Ruling party has simply lost sight of the ideals of our democracy, namely promotion of human dignity, equality and freedom, writes Mamphela Ramphele.
Johannesburg - The events of the past few weeks reflect growing tensions between a frustrated, though at times fearful, people and an increasingly unaccountable corrupt leadership in government and the governing party. The extent to which the ANC is prepared to go to defend indefensible actions and policy decisions is pushing citizens towards desperation and defiance.
The nub of the problem is that the ANC has lost sight of the ideals of our democracy: promotion of human dignity, equality and freedom.
It has taken its eye off the commitment to servant leadership and serving the citizens to build a prosperous society united in its diversity.
Watching the premier of the beautiful film, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, reminded me of how close we came to disaster in the early 1990s.
The dynamic was the same: an unaccountable corrupt government imposing its will on a frustrated, angry people.
The lessons from that period are that it takes leadership to pull back from the extreme reactions on both the left and right, and to hold the middle ground where most people tend to want to be.
Madiba’s greatest contribution to our country was his visionary leadership that enabled him to resist both the populists and the right-wingers and to draw the majority of the society to hold the centre with him.
This was not a miracle. It was inspirational leadership that was unafraid to make difficult decisions and move society from the known to the unknown.
There is a cruel irony that the party that purports to wear his mantle is failing to heed the lessons of his leadership approach in difficult times.
The disrespect with which the public was treated to protect President Jacob Zuma from accounting for the Waterkloof Guptagate scandal is now being repeated with the attack on the public protector about her report on Nkandla.
The integrity of the Nkandla report is under attack, first from the security cluster ministers’ extraordinary court action and threats of using the might of the law to prevent the Public Protector from proceeding without their input.
The ANC took the outrageous step of publicly challenging the public protector to release the report immediately and to refocus it on questions intended to detract from the central issue of President Zuma benefiting unfairly from the expenditure of more than R200 million of public money on his personal residence.
This attack is not only a violation of the constitutional independence of the Office of the Public Protector, but bears within it the seeds of undermining the very foundational values of our democracy of equality before the law and the rule of law.
President Zuma is not above the law and must account for his actions and provide evidence that he did not mislead Parliament in claiming that he personally funded the expenditure on the Nkandla upgrades.
While these high-profile cases are important, we dare not lose sight of the silent suffering of poor people who are also facing the might of an unaccountable, corrupt and incompetent government at local, provincial and national levels.
We have seen the violation of the rights of traders in the Johannesburg CBD in the name of cleaning up the city streets in the past two weeks. We have witnessed the growing impunity of corruption in the allocation of basic services to poor people, be it RDP housing, Expanded Public Works Programmes, and food parcels that are blatantly being used to force poor people to carry ANC member cards and to vote for the party.
These acts are rubbing the noses of poor people in the mud.
To add insult to injury the government has closed its ears to the outcry of citizens and imposed e-tolls on a population straining under the burden of economic hardships in an underperforming economy.
The frustration of these silent majorities is beginning to spill over into defiant actions.
It is found in the refusal of citizens to register to vote in Bekkersdal, Sterkspruit, Malamulele as well as by those in despair who see no prospect of work in the streets of informal settlements and villages.
This week’s invasion of low-income housing in Durban by people angry with the continued support a corrupt developer is getting from the municipality is another example.
Defiance is already turning to violence in places such as Soshanguve, in Tshwane, where residents who were allocated RDP houses found them already occupied by unknown people who had broken doors to gain access.
The legitimate beneficiaries have taken the law into their hands after their complaints to the police and the local town councillor fell on deaf ears.
We need to pull back from this dangerous path as a nation. It starts with each of us as citizens insisting on accountability from our leaders without fear or favour.
We need to stand together as we did in our struggle for freedom to defend the democracy won at such a high cost.
Women and men, young and old, rural and urban all need to speak with one voice.
We need to demand accountability in public life and restore dignity in public service. Trust between citizens and leaders can only be restored if leaders understand that trust cannot be imposed, it has to be earned.
South Africa is desperately in need of leaders of integrity in public life. The rallying cry of “The People Shall Govern” needs to be given substance by bold action.
Reform of the electoral system has never been more urgent.
We need to reconnect the citizen to public representatives through a mix of constituency and a proportional representation system so they can have a say on who represents them.
This direct connection will enable citizens to hold them accountable for electoral promises. The people of Malamulele, Sterkspruit and many major settlements must know who represent them in the local authority, provincial legislature and Parliament.
We the people must demand that the next Parliament make this electoral reform a priority and prepare a mix system for the 2019 election cycle.
The continued slide of South Africa on the Corruption Index, the decline in trust in public life as reported by the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation and the level of despair among poor people, call for bold steps to restore trust.
The voices of spiritual leaders have been muted or only sporadically heard despite the outrages committed every day in our society.
The voice of spiritual leaders matters as evidenced by their successful intervention in Cape Town a week or so ago when they quelled the fire of mayhem threatened by those who wanted to make Cape Town ungovernable.
We need more of those voices to accompany God’s people in this hour of our nation’s need.
This is the time for boldness by women leaders to stand with the millions of women and children who are being abused by men who have lost their capacity for self-respect and capability to protect and provide for women and children in their lives.
Our history is rich with examples of the power of women when they come together to fight for their rights and those of their loved ones.
The power of the 1956 March on Pretoria needs to be re-enacted in our communities by creating solidarity groups to root out the shame of violence against women and children.
* Ramphele is leader of AgangSA.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.
Sunday Independent