South African National Convention

The shape of every historical present is structured by anticipation of a possible better future. That is the answer I give to those who question my support for Mosiuoa Lekota’s call for a NC (National Convention), where he promise will be the discussion of the political state of our country before we go to next year’s national elections. Lekota’s call is the best means available now for our country to move forward against exhausted politics of the left and liberal paternalism. I don’t suppose it to be an anodyne panacea but it sure bits seating around waiting for Julius Malema to take us down vulgar ‘revolutionary’ path.

We need to promote conditions of freedom and democracy in our country that are not determined by factional power of the day, but based on strong ground of constitutional values. And we need to move away from the endless schisms within the ANC between empty barrels and petrified vanity. Nothing shows their impotence as the criticism against the former Premier of Gauteng, Mbazima Shilowa. Resigning as Premier, Shilowa, summed his reasons as follows; “I am resigning due to my convictions that while the ANC has the right to recall any of its deployed cadres, the decision needs to be based on solid facts, be fair and just . . . I also did not feel that I will be able to, with conviction, publicly explain or defend the NEC’s decision on comrade Thabo Mbeki. You stand by your own if you think they've been wrongly dealt with. I'm doing no more than that . . ." Fair enough. It is his individual prerogative.

What puzzled me was the reaction of the YCL Gauteng secretary Alex Mashilo who felt Shilowa’s condemnation of Mbeki’s recall and resignation is a gross misconduct against the ANC. Why? Except that the ANC has become dupe to its own self-generated propaganda. It no longer recognises the discrepancies between official and practical consciousness as explained so aptly by Antonio Gramsci. Shilowa here is a typical individual who feels the party imperatives are unable to be transmuted into forms of routine social behaviour he has grown into; so, instead of living a life of contradiction, gives in to one pull. Such a move is unthinkable to an individual, like Mashilo, who leaves by exhortatory forms of official consciousness. Factual content and moral imperatives means nothing to him so long as he fulfils action-guiding power of formal ideology. And there lies the dividing rub that, presently, is turning comrade against comrade within the TA (Tripartite Alliance).

Terry Eagleton in his seminal book, Ideology, wrote; “It is astonishing how subtle, resourceful and quick-witted mean and women can be in proving themselves to be uncivilised and thickheaded. In one sense, of course, this ‘performative contradiction’ is cause for political despondency; but in the appropriate circumstances it is a contradiction on which a ruling order may come to grief.” Listen to the ever chaotic, ever contradictory opinions of different individuals within the TA and you’ll understand. Things have changed in the South political sphere. Or, rather, judging by their mounting anger and rising porcupine quills, are realising which direction the wind is blowing.

No amount of political mystification or wishful thinking will ever again afford the TA opportunity to lure the polity into giving it political power that serves power-interests and effects of false-consciousness. They may howl all they want about the ‘national revolution’, and label dissenters as counter-revolutionary. The revolutionary ranting has become outmoded to the language of the realities of our times. Conditions have shifted. For one, we’ve all become haute bourgeoisie, including the so called revolutionaries. Whoever is not is doing their damn best to be, or living with pretentious internal contradictions. The desire for consumer commodities permeates every aspect of our lives. Anyone who wants to arrest this flow will have to do so by framing their language around social interests of the society.

It really does not matter how men, like Shilowa, manage to escape the ideological conditioning of their former parties, into progressive consciousness of our times. What’s important is we all move to the next step of our liberation. Political emancipation to be final must also involve the liberation of self also from self. Slavery comes in different forms and is, more than anything, an internal mental disposition. We should not allow ourselves to be blinded by nostalgia of outmoded politics. Times are a changing! Bob Dylan would say. Nothing must obscure the complex diffuse of our naturalising social reality towards our human dignity, not even the glories of the past that are fast fading into empty sloganeering. Let’s go to the National Convention and discuss progressive ways to take our politics to the new generation!

