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May 04
2009

What was the recipe of the election’s success?

Posted by admin in Untagged 
What was the recipe of the election’s success?
 
By Zubeida Jaffer*
 
 
Life is a series of special moments. Last week’s election was one of those prolonged special moments strengthening our belief in the possibility of creating a country and citizenry at peace with itself.  It is through these moments that we garner the determination to persevere and reach our goal of a non-racial, non-sexist society where people work and live with dignity.
 
We have a long way to go to achieve this but nothing is impossible. 
What was the recipe of last week’s success? What were the basic ingredients that propelled us to new heights?
 
Over 15 years, the IEC has developed into a formidable institution. It has drawn lessons from its mistakes in the past and has concentrated on perfecting the processes that ensured improved delivery.  As South Africans, it appears that as far as elections go, we have fully understood the importance of building an institution that can withstand the pressure of time and political vagaries. While we have drawn on best practice from around the world, we have crafted an institution that suits our own needs. Cursory research indicates that the IEC has largely been able to retain its staff and successfully bring in people with previous election experience during the busiest times.
 
Secondly, all major political parties have participated in crafting the electoral rules. The space has been created for parties to raise their objections or complaints and these by and large have been dealt with civilly. IEC officials do however complain that some leaders had a tendency to speak to them very rudely and with a great deal of arrogance. But in the main, the decisions of chief electoral officers in every province were respected because they conducted themselves according to agreed upon rules.
 
Thirdly, the two women at the helm of the organisation exuded a calm confidence. At no stage was the chairperson, Brigalia Bam or the Chief Electoral Officer, Pansy Tlakula seen to be fanning animosities or raising the temperatures amongst parties. Instead they were involved in endless behind the scenes discussions with party leaders to quietly convince them to compromise. Often these efforts went beyond the call of duty. Ms Bam was involved in discussions with leaders in KwaZulu-Natal when she could have said this was not her concern but the responsibility that belonged in entirety to the police. She would have been correct in law but she did what she had to do to help restore calm needed for the work to be done. The only blip on her record was her astonishing reluctance to say that the ANC had won the elections when she made the final result announcements. 
 
By doing so, she left out one ingredient of a success recipe – graciousness in defeat.  
Brigalia Bam could not get herself to say that the ANC won by a substantial margin, way ahead of the DA and COPE.  It was heartening to see COPE’s Lekota congratulate Zuma at the results centre but so far we have not heard Helen Zille congratulating him or the ANC for a performance that defied expectation. Considering all the negative dramas in the lead-up to the elections, it is indeed an extraordinary achievement. It is not only a matter of emotion and history. The ANC left nothing to chance. It persuaded many of its critics on a one to one basis and ran a campaign with first-world sophistication.
 
By the same token, we have not heard the ANC congratulate the DA in the Western Cape for its outstanding performance. Like it or not, the ANC will have a hard time to recover its support in this province at least over the next two terms. 
 
It will also have to study closely the patterns in the various wards. Take for example, the voting stations in Lower Wynberg where I live. At the last election in 2004, the ANC led at all three stations: John Wycliff(ANC - 36, 18 percent, DA – 24.68, Methodist Church(ANC - 41,8 percent, DA – 28.3 and St Augustine where I voted (ANC - 37.2 percent and DA – 28.19).
Last week, the electorate shifted as follows at the same voting stations: John Wycliff(DA -69.43 percent and ANC – 6.07 percent), Methodist Church (DA – 68.17 percent and ANC – 10.57 percent) and St Augustine(DA 69.89 percent and ANC 6.3 percent). All indications before the elections were that this neighbourhood disapproved of the in-fighting in the Western Cape and the ANC’s presidential candidate.
Nobody would have predicted that the DA’s sweep in this area would have been so substantial. Instead of concentrating only on its present support base, the ANC will seriously have to understand what shifted voters so dramatically if it hopes ever to lead in the Western Cape again.
 
The DA will also have to acknowledge that COPE has pipped it to the post as official opposition in five of our nine provinces. This is no small achievement and secures the party a place in the ongoing political landscape.
 
In a funny sort of way, the election has made most South Africans feel they have won. This is the fourth ingredient in the recipe for our success. The electorate has expressed its will. Everybody was free to express themselves in terms of their own conscience giving us a result that provides a solid foundation that could reinvigorate parliament.
 
Will our politicians squander this moment or will they find in themselves the humility to acknowledge that once again we have been given a unique opportunity to appeal to the best in our nature. It is a time for curbing the impulse to be greedy and arrogant, to behave as if one community or set of individuals have a monopoly over best performance. Bam and Tlakula have shown that talent and ability comes from every corner of South African society and must be identified and allowed to blossom.
 
South Africa is made up of diverse communities and political interests. 
Nationally, Black Africans represent 38 million people, White Africans, 4.3 million, Coloured Africans 4.2 million and Asian Africans 1.2 million.  Voting patterns in this election largely reinforce these racial divides with the ANC predominantly appealing to Black Africans and the DA to White Africans.  COPE appears to have drawn a cross-section of support but is way too small at this point to confirm that we are moving firmly beyond our racial enclaves. The challenge remains to find ways to reinforce our South Africanness. We can no longer say that we do not know the ingredients for success. It was in our face last week.
 
