influence within the continent, and in many ways, is the Crown Jewel of African development. On the flip side, it has very sketchy relations with other African states due to its self-appointed status as leader. The speech in this section showed an interest to assume a lead-from-the-back position which is very interesting but typical of Ramaphosa’s character.
Any African country should be proud to have South Africa as an ally. Its resources, networks and status as a middle power necessitate its senior role in the African pecking order. That confidence should underline South Africa’s relationship with countries which are less developed, such as Zimbabwe and countries which are more economically developed, such as the almighty China.

South Africa “punches well above its weight”, as Malusi Gigaba once noted. He was right. South Africa is not just Mandela Land. It is also a land of opportunity. The more we lean into that on the world stage, the sooner we get to “a better life for all.”