The mass looting and anarchy that occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng rocked the very foundations of our economy, the rule of law and our Constitution. In the aftermath, we have to pause and ask what really happened, reflect on the causes and then make urgent plans that must move us forward.
It may take some time yet to investigate who was behind this anarchy and mayhem and if there was indeed an attempted insurrection or coup. But what is abundantly clear is that the Zuma affair only provided the spark. The underlying reasons for the looting and plundering were cruel hunger, poverty and unemployment, coupled with the ANC’s inability to provide any meaningful programme of reform.
Of a population of about 60 million, only 15 million South Africans are employed. A full 7.2 million are unemployed, with 46.3% of our youth between the ages of 15 and 34 registering as unemployed in the first quarter of 2021. Only four in every 100 students will pass mathematics this academic year with grades of 50% or higher: this, in an industrialised nation and a technological world.
According to Stats SA, 49.2% of our adult population live in poverty, while GDP has been flat for almost two decades. According to the United Nations, South Africa’s Gini coefficient makes us the most unequal country in the world, where the wealthiest 10% of the population holds more than half of the nation’s income.
These are the real underlying forces at play, which all citizens should be cognisant of. This pot of discontent has been brewing for over 27 years because the ANC-led government consistently fails to solve these social issues. Add to this toxic mix, conditions where the rule of law, the Constitution and our democracy are not respected because the ANC government fails to set a good example. What we inevitably ended up with on 9 July 2021 were the explosive circumstances that caused millions of ordinary citizens to take the Zuma gap and take advantage of a weak ANC that has long since lost the authority to govern effectively.
Who do we blame for this grim milestone that our country has reached, and who must take responsibility and step aside? Zuma, Ace, Ramaphosa? Must those corrupt officials inside the ANC step aside or must those who are dividing the party step aside? Should we pin the blame on looters, instigators, “counter-revolutionaries”, “insurrectionists” or terrorists, or on tribalism, racism, the minister of police or our incompetent Cabinet ministers?
The grim milestone that played itself out on national television only reflects how far the ANC governing party as a whole has fallen from grace. Failure to address the issues of the poor and factional battles inside the ruling ANC have not only paralysed the party, Parliament and state institutions, but now threaten the very foundations of our democracy, the rule of law, our Constitution, the economy and the livelihoods and wellbeing of every citizen.
Should South Africans rejoice, pat the ANC on the back because the centre did hold, calm was restored and the rule of law was upheld?
Private schools and private healthcare facilities are growing in numbers because our public education and public healthcare systems fail everyone. Solar panels and generators are in high demand because Eskom cannot provide a reliable, affordable supply of electricity. Private cars fill our highways because our public transport systems are broken and the taxi industry is not appropriately regulated.
Our farming communities barricade themselves against stock theft and murders because they can no longer depend on the police force for their security. Caregivers, nurses and doctors run the gauntlet each day to defend our people against the Covid-19 pandemic in the absence of adequate government support.
And today, now that the dust has settled, we can clearly see that it was not the authority of the ANC, police or army that brought calm to our land, but instead the will of ordinary citizens from our community police forums, neighbourhood watches, WhatsApp groups and taxi associations.
South Africans must no longer accept the narrative – which is often presented as fact – that the ANC will win the February 2022 local government elections and the national elections in 2024 and beyond. We must, in the wake of the 9 July 2021 mass lootings and anarchy, all say, 'Enough is enough!'
The centre did hold but it was not as a result of any one or other political faction in the ANC. Ordinary citizens held the fort in the absence of an effective ANC government.
The conditions for further sparks and blow-ups remain. Post 9 July 2021, looting and anarchy remain a constant threat to us all, unless South Africans together address the real issues of the poor and an ineffective government.
It is not sustainable in the long term or healthy for our democracy that communities build parallel organs of authority to deal with the innumerable responsibilities of an absentee government. We must accept that the destructive factional battles inside the ANC will rage on for many years to come. The ANC government will continue to lose its moral authority to govern and will drag the rest of the country down with it, unless we vote the ANC out of its position of domination.
Our current president is mainly concerned with unifying the ANC and winning a second term in office. In other words, he is more concerned about keeping the ANC strong and placating the roaring factions so as to secure another term in office than dealing decisively with the national challenges that face our country.
His strategy may bring positive change, but at what price? Do we rejoice when we have to wait 20 years to jail one criminal, when billions of rands have been looted from the poor by ANC members in almost every department of state?
And should we now cry or be apologetic because the highest court in our land sentenced Jacob Zuma to a mere 15 months in prison for contempt of court? Blind loyalty to the ANC has brought us to this point, and we must accept that this is not in the best, long-term interests of our nation.
