A few years back, the political party that I am associated with was accused of having deliberately used money that was looted from the poor to pay for one of our activities. Knowing that the rumour was fabricated by another political party to deflect from its own actual involvement in the said looting, and furious about how that rumour might have tainted the images of those of us who are vociferous critics of corruption (including on international platforms), I went all out to defend my political party.
One evening, after a television interview earlier in the day, I had a long discussion with the producer of the show. That discussion left a lasting impact. It made me realise that I had become too self-absorbed, too focused on defending the reputations of my political party and myself, that in the process, the purpose for the existence of the political party had been forgotten.
Political scientists argue that the foremost function of parties in the democratic system is to act as intermediaries between society and the state, and between the rulers and the ruled.
They emphasise that the role of political parties is to identify the needs and concerns of the people by interacting with the public at different levels of society and articulating those needs through a formalised structure that coordinates those with similar political philosophies; thereby empowering the people through elected representatives. This perspective on the role of political parties places people first.
Our people’s expectations that political parties exist to serve are neither idealistic nor unrealistic. It is a justifiable view.
When millions joined the United Democratic Front and its affiliates from 1983 to 1990 to demand the fall of apartheid, the expectations were that the various political parties that would emerge thereafter to contest elections in 1994 would present a variety of perspectives on how to resolve the challenges that befell our country at the time.
The hope was particularly in the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party (one of few communist parties in the world that continued to grow in membership after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), as leading parties in the liberation movement, to ensure that life would be better for all after apartheid.
For a while, political parties lived up to the expectations of the electorate. Debates in parliament were robust and policy orientated. At the level of government, the legislative pillars of apartheid were dismantled; and redressing apartheid social, economic, and geographic inequities was tackled with fervour.
Likewise, our judiciary was being progressively transformed to represent truth and justice and to uphold a rights-based law.
In the first decade and a half of freedom, the democratic government set a global precedent in developing new policies and legislation and in providing housing, electricity and water, among others.
As the pride of Africa, we were admired as the miracle, rainbow nation. This status enabled us to be a key contributor to the African renaissance process and to the formation of its associated institutions such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the Pan African Parliament, as well as a powerful influencer of international structures such as the G20+.
But even during our golden years, the fighting within and between political parties was gaining momentum, with the quests for self-serving power and enrichment being at the core. Now, 26 years later, the focus seems to be completely lost.
Instead of hearing political parties predominantly presenting solutions to bulging youth unemployment; porous borders; the crises in our social and economic infrastructural sectors; and pervasive crime, drug abuse and other social problems including racial/ethnic and religious tensions; our social and formal media platforms are dominated with news on the dynamics within and between political parties and the exploitation of these ills to expose each other’s inadequacies.
Furthermore, while other countries are positioning themselves in the global political and economic spaces, South Africa, despite continuously being thrust into global leadership positions due to its potential, is trapped in corruption scandals – the country’s prosecuting authorities seemingly unable to move as it remains paralysed by endless administrative activities.
The loss of people-centeredness by political parties is dangerous. South Africans are increasingly losing faith in the formal systems that are supposed to be championing their voices and interests. The voter turnout is on the decline.
When people lose faith in democratic processes and the abilities of the political parties to represent them, they take to the streets to protest.
When that happens, and we have already witnessed simmers thereof, these protests will not take the form of that which we had witnessed in the days of apartheid, where everything was well organised, and purpose driven.
No, the protests will be the violent, chaotic, leaderless expressions of frustration as witnessed in the so-called Arab spring scenarios; the type that can be easily hijacked by forces to officially place our country in the hands of those opposed to a pro-poor government or worse, into the hands of truly unaccountable, ruthless and corrupt despots.
Leaders in political parties should never forget that their parties are mere structural enablers for developing policy solutions to the governance responsibilities linked to citizen expectations. Political parties are not job creation mechanisms for cronies; they are not enrichment tools for family and friends. If you want to become rich, your place is in business, not in politics.
Political parties should not emerge out of disgruntlement and a need to settle scores or to weaken other political parties. The formation of political parties should be inspired by a commitment to effective and efficient governance and to advance development.
The differences in political parties should be ideological to enable the presentations of the broadest range of perspectives on addressing the objective material conditions associated with the responsibilities of governance.
South Africans have grown tired of intra- and inter-political party squabbles. The endless gossiping, back-biting, point-scoring and other matters of ‘palace politics’ that dominate the news, all of which offer no solutions to the reality of the hunger and exploitation that grips the vast majority of our nation, frustrates.
It is time for the true purpose of our political parties to be restored.
Leaders of political parties should redirect their structures so that the people who have elected them to serve become their primary focus.
* Reneva Fourie is a policy analyst specialising in governance, development and security, currently based in Damascus, Syria.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL.