Opening the COP26 in Glasgow in November, British monarch Queen Elizabeth II made the following profound remarks on leadership: “What leaders do for their people today is government and politics but what they do for the people of tomorrow, that is statesmanship.”
Considerable progress has been made since 1994: access to housing, water and sanitation, electricity, education and healthcare has improved significantly for much of the population.
Notwithstanding the undeniable achievements of the democratic project, there are still stubborn facts about the failures of our policies as seen in the quadruple challenges of unemployment, inequality, poverty and endemic corruption.
This is a powder keg that is starting to explode. Case in point is the July social unrest and daily community protests on our streets. When this explosion reaches full throttle, none of us will be spared. Consequently, a clear burning platform has been created to change the course of our politics and government in SA for all our sakes.
Since 2009, the electorate has steadily signalled its disapproval of one-party dominance in SA, clearly fed up with arrogance of power and impunity. This signal has not been clearer and more visible than in the 2021 local government elections where the ruling party took a thorough beating, declining sharply and losing absolute majority in more metros when compared to 2016.
The official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), did not shoot the lights out either. It also declined considerably in numbers and suffered significantly more hung councils in their backyard of the Western Cape this time around. Both those who voted and the historical number of those who didn’t say the same thing: they reject the current political system.
They are demand a change that will improve their material conditions.
More importantly, by having more hung councils and metros which can only be run through coalitions, the electorate is saying 'we want you to work and govern together'. They want the sum of the best from each of the parties to help move SA forward in a significant way. The question is, are our leaders listening to these unmissable messages?
SA in not dissimilar to most modern democracies. It has an extreme right and leftist grouping as well as the centrists, leaning to the right or to the left. Forget the colourfulness of our politics, all the parties can be grouped in these categories.
I’m not a fan of the concept of coalitions as it is prone to expediency to grab power. I prefer co-governance, a better planned arrangement based on shared values and obligation to take the country forward. In most, if not all the metros and councils, the ANC and the DA are the two biggest parties but for selfish contestation for power, they reach out to others but never to each other.
This is unfortunate and misaligned to the will of the people, causing the crisis of governance as seen in the metros of Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Johannesburg. The truth is that the ANC and the DA are not miles apart in values. They both embrace nonracialism albeit in different shades; they believe in constitutional democracy and the rule of law in general.
Policies is where stark differences may show but still there are many common policies outlined in the manifestos of these two parties. The best political path for SA that can lead to stability, shared prosperity and material improvements in the quality of lives of the people is the co-governance between the ANC and the DA at all levels of government. They are both centrist, with the DA on the right and the ANC on the left.
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and DA leader John Steenhuisen hold the key to change the politics and form of government the electorate asks for. Of course it will take hard convincing of their fellow leaders and constituencies in the same vein that Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk had to contend with, but it can be done.
There is no sensible citizen in our country, across the social strata, who shouldn’t be worried about the future of SA. The clock is ticking and we are not far from the calamity we witness in Zimbabwe today.
I call on Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen to hold a one-on-one conference to kick-start the process of negotiations between the two biggest political parties entrusted by our people to govern. There should be no holy cows and no stone left unturned, including hot political topics like the right economic growth path to take, governance, crime, labour laws, race relations, affirmative action, de-racialisation and decolonisation of the economy, inequality as well as the investment boycott by the private sector.
The inclusion of all other parties in the process, though ideal, will not work due to the overwhelmingly stark differences in values and policies. It will only produce chaos and stalemate. In consideration of regional or local footprint, as well as common good, parties like IFP, UDM, Action SA and ACDP can be invited to join the fray. Do not waste time on the extremists.
Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen must rise above the politics of the moment and achieve true statesmanship. It’s not about your political fortunes or that of your parties, but the country. History is beckoning.
Kid Nkantsu is the director of a Johannesburg-based multinational company. He writes in his personal capacity.
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