Nkosana Sibuyi

Posted by Nkosana Sibuyi: 30 November 2011

The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) delivered by Minister Trevor Manuel on 25 October 2006 reignited in its prelude, Sizwe Banzi is dead, a play written by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona. The story laments the ignominious manner under which black South African history was downplayed in the evolution of a democratic society. The chasm between the affluent and the desolate, oppressor and oppressed were extremely inexorable.

Despite all these paradoxical ambiguities, Manuel believed: “we still have dreams beyond the world we know, and we still have mountains to climb in pursuit of fairness, justice and opportunity. But we have broken open that desperate strongroom of dreams, we are now living out our hopes and aspirations, writing laws that put people first, building institutions that respect people’s rights, constructing houses, creating jobs, providing services. Though it is too early to claim victory in the battle against unemployment, we can already see how growth and development work together to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods, how the policy choices we made a decade ago are bearing fruit.”

Two years later, on 21 October 2008, when he delivered the MTBPS, Manuel, commenting on the economic weather report said: “The storm has arrived, it is fiercer than anyone could have imagined and its course cannot be predicted. We saw the signs early, and we took appropriate action. We can say to our people: Liduduma lidlule! The thunder will pass. Our course is firmly directed at our long-term growth and development challenges, and we will ride out this storm, whatever it takes, together, on the strength of a vision and a plan of action that we share.”

The two MTBPS speeches constitute a compendium of the concrete analysis of the concrete moment. In time, and to the superlative degree, the government has tried to straddle a balance within the context of populism, ideological precision and pragmatism of economics. The balance of power and evidence required of the state to appreciate the impact of long-term growth and sustainable developmental logic. Minister Trevor Manuel is not the proverbial Vicar of Bray. This, in essence, means that he is not the “satirical description of an individual fundamental changing his principles to remain in ecclesiastical office as external requirements change around him”.

The release of the National Development Plan Vision for 2030 on 11 November 2011, by National Planning Commission Minister Trevor Manuel’s National Planning Commission (NPC) poses concrete challenges. These are challenges of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It is unsurprising that the RDP, Gear, Asgi-SA, the New Growth Path and the Industrial Policy Action Plan suffered from the lacuna of these Achilles heels. Incontestably, the policy documents assumed the position of paper tigers thus suffering comeuppance and became rudderless in the national policy landscape. These central challenges, warts and all, provide the country with an opportunity to understand this zeitgeist.

The Diagnostic Overview of the NPC acknowledged that poverty and inequality are the central challenges retarding the growth and development of the country. The overview identified, through a process of scientific research, analysis and examination, nine key challenges facing the country whose resolution will emancipate the country from the ravages of poverty and inequality. These are corruption, crumbling infrastructure, too few jobs, exclusive planning, poor education, public service rutted, divided communities, resource intensive economy and massive disease burden. These are major problems. They must be resolved through both individual and collective intelligence.

To mitigate these challenges, the National Development Plan Vision for 2030 boldly proposes a gravitation away from the diagnostic of poverty and inequality to one based on the achievement of prosperity and equity. The plan is premised on the commitment to build a capable state, fight corruption, unite the nation, expand infrastructure, inclusive planning, quality education, job creation, quality healthcare and effective utilisation of resources.

Manuel has demonstrated his astuteness and sharp-wittedness as the erstwhile Minister of Finance. Equally he must also be commended for the substantive work done by the National Planning Commission. However, in a changing macrosocial environment, this high level recognition of the fundamental challenges, it is imperative that the solutions proposed must inspire the nation to a greater destiny and trajectory. The articulation of the challenges and implementation of the plan requires the requisite sophistry to understand that poverty and inequality are consequences not causes of the country’s lethargy. Appreciably, the NPC does not have the capability to realistically discern and grasp everything. The people centred nature of the process to enrich Vision 2030 should be anchored around the continuing search overcome contradictions. This is a task of all South Africans. It requires leadership, imagination, innovation, passion, dynamism, persistence, purpose and direction.