I am sure that Nelson Mandela never envisioned such moral decay, but he warned us all nevertheless when he said, “If the ANC does what the apartheid government did, you must vote them out of power.”
The ANC of today is nothing like the ANC of the past. ANC members who fought against apartheid did so without ever getting paid or having the expectation of being rewarded. We were political soldiers of conscience who fought for justice, equality and peace, and the only reward we desired was to see the lives of all South Africans improve after apartheid fell.
The ANC of today is devoid of conscience and betrayed the vision that was truly based on the will of all our people. Our country is being held to ransom by a political party whose personal interests overshadow the national interest.
The ranks of the ANC have grown because their leaders have been the perfect symbols of criminality, corruption and private wealth accumulation. Patronage, kickbacks and tenderpreneurs drive the growth of the organisation.
The quality of ANC members has deteriorated and it is not surprising that our country is saddled with Cabinet ministers, heads of government departments, SOEs and leaders of provincial and local government departments who are grossly incompetent.
Nobody is indispensable and it may just be the wisest thing for all for us to start looking outside the ANC for our new generation of ethical and competent leaders.
All South Africans must take responsibility for allowing this untenable situation to unfold before our eyes. We have allowed the ANC to reach this position of arrogant domination over our Parliament and state institutions. All those leaders of the ANC and its tripartite alliance who have colluded, benefited, been complicit and looked the other way must lower their heads in shame and step aside for abandoning the poor.
Big business and monopoly capitalists must wake up because the chickens have come home to roost. You have benefited, looked the other way and enabled this cohort of unethical leaders to pay lip service to the issues of the poor. The past weeks that started on 9 July 2021 must surely be a wakeup call to you all, too.
It cannot be business as usual.
The choices are clear. Give the ANC government another five years to present more plans of renewal, turnaround strategies and empty promises of economic growth, and we stand to lose much more than our SOEs, generations of youth and private entrepreneurs, our economy, the rule of law and the Constitution.
With all the lofty promises that the ANC has made over the years, the majority of our people suffer in abject poverty, small and medium-sized enterprises are being decimated and the future for big business is uncertain. Service delivery protests will continue to escalate, the movement for social and economic change will grow, and anarchy and looting will become a normal feature of our political landscape.
This is no different to what happened under apartheid where our people undermined the authority of the state and highlighted the incompetence of its leaders. Can South Africans afford to give the ANC another chance?
South Africans must no longer accept the narrative – which is often presented as fact – that the ANC will win the February 2022 local government elections and the national elections in 2024 and beyond. We must, in the wake of the 9 July 2021 mass lootings and anarchy, all say, “Enough is enough!”
We must commit to a new social compact, become active citizens and work to unify our nation against the common enemy, which is unconstrained one-party domination.
The way forward:
- In the short term, our priority must be to break the domination that the ANC has over our Parliament, state institutions, economy and local service delivery departments. It is true that most South Africans do not see any viable political parties they can relate to, identify with or trust with their vote. This is the unfortunate reality that has been created by one-party domination. The solution is not to accept mediocrity or abstain from voting, but to go to the polls in our millions and vote for any party or independent candidate other than the ANC. It doesn't matter who we vote for as long as we erode the absolute power of the ANC and shake them from their pedestals of arrogance.
- Whether we wish to accept it or not, there is a new movement for change taking root in our country. It is a movement that is headless at the moment but it does not need to remain that way. At present, this movement coexists outside the ANC and it expresses itself in a wide range of social formations like #FeesMustFall, #DefendOurDemocracy, #DefendOurConstitution, street committees, WhatsApp groups and neighbourhood watches. All peace-loving South Africans must galvanise into a new political force that truly represents all our people, captures our hearts and minds, will be unapologetic about dealing with corruption, will focus on the real issues of unemployment, poverty, service delivery and education, and who will elect ethical and competent leaders to positions of authority.
- Any new social compact must strive to unify our people and build a truly democratic, non-racial, just and equitable society for all. The black, white, coloured, Indian and Chinese communities are going nowhere on their own. Foreign nationals are nothing on their own. The Afrikaner community, big business and the monopoly capitalists have a shaky future on their own. Our new movement for progressive change must embrace all our people because this is home to us all. We must all work together, negotiate, be pragmatic and trust one another in our quest to rid our land of one-party domination and build a great nation for our children.
The week starting 9 July 2021 will go down in our history as a watershed moment.
During this Mandela Month, let us recall the wise words of our founding father and first president of our rainbow nation: “I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination… and for this I am prepared to die.” DM