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It comes with great sadness and distaste to realize that our institution(s) have become a platform for releasing personal frustrations and settling old scores. The behavior of our politicians in parliament has shown a worrying sign of decaying and degenerating institutions, which demonstrates that our “democracy” is far from being consolidated. Our parliamentarians and politicians have displayed a lack of decorum, respect, etiquette and courtesy for our respective institutions. That is a sign of a country at war with itself. It’s a sign that shows a country in a process of self-destruction (Karl Marx’s Dialectical Materialism). State institution ought to be strong as they are the pillar of our democracy; an attack on one opens a floodgate for the attack on others. One may even argue that maybe what is happening to our parliament is a necessary stage in the development of South African politics but one will have to be wary of the feud that is developing within that institution.
The countless point of orders, insolence and disregard for the rules of parliament is a serious issue that requires immediate attention. A lay person might think that it’s a passing phase but to an observant individual the signs of a deteriorating institution(s) are evident. Firstly you get haphazard attempts at discrediting the office of the public protector; secondly, the NPA is filled with political meddling; thirdly, parliament is ineffectual and the constitution fails to protect its institutions and itself. The governing party fails to separate State, Government and Party. The office of the public protector is a state institution, parliament is a branch of government and the African National Congress is the party in government. Thus issues of parliament, the executive and the judiciary are independent but interrelated under the doctrine of separation of powers. The role of parliament especially is to keep the executive accountable, but I do not get how it works in our parliament, where the speaker has conflicting interests (i.e. straddling party and parliament) and has failed to display impartiality and fairness in her rulings. Nonetheless, the most worrying is the fact that a lot is let to slide in our parliament without scrutiny. The role of the speaker is to make sure that the executive is accountable, and evasive and vacuous answers to serious question are not brushed off in a condescending manner with disregard for the South African Citizenry. For parliament to be truly independent and the speaker to be impartial, the speaker ought to be unaffiliated to any political party amid other things. The line should not be blurred between party and government, that is to say no one should speak on behalf of the president without prior authorization. Only the president and his/her spin-doctor ought to have authority on issues affecting the president on his capacity as the first citizen.
On the conduct of the EFF
The conduct of the Economic Freedom Fights in parliament is by far worse than Anarchy or lawlessness, the only fitting comparison is that of Hobbesian State of Nature. However, this conduct might be warranted due to the way parliament has been conducting its debates and operations. Maybe the EFF’s vindictive and diabolical behavior in parliament is a symptom of a bigger problem. The ANC might feel they are being frustrated and targeted; maybe the conduct of the EFF in parliament is a symbol of something else, the manifestation of the frustrations of the South African youth at a microcosmic scale. At the base of everything the youth in South Africa is sidelined, neglected treated like a nuisance by government. The socio-economic status of many youth has not change since the dawn of this new democratic dispensation. The thousands of highly qualified graduates are being denied the opportunity to share their knowledge, creativity and innovation because of the uneducated (yes I said it!) gatekeepers that are insecure about their jobs; if you are not educated at least be competent and accountable. This bunch of people has remained triumphant hitherto because the patronage system prevails in our government, and this has caused our country to remain stagnant and to development slowly, hence Nigeria has overtaken us as the biggest economy in Africa. Our politicians still do not realize the significance of a Weberian bureaucracy over politicized bureaucracy.
Socio-Economic Development
Our country has developed steadily since 1994, but the progress has not been structured, directed and rapid enough to accommodate the indigent. The only true attempt at bringing structure to our development path has been the introduction of the National Development Plan; whether there is political will in its implementation or it is mere policy symbolism remains to be witnessed. My bet is if North Korea were to mysteriously liberalize and open-up its economy for trade, North Korea even though far behind in terms of development (i.e. economically, infrastructural and institutionally) compared to South African, but it would in fact overtake us in a period of 20 years. This is based on the argument that South African like all other African country seems to be falling under Franz Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth’s” self-fulfilling prophecy, that African leaders (political elite) are a mere a replacement of their colonial masters. The institutionalization of corruption and the downplaying of accountability and responsibility reiterate Heyden’s ten points on common development constraints of African countries (Book: African Politics in Comparative Politics. Chapter: What do we Know?). South Africa is rich in natural resources and human capital but lacks the political will to meaningfully implement policy, and the ability to utilize the skills, talent and creativity of its youth.
