By Dumisani Tembe 30/10
The 2021 Municipal elections are a further indication that liberation outcomes will not be realised through liberal multiparty electoral politics. These elections are a manifestation of the normalisation of politics in a socio-economic abnormal society. The abnormality of apartheid socio-economic pattern has been normalized. The morality of liberation politics expressed through efforts for a better-quality life, has been replaced by the politics of the pursuit of power as an end in itself.
Whilst the liberation agenda sought to capture the state power to advance the collective well being of the apartheid colonised, in these elections, the access to power is an end in itself for both the political parties, and the so-called independents. The proliferation of many political parties, and independents, is an indication that access to political offices have become an end in itself.
In fact, the mushrooming political parties, and the so-called independents, during the elections, creates a false impression of a levelled political playing field. It creates a false impression that everyone can enter the political race for the self-serving political office. Even more dangerously so, it creates an impression that politics is a mere game of contestation for political office. That is, winning political power is inherently the end game.
It is for this reason that talks of possible coalitions after the elections is far much more pronounced, rather than what needs to be done for communities. The envisaged possible coalitions are to be considered based on the electoral outcomes, rather than shared visions by political parties. Rather than shared visions, political elites will be motivated by the quest for political offices. But then, this is what has become of South Africa’s normalisation of the abnormality – where the pursuit of the political office has become an end goal in itself.
In this normalisation of this abnormal society, even the offsprings of colonial apartheid feel emboldened to continue with the dehumanization of black people. With unashamed brazen attitude, they declare murderers of black people as “heroes”. They celebrate the massacre of black people as an act of heroism. With a sense of bravado, they go on to defend such callous racist behaviour. Another deems racism victimhood as unimportant.
This has become possible because liberation politics have been culled. The little liberation politics that is left, is rather castrated. In the modern South African politics, the racists have realised that they are actually the triumphant ones in the not-so-post-apartheid South Africa. In this triumphalism, they even boldly proclaim their willingness to get into a coalition with the ruling liberation, or rather former liberation movement.
The apartheid conservative party can only brazenly state its willingness to serve under the liberation movement if it is convinced that the former liberation movement is now serving the interests of the white conservative minority. Things of this nature are indeed possible in this normalized abnormal society.
In fact, if the liberation movement-turned-government easily loses power, it is possible that it is no longer driving the historical mandate to liberate. That is, it has dropped liberation politics and led, or followed the normalisation of an abnormal society. It is possibly for this reason that there is no longer both the thinking and the discourse on economic redistribution. This would include both land and mineral redistribution.
This has been rather replaced by the economic growth discourse. This is the discourse of a normal society – economic growth and the pursuit of foreign direct investment. In this discourse of a normalized abnormal society, joblessness, hunger, homelessness, poverty, and lack of water and sanitation services, have simply become a matter of statistics.
In these elections, as in many recent ones, this state of abnormality has simply become sources of political electioneering rhetoric, rather than a continuation of the liberation agenda. In the process, the masses remain what Ray Phiri once aptly described as “…tributaries of the great river of pain.”
But do not despair. The elections are important in South Africa: they help to sustain peace and order. Whilst the elections provide both the hope and despair among the masses, but, at all times, hope triumphs over despair. The ruling political elite across all political parties, get to have its consciousness prickled by the state of poverty in the country for a few weeks. The political elite crisscross the most poverty-stricken parts of the country, and “experience” the poverty of the masses. Meanwhile, the poor black masses get a free history lesson: they get to be taught or reminded of the bloody struggle that was fought for this vote. In a way, the masses equally get to have their own conscience prickled – to vote in honour of those who died in the struggle.
In a twist of irony, the South African vote is a conservative expression. For those colonised by apartheid, the vote is increasingly a historical honour for those who fought against apartheid – “they must not die in vain.” – The poor are told. So, the poor vulnerable masses, vote for historical purposes. There is little progressiveness in the vote given that joblessness, hunger poverty, and a decaying community infrastructure that continues to get worse.
The white minority haves, also cast a conservative vote – they seek to conserve what they have. Fear drives them to vote en masse, mainly to preserve their ill-gotten wealth. All vote for the past. The poor vote is motivated by the past struggles hoping for progress at some point. The affluent minorities vote conservatively in order to main the apartheid socio-economic status quo.
In this normalized politics, elections are standardized. In a country that boasts the biggest economy in Africa, which does not create employment, these elections have become a mass employment exercise. Most seek the public political office as a means of survival, rather than an expression of the willingness to lead, both as parties and independents.
In these elections, the screams of Amandla, have little to do with Samora Machel’s cry of Aluta Continua!
This Amandla, simply means – give it to me. And this, is the new normal, in an old abnormal society!
Tembe is a Political Analyst at the Kunjalo CDR
Twitter: @KunjaloD