It is unfair to paint a pessimistic picture

INLSA

Residents of Cape Towns Grassy Park protest along Strandfontein Road over the lack of service delivery. Gugu Ndima says the government has done everything necessary to shield its citizens from abject poverty. Picture: Brenton Geach

Gugu Ndima, spokeswoman for the Gauteng ANC caucus respond to Mamphela Ramphele’s article in a discussion started by business strategist Rorisang Tshabalala.

This is part of a series of conversations to stimulate an inter-generational conversation about issues affecting South Africa.

The notion of a rainbow nation is one that forged unity among South Africans to work towards a non-sexist, non-racist, democratic society. The reality, though, is that this bond has been transitory, as it was never a common goal.

The correct premise to move from when attempting to make sense of SA, is to acknowledge that we are not a homogenous society.

The disparities go beyond race, although they stem from it.

Class inequalities still perpetuate a master-servitude configuration in the economy.

It would be an injustice, Dr Ramphele, if I started this article without acknowledging the role of your generation in building a foundation for our generation.

Despite the horrendous challenges and obstacles systematically thrown at your generation, you managed to produce profound doctors, lecturers, astute writers, disciplined cadres, loyal citizens and patriotic South Africans.

With the minimal resources available to your generation, you produced a wealth of leaders who have made their mark, not just nationally but internationally.

Despite your ideological differences, in your generation you made space for substantial dialogue rich in political and academic content, and your mutual respect for each other is without question.

I don’t think it’s fair for you to apologise. I’m actually baffled as to why you apologise to our generation, given the fact that we still have an opportunity to change our conditions.

Given the political and economic constraints imposed on your generation, we should be applauding your commitment to our freedom. I salute your generation, our predecessors, and your ability to emancipate us from the shackles of draconian rule and an apartheid system that sought to undermine and ridicule the black man and reduce his place in the world to that of serving a master.

Today I am somebody, a young black woman with access to opportunities that you were denied because you chose to fight.

Your generation lost lives and sacrificed your youth to make me who I am today.

For that I remain eternally grateful and can only plead that your generation now plays an advisory role for us, so that we don’t find ourselves lost in the effervescence of crass materialism and greed, as you indicate, but worse, find ourselves handing back this freedom into the hands of the oppressors of yesteryear.

You raise pertinent questions and concerns in your letter responding to Rorisang Tshabalala.

I can fully agree with some of your concerns but others I believe should be brought into context within the current dispensation, but stemming from the involuntary inheritance of the apartheid system.

Your generation could not have prepared itself for the mammoth task of running a government; in fact, this responsibility was further exacerbated by the fact that we started on an uneven footing in the government of national unity.

As noble as this might have been, given its necessity at that time, it could only give rise to unintended future consequences at an administrative level.

Most comrades who were placed in cabinet or general government administration were fresh from exile, some from prison; there were others whose only experience was in organisation offices and work underground.

One can’t even comprehend the psychological shift for most of them and the daunting re- sponsibility of running a department or even just working in a formal environment.

Now we have to consider that the apartheid functionaries were very much in charge administratively and to a certain extent politically, due to the transitional government state.

This made the democratic government vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and corruption, bearing in mind that not everyone in the transitional government wanted the system to work or believed in its progression.

I had to point this out as people tend to draw very narrow conclusions that corruption is a new phenomenon created by the ANC-led government or that as we criticise this government we fail objectively to assess the government we inherited from apartheid.

The ANC’s document “Ready to Govern” was a brilliant conceptualisation of what we ideally seek to strive towards, but the fundamental test has always been the modus operandi and how to fine-tune the technical logistics of ensuring a functional state.

This wasn’t the only challenge for our government – you had an untransformed private sector, a judiciary that had an equally intransigent attitude towards the current dispensation and an economy that needed to stabilise to sustain fiscal prudence.

You paint quite a grim picture of the government and if I were blindly to succumb to your assertions I would be forced to concede to eternal pessimism about the future of this country, my country.

Your article made me assess whether we really are heading for the gutter. I drew the following conclusions:

l Our government has done everything necessary to shield our people from abject poverty.

Millions of South Africans have access to basic shelter, health care and a base from which to access the economy (formally and informally). We have witnessed sustained economic growth and lifted the SA economy from the trenches of apartheid capitalism.

Even when we were hit with the global recession, we managed to avert a greater crisis.

The government has been the first to acknowledge shortcomings and created a participatory tool through the National Planning Commission to find tangible solutions and views from fellow South Africans.

l Women, black and white, are now equal counterparts with men in the corporate world and in government. The government has been at the forefront in championing women’s emancipation. Unfortunately there is resistance in other sectors of society.

We should take cognisance of these strides and equally acknowledge that there is much to be done.

l On the issue of “competent” cadres which you raise quite sharply – the question should be, is it the inability of cadres deployed to execute their mandate or is it an issue of the untransformed state and the machinery we operate which at times has proven to be a hindrance in implementing our manifesto?

I would be naive to undermine glaring evidence in some instances where we have seen incompetence, especially at local government level. The auditor-general has even raised this matter. However, let’s acknowledge the improvement in the lives of our people where it has taken place.

Another positive step is the proactive approach taken by the ANC and the government to ensure that there is adequate monitoring and evaluation of all spheres of government. I can’t be part of a disgruntled generation that betrays all your efforts and commitment towards realising the full emancipation of our people.

Yes, the government has its shortcomings, but my aim is to learn from it and constructively critique it and take lessons in shaping the society that we all envisage.