Leaving the infested house

On Sunday (19 Oct. 08)afternoon, the breakaway group from the ANC held what it termed a Mass Resignation from the ANC to join the movement for the NC (National Convention) called by the former Defence Minister, Mosiuoa Lekota. The meeting was held at Noluxolo Primary School, Samora Machell (Philippi), one of the poorest townships of Cape Town. A little more than thousand (by estimation) people gathered, among whom, hundreds to hand back their ANC and SACP membership cards, including 11 Councillors.

The atmosphere was charged with emotion, sometimes poignant as long serving members, like Dan Nokhatywa, speaking on behalf of the resignees, recounted his experiences in the ANC of the past 39 nine years. He concluded by echoing the former secretary general of the Dullar Ohma region, Mbulelo Ncedani, earlier accusation that ‘the ANC has been hijacked by people who violate its values, principles and traditions.’ They said they had no choice but to seek new homes who respect values of freedom, and said ‘being a member of the ANC is not about the flag and logo, but the spirit and traditions freedom and democracy.’

The former Premier of Guateng, Mbazima Shilowa, addressed the meeting as the main speaker. He started with an anecdote of a infested house. Speaking in strangling Xhosa he said; ‘When your house is infested by vermin; first you fumigate it. But if that does not work, you are forced to seek another home.’ Shilowa went on to echo the religious song used by the religious minister who opened the meeting; Lizalise idinga lakho, Thixo Nkosi yenyaniso (Fulfil your promise, God King of truth). The mood became sombre at this point as Shilowa went on to counteract those who accused them of being power hungry, elite group, blue lights politicians, and so forth. He invited them to come and see who’s answering their call; ‘poor people who have no water, electricity, formal housing . . .’

At pains to emphasize need for respect and discipline, Shilowa admonished those going to the NC never to intimidate others or use cohesive means to promote their cause. Paraphrasing Ghandi he said; ‘We must be the change we want to see being ruled by.’ He invited the Tripartite Alliance leadership to be democratic enough to allow those of their membership who want to attend the NC. ‘If you say we’re just a few, what are you so afraid of? Those who’re sure of themselves do not go around looking over their shoulders. They walk proudly straight, believing in themselves and their cause.’

‘We, the people of Mzantsi, black and white, rich and poor; need to seat down and say: What is our take on democracy, and discuss it openly, all of us. We need to develop shared values for South Africa, of respect and democracy we can all believe in, even if we have different ideas how to implement them . . . We need to say, for instance, we supported proportional representation, because we believe in its redeeming qualities, but now we’re wiser.’ Shilowa said. He went to narrate how former President of the Republic, T. Mbeki, was dragged through mud by few people who elected themselves by the grievances they had against him. ‘Make no mistake; the president did not resign of his free will, he was pushed. When you ask a person, you do so before the decision to oust him is made.’ Shilowa concluded that perhaps the time has come for us to elect our presidents, members of parliament, councillors, and so forth from the ground. ‘Let’s discuss such things on the coming Convention.’

He admonished those who had decided to resign from the ANC to take another moment and think things through. ‘No one should resign if they’re not ready. I was ready when I did, and am not going back to Egypt again, even if the road ahead gets tough.’ He told those who are ready to go out and spread the news of the NC. He said the present leadership of the ANC has made it impossible for them to remain in the house they so loved, and now they were homeless, gathering bricks and mortar to build another home on principles of freedom, respect for others, democracy, discipline, morally and otherwise.

The meeting started and ended in lively new political songs that had seminal meaning to the situation:
Sasimxelele uSkwasha sathi lo ngunyaka wethu! (We told Skwasha this is our year!)
Viva! Viva! Terror wethu! (Viva! Viva! Our Terror!)

Another song was more to the point after Ncedani told people they must remember that they were not anti-ANC but pro-freedom and democracy:

Samshiya uMantashe, salandela uShilowa! (We left Mantashe, to follow Shilowa!)
Soyika ukutshabalala! Siyoyika! Siyoyika! (We’re afraid of perishing! Are afraid! Afraid!

When in African society songs are used in this manner, you know something significant is in the air. The architects are drawing blue prints and workers gathering building materials.

What Direction Will I Vote?