The release of the Vision has invited a momentous question: Is the NDP a paper tiger? The NDP does not provide a panacea to all the complex challenges facing the country. It is merely wetting our appetites. It has succeeded in dissecting the contests facing the nation. The distinguished book by Frank Furedi, Where have all the intellectuals gone? redirects people deficient in liberal culture whose interests are material and commonplace. In a chapter, Trivial Pursuits, he reflects on the sense of powerlessness in the face of uncertainty, identifies the complexities quite unashamedly:

“Disappointment with the promise of the Enlightenment has diminished public confidence in society’s ability to know, understand and ultimately control the future. The view that we live in a world that is so complex as to render meaningless the claim to know is systematically promoted by radical critics of modernity. Critics are also worried that the advance of knowledge itself creates problems, because it threatens to encourage activity and behaviour whose consequences cannot be known in advance”

It speaks of the heightening level of uncertainty about the future. Drawing parallels between the NDP and Furedi’s observation on society’s ability to know, understand and ultimately control the future, a number of questions become edifying: In what way does that NDP encourage the development paradigm? What, if any, is the development logic of the NDP? How far deep is the culture of listening and agreeing to be questioned encouraged and embraced in this context? What lessons could be drawn from countries such the Ireland, Ghana and Uganda? It is important to appreciate the progress and lack of that has been registered seventeen years into democracy in improving the human condition. The NDP notes that “we have set out key proposals to unlock opportunities, tackle major problems and put South Africa on the right path for building a state that is capable of promoting the key national objectives of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality”

This recognition is critical for four catalytic proposals on the organisation and capacity of the state.

Firstly, the role of the state in fostering active citizenship premised on strengthening the capacity of the state to ensure that transparency, honesty and compassion must assume an unprecedented significance to build partnerships with society for equitable development.

This brings us to the second standpoint around the construction of the Delivery State that will pride itself with a culture that has become institutionalised at the highest level of policy making, development, thrift implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This will assist as the Ghana National Development Plan contends, in “tracking progress of policy implementation and effectiveness, as well as bottlenecks associated with the implementation of the strategies for early resolution”

The third proposal arising from the current ideological approach myth based on the hybrid nature of the welfare and perceived commitment to construct a democratic developmental South African state must be debunked. The approach to development must be grounded in the acknowledgement and appreciation of the dimensional circumstances and conditions under which people live as a way of constructing a meaningful world and constructing reality.

The last perspective proceeds from the premise that development is about people. The United Nations Development Programme (2010) introduced three basic ideas intended to guide the way to future human development that underline the need to recognize the basic principles that can inform development strategies and policies in different settings. The basic ideas are: Think of principles first, Take context seriously and Shift global policies. The central message of the UNDP basic ideas is that people are the real wealth of the nation. A delivery and developmental state is a people-centred and people-driven form of governance, which seeks to improve both the historical and material conditions of the people. In a sense, development is fundamentally and primarily about people.

The Minister of Finance in Ireland, Mr Brian Cowen writing on the National Development Plan said it is a roadmap for sustainable economic expansion and will deliver a better quality of life for all. Arising from the complex and sophisticated challenges South Africa faces, it is farsighted to ask whether the country can boldly proclaim that Liduduma lidlule! The thunder will pass. Will the thunder ever pass? Yes and No. It is too early to claim easy victories in the battle against unemployment, poverty and inequality. The struggle to close the yawning chasm between the affluent and the desolate can only be realised and achieved when development revolves around people and their contribution.

REFERENCES

1. National Planning Commission, Republic of South Africa. National Development Plan Vision for 2030, 11 November 2011
2. National Planning Commission, Republic of South Africa. Diagnostic Overview. June 2011
3. Frank Furedi. Where have all the intellectuals gone? Including a reply to Furedi’s critics?
4. Minister Trevor Manuel. The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). 25 October 2006
5. Minister Trevor Manuel. The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). 21 October 2008
6. Ireland National Development Plan 2007-2013. Transforming Ireland. A Better Quality of Life for All. Dublin
7. National Planning Commission. Republic of Ghana. Medium Term National Development Policy Framework: Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA), 2010-2013
8. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Report 2010. 20th Anniversary Edition: The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Posted by Nkosana Sibuyi: 19 November 2011

There are certain biblical verses that have remained relevant, appropriate and concrete to the material conditions under which humankind live. For instance, Luke 18:25, Mark 10:25 and Matthew 19:24 communicate about the limitations of the rich in terms of entrance into the kingdom of God. In addition, the verses postulate that everyone who jettisoned terrestrial demeanour “will receive hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Furthermore, the aforementioned verses intimate that Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

The disciples or followers of Jesus Christ were at pains to comprehend the message and they posed the fundamental question: “Who then can be saved?” as expressed in Luke 18:26. Married to this in Luke 18:27, Jesus replied, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” In essence, what these messages communicate is that God has the power, will, capacity, Spirit and capability to save humankind from evil and that the rich must be willing to put God before their immediate and individual possessions or interests.

