South Africa’s ruling political leadership lacks the capacity and ability to lead with urgency in dealing with crisis both within itself, and in the government it leads. Thus, in the year 2022, the alarm bells will continue to ring over the instability and general degeneration of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). These alarm bells will equally ring louder on the ANC led government’s lack of capacity and ability to deliver both on public goods and services.
There are several instances in the year 2021 that the ruling party simply acted as “business as usual” when the situation required leadership urgency. Two issues will suffice here: the first is manifested with how the state leadership performed over the Covid19 situation.
The address by the president in the past year became too standardized – they were about which lock down level South Africa was getting into, or whether alcohol must be sold or not, and the vaccination drive.
This is just project management. Leadership of Covid19 requires contextual solutions. This includes a reflection that Covid19 in South Africa is enabled by massive black poverty; homelessness; lack of running water and sanitation; and poor infrastructure that leads into overcrowding in schools, health centers, public transportation, and places of social grant collections. In the last two years, an astute leadership would have ensured that these socio-infrastructure services were delivered at an accelerated rate to curb the spread of Covid 19.
In a society such as this one, Covid19 can not be dealt with by merely following standardized protocols and a series of vaccinations. It needs a contextual approach such as the provision of nutrition, and socio-economic infrastructure amenities. At this stage, mere protocols and vaccines are just aspects of project management, they do not demonstrate urgency, just business as usual in a Covid19 environment.
Secondly, there was no urgency against the degeneration of the ruling ANC in 2021. The ANC lost major Metros rendering it a rural party, and yet no urgency has manifested from the ruling party in its own regrouping.
Ill-discipline within the ANC were merely outsourced to state institutions such as the National Prosecution Authority. Others were outsourced to the State Capture Commission. Former president, Jacob Zuma was left to establish and run a parallel ANC from KZN. The consequence – the ANC performed so badly in the local government elections in KZN. But then, post this disastrous electoral performance, there is no sense of urgency in dealing with the issue from within the ruling party.
In essence, South Africa is in state of abnormal normality. No sense of urgency from the political leadership regardless of the dire crises the country faces. These include: the covid19 situation; unemployment; poverty; homelessness; landlessness and lack of water and sanitation. The year 2022 will be business as usual as the year 2021 was.
So, regardless of the challenges facing the country, for the ruling party, the year 2022 will be business as usual. There will be the usual events that get the country talking with no major outcomes: the ANC’s January 8 statement; the state of the nation address; and the budget speech.
The January 8 statement will, as usual, see the dominant faction within the ANC flexing its muscle and testing its own internal opposition. There will be very little reflection about the quality and status of the ANC both within itself, and as the country’s ruling party. There will be very little repositioning about the organisation to play an empowering role amongst poor blacks in society.
Similarly, the state of the nation address will come with empty grandiose bravado: claims of achievements that is only felt by the ruling political elite; grand promises of economic growth and job creation for the year 2022; and empty claims of nationhood and unity that has no impact on the stagnant socio-economic status. This will be followed by party political debates mostly used to showcase their scant relevance in the development of this nation.
As the year 2022 starts, the lethargy of the political leadership will continue to cost the country, particularly the black poor people. South Africa needs a political leadership with the ability to conceptualise and design a prosperous society. The emphasis is on political leadership because it is the only leadership that has an overarching mandate on everything in society – from politics, education, economy, peace, and stability, among others.
It is mostly the political leadership that enjoys the authority and legitimacy to coordinate the thinking and making of societies. The poverty and prosperity of societies reflects either the poverty or wisdom of political leadership.
The year 2022 will just be another year of the survival of the fittest, because that’s how the system is designed, and now administered by the black political leadership. Consequently, the black political elite leadership is now too entrenched in the system to change it.
And so, 2022 will be another business-as-usual year.
Those that are milking the system, will continue to do so.
Those drowning in poverty, will drown even deeper.
Twitter page: @KunjaloD