The recent call by the Archbishop emeritus of the Anglican Church, Desmond Tutu, that if the current situation within the ruling party persists he won’t vote, might understandable but it is ill advised. An intelligent calculation would tell you boycotting the voting polls to register your dissatisfaction with the ANC will achieve very little except hand it victory still, albeit at a lower margin of voter turnout.

It is imperative that all of us who are eligible to vote do so, not only as a duty to our young democracy, but to categorically demonstrate that South African political life is not solely dependent on the ANC. Even when we decide to be sceptical about politics our basis should not be psychological but philosophical, i.e. based on our search for a better political concept. For those who fill let down by the ANC the search, even if its starts on the ideal, must come to reality and find out what approximate that ideal. Hence I’ve been doing a mental check, rather elimination to see about my alternatives. If I start from the basis that I’ll vote next year, the next question becomes for what.

The DA has its attraction to me, like liberal values (albiet not always practised to best ability) and principled organisational skills. But I’m wary of its history and past tendencies of grovelling politics coupled with distasteful opportunism. There are personal issues also. The DA for me is still too much of a white world (I say white world, not too white. I do not mind skin colour, just attitudes). My experience in studying in a liberal campus taught me that in a white world you are in the juggernaut path of subtle prejudice, perennial suspicion, soft exclusion and latent racism. I understand this might be unfair to the DA since I’ve never belonged to the party and so do not know its internal attitudes, but I can’t help my historical baggage, which I realise now I need to work on it too.

There’s been a lot of hype about the UDM (United Democratic Movement) in black areas lately. Everyone is talking about Injengele (General), referring to Bantu Holimisa’s past history as a General in the Transkian army where he staged a coup d’etat to get read of a corrupt regime. He became the beloved of denizens Transkie since then, but I’ve never been able to fully share the general love. Granted he conducted himself reasonably well as a ruler. I suppose we don’t have to judge him by that, but I find scarce material to judge his party policy and so forth. Also I’m not in a habit of following personality cults.

I think the Christian Democrats are fundamentalist howlers who are bent on capitalising on South African’s highly religious sentiment. As much as we need religion to base and develop our value system, with the fact that the virtue of religion is justice towards God and other people; it must keep out of active politics. I strongly support the separation of powers between State and Church, for the good of religion more than anything.

I think the Pan Africanist movements, like PAC (Pan Africanist Congress), have lost direction, or at least their élan by failing to keep up with social realities of the present age. To add insult to injury they are embroiled in serious internal turmoil that has just assailed the ANC. Fatalism is the best way I can define their wretched condition. It is not serviceable to our social needs. It is unfortunate that Black Consciousness has become so successful that it has become more of a cultural movement than a political entity. I find it offers me next to nothing in my search for a political concept. This leaves me with the ID (Independent Democrats).

I’ll probably vote for the new party being promoted by Lekota and Shilowa provided it avoids personality cults and its policies are not inchoate. The duo gives me hope of direction for what the politics of our country should be moving towards. They need to quickly find ideology. By ideology I don’t mean systematically distorting modes of communication, but functional suasive strategies directed towards achieving expressive effects of our lived experience and aspirations. Lekota has been able in the past, through the UDF (United Democratic Front) to service us with an idea that politics as a power process must be accountable to the polity. If he can sustain that and develop it into the realm of ideology, that is, the means by which power interests service social significance then they might have a winning ticket.

Naturally, Lekota, will garner a lot of support, especially from people like me who broke their political teeth on organizations of civil strife in the 80s, like UDF. The signs are there. Having spent most of the past decade in the wilderness, feeling a little jaded from the diet of honey and locust (Qhilika, ferment honey drink, sometimes having a bacchanal raving party while waiting for the country to come into its senses); we feel things have gone far enough. South Africa has now fully entered the arena of discursive struggle where it needs to dispel the power of common illusion, even illusions that express real needs. What the country needs is a consistent political party that must stand outside the lure of false consciousness in communicating a social reality that is recognizable to the polity without being cavalier. It needs leadership that takes seriously the message and practise of moral imperatives, social and economic justice.