It could be argued and contested that the African National Congress (ANC) document, Through the eye of a needle? Choosing the best cadres to lead transformation, was inspired by the verses are in Mark 10:25, Matthew 19:24 and Luke 18:25. This extraordinary document outlines the challenges faced at this stage, the kind of ANC required to meet defining challenges, principles of organisational democracy, constitutional guidelines for elections, broad requirements of leadership, the selection process, the base of leadership, why the issues should be interrogated and examined, contradictions that have played themselves out in the new terrain, how members must take charge and provide strategic leadership.

The eye of a needle, or a needle's eye, as captured in the biblical verses Luke 18:25, Mark 10:25 and Matthew 19:24 and thus finding expression in the above ANC document makes it patently clear that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Furthermore, the ANC document stipulates that the “guidelines indicate the broad parameters within which every member of the ANC should exercise his/her right to shape the leadership collectives of the movement and ensure that it meets its historical mandate. In one sense they make it difficult for individuals to ascend to positions of leadership in the organisation.”

Owing to the complex challenges facing the ANC in the current conjuncture, in what way can the organisation reclaim its glorious past as the national liberation movement (NLM)? To what degree can the principles and values of the NLM and that of the ruling party be harmonised in a rapidly changing unpredictable political landscape? How resilient is the ANC in the current conjuncture a year before the celebration of the centenary? Will be the ANC still be there in the next 100 years? How will the current contradictions be managed in a manner that will affirm the gargantuan and colossal stature in the public mind and consciousness in South Africa, Africa, Diaspora and the world? Why does victimhood continue to win public sympathy?

A few cases of Mr Milton Morema, Mr John Block, Mr Tony Yengeni, President Jacob Zuma and recently Mr Julius Malema concretely confirm that victimhood spawned and won public sympathy in the public imagination. Out of such victimhood, emerged leaders whose unique selling point was premised on the belief that state apparatus are or were used to block them from ascending onto higher positions of leadership. In the process, it has become fashionable for people to project themselves as victims, with the hope that public sympathy will deliver them from evil. This is a strategic matter that requires continuing interrogation, examination and reflection. There are immense lessons that could be drawn from this experience.

Victimhood, based on a changing paradigm, the balance of evidence and power has created a possibility for people impelled onto higher positions of power. It could be argued that their (re)election onto positions of power was not, at all times, guided by the basic principles, values and norms inherent in the Through the eye of a needle document, which contends that: “To become an ANC leader is not an entitlement. It should not be an easy process attached merely to status. It should be informed first and foremost by the desire and commitment to serve the people, and a track record appreciated by ANC members and communities alike. Those in leadership positions should unite and guide the movement to be at the head of the process of change. They should lead the movement in its mission to organise and inspire the masses to be their own liberators. They should lead the task of governance with diligence. And, together, they should reflect continuity of a revolutionary tradition and renewal which sustains the movement in the long-term.”

Taken further, out of victimhood and public sympathy, President Jacob Zuma was elected to lead the ANC and by extension the country. When Mr Zuma was relieved of his duties as the Deputy President of the country on 14 June 2005, it gave him the oxygen to reinvent himself in the political landscape. The National General Council in 2005, National Policy Conference in 2007 and his court appearances were effectively used as the rostrum from which to project Mr Zuma as a victim of circumstances. The victimhood strategy succeeded. Consequently, the credible and prestige of the ANC was compromised contrary to the values and principles inherent in Through the eye of a needle document.

The bane of that strategy is that the immediate and loathsome interests trumped up logic, discipline, rationality and reason thus giving birth to the ANC. To recapitulate, his ascension to power was hailed as a concrete expression of a democratic process. In the same vein, it would be recalled that Mr Zuma, upon his election as the President of the country, intimated that he will follow former President Zuma’s footsteps of serving only one term as the President of the country. However, recent political developments, analysis of the balance of forces and power suggest that he is preparing himself for re-election at Mangaung on the occasion of the national conference of the ANC in December 2012.

