The ANC governing the state narrowly for the party and its members only, from cadre deployment to black economic empowerment (BEE) in public procurement reserved for its politically connected, has resulted in the increasing fracturing of South Africa, with different ethnic and colour groups seeking safety in their ‘own’ community laagers to secure their interests.
South Africa is now at the tipping point of ethnic, colour fragmentation, blaming foreign outsiders or Western powers or ‘other’ colour or ethnic groups, while not putting the blame squarely on the ANC for excluding vast numbers of South Africans from state opportunities and dismissing their policy input and ideas.
The current fracturing of South Africa’s diverse communities is not a foreign conspiracy engineered by foreign powers. It has been caused mostly by the ANC governing and making decisions and adopting policies which are solely in the party’s and their leaders’ interests, and not in the wider interests of all South Africa.
The marginalisation of non-ANC supporting groups and their ideas and energies has brought this crisis on the country, and it risks spiralling into racial fragmentation, tribalisation and Balkanisation.
The combination of state failure caused by the corruption, incompetence and lack of care by the small ANC governing elite who have been recycled from one government department, cabinet position and BEE tender to another, and the exclusion of non-ANC ideas, talent and energy, has driven communities feeling marginalised to form ‘ethnic’ parties or their own institutions to deliver public services, such as higher education institutions, or to emigrate.
The legacies of apartheid and colonialism are still crippling the opportunities of many previously disadvantaged communities. However, the ANC’s 32-year control of the state, through its mixed record of state failure, corruption, incompetence and apathy while enriching a small, connected ANC elite, has compounded the suffering of previously disadvantaged communities who were still bearing the brunt of the legacies of apartheid and colonialism.
The marginalisation of non-ANC supporting groups and their ideas and energies has brought this crisis on the country, and it risks spiralling into racial fragmentation, tribalisation and Balkanisation.
As the ANC fails in government and loses its voter support, many party leaders have cynically blamed apartheid and colonialism for problems which have been specifically caused by its failures in government.
Many ANC leaders and populist leaders from ANC spinoffs — such as the Economic Freedom Fighters and Umkhonto weSizwe parties — have weaponised the justified anger by previously disadvantaged communities over continued apartheid and colonial disparities, deliberately inflaming apartheid era and current ethnic divisions, and also blame self-inflicted failures by the ANC state on apartheid and colonialism.
South Africa’s Government of National Unity is an ideal nation-building governing structure, as it brings together political groups of all races, colours and ideologies to co-govern. The GNU’s potential lies in that it can marshal different parties, groups and communities to work together across ethnicity, colour and ideology to find a pragmatic middle or centrist ground.
If the GNU worked properly, it could marshal different parties and groups to assemble the widest range of talent, ideas, energy and resources from all ethnic groups and ideologies in the country to tackle its complex challenges.
However, the ANC’s stubborn insistence that it is still the sole governing party in the GNU, rather than co-governing with its diverse partners, apparently seeing partners as only add-ons, undermines the nation-building potential of the GNU.
The Madlanga and Zondo commissions have publicly laid bare the corruption at the heart of the ANC state. This has undermined the credibility of the party. It has also undermined the ANC’s credibility to advance its party-centric policies, whether these are good, progressive or advancing transformation. It has also discredited the ANC as an honest broker for inclusive nation-building.
Yet ANC leaders are pushing through ANC-only conceived ‘transformation’ or ‘progressive’ policies, when the party, because of corruption, incompetence and the marginalisation of non-ANC groups, is being perceived by many non-ANC citizens as interested in serving only its party, leaders and patronage agendas.
Because ANC leaders do not consult with non-ANC individuals, groups and communities, they are talking to themselves in increasingly narrower echo chambers of their ‘own’ connected party leaders, cadres and apparatchiks, mistaking this echo chamber for the voices of all South Africans.
The Madlanga and Zondo commissions have publicly laid bare the corruption at the heart of the ANC state.
ANC leaders, government officials and apparatchiks believe the party is still seen as the unifying rather than the dividing force of South Africa’s diverse communities. This is despite the fact that many South Africans, feeling marginalised based on race, colour and ideology, are now seeking safety in their own community laagers or abroad, from the ANC’s corruption, incompetence, self-enrichment and marginalisation of them and other non-ANC voters.
Under these circumstances, ‘good’, ‘progressive’ or ‘transformative’ ANC-generated policies are likely to come to a dead end, causing more divisions and more alienation of non-ANC groups and communities.
Transformation can only happen if done inclusively and through policies that are in the interest of all South Africans and are co-formulated by the widest pool of South African demographics, ideologies and talents.
Transformative, progressive policies can only secure buy-in from all of South Africa if ANC leaders who devise them are not corrupt, incompetent and marginalising the views of non-traditional ANC members, supporters and voters.
Policies devised and implemented by a small elite group of ANC leaders or state-deployed cadres, who dismiss the opinions, input and energy of everyone else, will not be widely embraced by non-ANC groups, no matter how well-intended these are purported to be. It will only lead to further fracturing, tribalisation and Balkanisation of South Africa.
To prevent South Africa from further sliding into racial, ethnic and communal fragmentation, the ANC must make decisions, policies and state appointments and contracts in the interests of all South Africa, not just in the interests of the party, ANC government apparatchiks and patronage beneficiaries.
The ANC must accept it is not the majority party any more and make decisions collectively with its partners in the GNU and not push its party decisions and policies through or appoint only its cadres to key positions in the state.
The ANC must also canvas ideas, policies and state appointments more broadly, beyond the narrow elite of ANC leaders, connected apparatchiks and loyalists, to secure buy-in for its policies, no matter how good, progressive or transformative these policies may be in the eyes of ANC leaders, members or supporters.
If the party continues on its current path of only involving its own loyalists in decision-making, policy-making and appointments, while marginalising all other communities, groups marginalised by the ANC will continue to seek refuge in their own groups or leave the country, take their skills, capital and energy with them.
Gumede is the founder of the Democracy Works Foundation and the author of the bestselling Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg).
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