South Africans are ripe for a party that shares their Weltanschauung (worldview), that’ll exhibit a certain style of perception which is not parochial or elitist. Who would promote a kind of symbolic self-expression without promoting certain group interest at the expense of the others, or readiness to sacrifice truth to less reputable goals of party interests. Lekota’s party seem to me to look more and more like what we’ve been looking for.

Message in the song

The Liberation Movement in South Africa has always garnered its support mostly through the song. Hence it was not surprising for me to see that the two conferences of the ANC this past weekend at Langa (dissident) and Gugulethu (official) did most of their combat through songs more than anything. I attended the breakaway party meeting at Langa where the atmosphere was charged. The predominant song was:

Oliva! Oliva molo soja! Oliver! Oliver greetings soldier!
Thina sigxothiwe ekhaya! We have expelled from our home!

The Oliver who was being invoked is Oliver Tambo, the late ANC president before Nelson Mandela whose spirits the attends felt was being raped by the present ANC leadership. It was a little amusing to see the former president of the republic, T. Mbeki, raised to a saintly stature with the likes of arch bishop Desmond Tutu, Mosiuoa Lekota and Smuts Ngonyama:

Awu Zizi(Mbeki)! Ndibambe ngesendla! Hey Zizi (Mbeki)! Hold me by the hand!
Ndigaw’ embuthweni! Lest I fall away from the Organisation!
Intliziyo kaThabo ingcwalisekile! Thabo’s heart is pure!
Sizo ngcatsha kuyo! It’ll be our refuge!

Thabo Mbeki’s name was alternatively replaced with that of Tutu, Lekota and Smuts. Malema, president of ANCYL, was warned that the Freedom songs are a cultural and heritage of South African folk spirit. He was told he knows nothing of sacrifice and spilling of blood for freedom principles so he had better shut his mouth because such thing were done long before he was born.

Then Imbongi, by the name of Phumlani Msutu came to the stage. He admonished people to keep their spirits down because rage can invent many ways for the destruction of the nation. He said husband men are more useful in time of poverty than men of war. He said things in Polokwane begun in foolishness, and proceeded in legitimised crime, and that, if not reigned will end in misery for all. He said feral madness prompts a perverted mind. He was amazed at the blindness the devil sows to invent mischief. He said those in power do not care what mischief they sow to procure their ambition. They blow coals of contention to follow their lust without caring for the misery they brought t the poor. They desire domineering, vainglory, revenge and malice to satisfy their spleens and the madness of avarice. They’ve no remorse, and no bounds of shame to satisfy their parasitic fawners. They pretend zeal for desired reformation when all along they just want to avert the guilt of one person and attain vain titles. They have fine speeches to please the mob, while promoting the filthy transgression against civil laws. They do not know how to govern their action with discretion and providence. Conquered by vanities and fopperies of the time, with no end to empty words, like filching wasps, they prey on ignorance of the masses. Their lives are an opposite of what they preach. They square circles, convince others to fast where they themselves feast. How much is enough?

I was shaken to the core. I guess that’s what the prophets of Israel did for the nation. The greatness of the nation of Israel lay in the fact that no matter how far they strayed from the ways of YHW they always, somehow, found their way back to their true calling. How will the South Africa fair?

Mosiuoa Lekota, the driving force behind the call for a South African National Convention admonished his followers in the meeting not to follow the calls for violence, but instead to work for peace, even when prepared to lay their lives for principles of democracy and freedom, like they did under apartheid regime. He said he’ll exhaust his energies working for a constitutional democracy in the country, and called to every South African of goodwill, within and out of ANC, to join him in the quest, and ways to achieve it that’ll be democratically discussed on the democratic National Convention yet to be announced. He emphasised that it was time for South African politics to move on with mean and women ‘who are trust worthy and honest’ on the helm.

What came out clear from the meeting was that things on the South African political sphere have changed, changed utterly. As one of the songs went:

Lekota imbi lendawo Lekota this place is ugly
Khuw’ thethe qabane! Speak comrade!
With the next generation, iANC ivile. The ANC has heard.
Yizani nibone indaba Come and see
Yonakel’ eWestern Cape! Things are ruined in Western Cape!