The fluidity of change is patently clear that Mangaung will be, in and of itself, fundamentally different from Polokwane. The art and science of political strategy and management for Mangaung will afford the ANC a unique opportunity to regain any perceived or real lost ground in her centenary. What Mr Zuma should acknowledge, recognise and appreciate is that there are possibilities for him to affirm the permanence and the wisdom of practice through integrity, credibility, legitimacy, decorum and respect. Should he decide not to contest for the second term as the President of the ANC, he will emerge as one of the leaders who is not captured by the immediate and individual interests. History will absolve him. Mr Zuma has an obligation to preside over or hand over a united ANC at its anniversary. Consciously, that political act will gainsay the perceptions that he is driven by and grasped the essence of power. He will be regarded as a stalwart and disciplined cadre who has passed through the eye of a needle!

Professor Wole Soyinka, in his address, “A changing mask of fear” delivered as part of the Reith Lectures in March 2004 warned on the Concept of the Chosen because “choice remains the bedrock of the democratic process, and if people have made a choice that eliminates all further necessity for the ritual rounds of choosing, well… that argument appears to have reached its terminal point. History has been fulfilled. The perennial problem with that proposition of course is that it denies the dynamic nature of human society, and preaches that the purely fortuitous can substitute, at any time, for the eternal and immutable. Such a position opens the way for the triumph of a social order that is based on the concept of the Chosen-a mockery of the principle of choice”

As an aside, the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and the country at large must have learnt from the Zuma victimhood experience, its success, prospects, limitations and implications on the national polity and discourse. It is appropriate, relevant and understandable to focus on the centrality of exorcising the virus of victimhood in South Africa’s body politic. At a tactical level, the ANCYL will be mobilised to rebel against Mr Zuma and the senior leadership of the ANC. The ANCYL in KZN may not necessarily support the rebellion given the recent political treatment (disbandment) meted out to then by the ANCYL national leadership. Mr Zuma may be accused of using state resources to malign, trivialise, sideline and marginalise his political nemesis. The context and content of what happened on 14 June 2005 and 10 November 2011 are fundamentally different. What is desirable, practical and possible in addressing these contradictions is for Mr Zuma to desist from putting his ring in the hat for Mangaung.

The ANCYL has indicated that it will appeal against the conviction or sentence and said that “There can be no shortcuts, such as high-handed disciplinary banishments, to resolve the real political problems. 2012 should mark an unprecedented overview and rebirth of our ANC to race the challenges of this and future generations of South Africa and the African continent as a whole”.

In essence, the appeal may drag on until the Policy Conference and National Conference at Mangaung. In this context, perhaps time has ripened to deconstruct the notion of the Policy Conference of the ANC. There are always surprises at the policy conference and in the current context this may include but not limited to the nationalisation debate and expropriation of land. Since the ANC is a ruling party at this stage, what possibilities are there to transform the Policy Conference into an Implementation Conference?

Professor Njabulo Smakahle Ndebele recounts in Redefining Relevance thus: “There must be an accompanying change of discourse from the rhetoric of oppression to that of process and exploration. This would imply open-endedness in the use of language, a search for originality of expression and a sensitivity to dialogue”

Of course, the ANC must recognise the manipulative intent of the virus of victimhood or “victims of false hopes” leading into a failure to understand the phenomena of form and content, form and formlessness, knowledge and ignorance, wealth and poverty, knowledge and ignorance that do not match public and popular expectations. For the ANC’s own unique needs, it is imperative to draw on the insights from the holy biblical verses alluded to in the prelude and the Through the Eye of a needle document. The document unapologetically concludes: “So, it may not exactly be through the eye of a needle. But we should strive all the time to ensure that our leaders are indeed made of sterner revolutionary stuff.”

REFERENCES

1. The Holy Bible
2. Prof Njabulo Ndebele. 1991. Redefining Relevance. Rediscovery of the Ordinary. Essays on South African Literature and Culture.
3. Prof Wole Soyinka. 2004. Climate of Fear. Royal Institute of Science. March 2004
4. Umrabulo Number 11, June-July 2001. Through the eye of a needle? Choosing the best cadres to lead transformation. An ANC National Working Committee discussion document
5. ANC Youth League Special National Executive Committee statement on the outcomes of the ANC National Disciplinary Committee. 16 November 2011