Lekota told those gathered that similar gathering are being planned for Eastern Cape and all other provinces. Having been in my home province, Eastern Cape, and saw how most the branches were not just disgruntled, but ready to secede last December, I believe what we’ve seen in the Western Cape is just a spark that’ll inflame fire in like provinces. Perhaps, that is what South African politics need at this juncture, purification by fire.

Clearing the air

The cognitive inflexibility of South African (black) voters has been a long lamented fact, more so now with cloying creative chaos within the ANC (African National Congress). Opposition parties are trying to think of best ways to feed on the carrion of ruling party infightings. Is it still a certain thing that the ANC will win the next election with a big, albeit diminishing, margin? Many are hoping for the break up of the ANC to give voters alternative and spell what is called ‘the normalisation of our politics’, meaning full multiparty, or at least two party, democracy. Helen Zille, the leader of DA (democratic Alliance) said as much: “We have to bring party formations in line with the new reality, the real political divisions of our time. The biggest barrier to this process is the democrats in the ANC who believe their party is redeemable. It is not."

Forgetting a while about know it all liberal attitude, and mistaken assumptions that people do not know what’s good for them; let’s look closer at the psychological reasons (I believe they are the major stumbling block) why black people in South Africa don’t seem too eager to join in the so called political realities of our times. Certainly the element of nostalgia, of regarding the ANC as the author of democracy in this country, is present. But alone, I believe, this is not enough reason holding people back. Economic policies too play a part, after all, to paraphrase Charles Péguy's dictum, everything does end up in politics, or, as the case may be, economics. More than that, South Africa seems to be among countries that make nonsense out of Fukuyama thesis that “There are no serious ideological competitors left to liberal democracy.” The rise of China’s state capitalism in communist creed, the revanchist Russia, and native Venezuelan democracy, being few other examples.

The DA, for instance, is a liberal party, which means that its gestalt is largely Millian. In a nutshell, John Stuart Mill’s promoted a society which at best would be peaceful, open, and creative place, where diverse individuals respect each other's rights and law, while banding together voluntarily to help those in need. He believed in laws for the common good and freedom of association according to vested interests. That, in essence, is a liberal view and what has, quintessentially, come to be known as a social contract. What it does not offer, even at its best, is a deep sense of belonging. This is why the liberal view does not appeal to a black man’s collective mind. Also the liberal view tends to neglect the issue of class struggle, something ingrained in the collective struggle of Africa, hugely influenced by Marxism.

The African view does not regard the individual as the basic social unit, but family structure as a model for all institutions. It respects hierarchal authority, which is why you mostly hear that the ANC is not just an organisation but a home. Individuals in African societies are born into strong and constraining relationships. This sometimes profoundly limit their autonomy—something adverse to the liberal mind—but gives a sense of belonging. “Man cannot become attached to higher aims and submit to a rule if he sees nothing above him to which he belongs. To free himself from all social pressure is to abandon himself and demoralize him." Africans share this view with Emile Durkheim.

African societies strive to be stable networks composed of many nested and overlapping groups that socialize, reshape, and care for individuals who, if left to their own devices, would fall into abjectness. Their shortcoming, for instance, is this collective support can easily fall into suborn cronyism and patronage on those with public authority or social power. The liberal view too has its own short-coming; when left to its own devices, without regulation, for instance, it tends to become a pursuit of shallow, carnal, and selfish pleasures (something the liberal view tend to confuse with freedom of expression).

I chose the psychological underpinnings to avoid Max Weber’s cultural determinism (the wrong belief that culture is the cornerstone of economic development. Weber thought Confucianism was incompatible with economic growth, yet South Korea and Taiwan has put paid to that theory. His followers today say Islam impedes development but do not know how to explain Turkey and Indonesia). If everything sooner or later ends in economics then the majority of South Africans do not believe market forces can deliver optimum result for social interests of the majority. They want the state to legitimately intervene and endorse some form of wealth redistribution in ensuring a minimum standard of living for all. Perhaps opposition parties will do well in harping on these points, until, at least, the psychological ambience and historical baggage is cleared.