Perhaps the political parties can place a moratorium on squabbling for the next year before they get geared up again for public spats in anticipation of the local government elections. They could negotiate a truce through parliament for one year and call on everyone to work together in their areas to improve local conditions irrespective of which party they belong to.  Parliament could assess after one year whether this has made any difference to the motivation of both citizens and public servants. We may just be pleasantly surprised. 
 
Apart from his unfortunate recent history, Jacob Zuma is well-placed to create an enabling environment. Through the decades, this has been his abiding strength. He is known as someone who listens and brings people together. His performance during the election campaign attests to this strength. Most of all he has the capacity to bring to the centre the voice of the rural poor. 
If we are to survive the present global financial crisis and tackle the huge challenges, we cannot afford to be pitted against one another. We must create a foundation for dialogue through which we can find the best ways to solve our huge inequalities. No one leader can achieve this but what he or she can do is to set the right tone so that our efforts will generate special moments that will tip our country towards greater fairness for all its citizens.
 
Ends
 
*Zubeida Jaffer is an award-winning journalist and author. (www.zubeidajaffer.co.za).

Apr 22
2009

Election Day – first impressions

Posted by admin in April
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Election Day – first impressions 


This was a special day for me. It was the first time that my young daughter, Ruschka, cast her vote. I was pleased that she did not discuss her choices with me this morning, nor did she seek my opinion. Not that we did not have numerous interactions over the past weeks as we discussed the news and the events leading up to our 4th Democratic Elections.

I was more excited than she was. She just took it in her stride, joked with the policemen whom she stopped from driving up the one-way street. “You will be breaking the law,” she said. They laughed acceding that they were caught out and dutifully drove all around the block to reach the voting station. 
Ruschka is completing a law degree at UCT. She was born at a time when the resistance in the country was intense. When she came into our world here at the Southern most tip of Africa, she had already spent time in prison. Today I remember the how I spoke with her during the weeks of solitary confinement; how I hoped that the world for her would be a better place. 

Standing in the line with our green identity books, I was so conscious of how far we had come both personally and as a country. My finger was marked with black and ink and then hers was. In the voting cubicle, I glanced to my side and saw her at the second cubicle from me. I reached the ballot box and was asked to drop the national vote in one box and the provincial vote in another. The election official did not understand why I was hesitating. “Do you mind if I wait for my daughter?” I said “This is the first time she is voting.” He smiled broadly very happy to oblige.

After voting, we chatted to staff and neighbours and then set off home. She got ready to attend a friend’s birthday lunch while I got ready to stop off at various voting stations to sense the mood. I am so pleased that she is able to live a life not overwhelmed by politics. I want her to be able to enjoy her young life, serve her community and find her own rhythm. I remember my young life being so different. When I was her age, I was reporter at the Cape Times and caught up in the intense resistance of the time. There was little time to fiddle with hairstyles and make-up.

It was amusing when the reports came through this morning that women at one of the stations were being asked to remove the nail polish. No doubt an over zealous official insisting that the black ink indicating that they had voted would not take on nail polish. 
The voting stain took on a new importance when we heard that anybody displaying the stain could get free coffee at all Wimpy bars or a free bun at Nando’s.
This commercial dimension will gain momentum at the next election and who knows what treats await us. It is indeed a very different time in our country. As a young student more than 30 years ago, I was turned away from a Wimpy because I was not the right colour. My mom and I were looking for a sandwich in Grahamstown after driving many hours from Cape Town and popped in at the Wimpy only to be told that we were not white enough to buy a sandwich. Today Wimpy is offering free coffee to all citizens irrespective of race.

Despite the huge challenges confronting us, we have done ourselves proud today. At the voting stations I visited, the mood was relaxed. Party agents either sat together or stood around together chatting easily. I pray that once the election competition is over that everyone will find it in their hearts to reach out to one another and work together for the benefit of all the people. I am off to the results centre where a press conference will be held at 10.30 tonight. 
Posted by Zubeida Jaffer at 4/22/2009 09:09:00 PM 
Mar 05
2009

Who will win the Western Cape?

Posted by admin in March

Thursday, March 5, 2009
Who will win the Western Cape?

The silly season is upon us. The Western Cape, the most hotly contested province in the country, is in for a roller coaster ride. All indications are that no one party will be the winner. Instead our political future is likely to fall into the hands of a coalition of parties post 22 April.
How we vote will influence what that coalition will be. It could be any of a combination of parties. The Democratic Alliance(DA) and the African National Congress(ANC) could either align with the Independent Democrats(ID), the Congress of the People(COPE) or some of the smaller parties such as the African Christian Democratic Party(ACDP), the United Democratic Movement(UDM) or the African Muslim Party (AMP).

The two front runners in the 2004 election both believe that they will retain or improve their status amongst voters. While the ANC acknowledges that some of its voters were alienated, it has set out to win back that support and believes it is succeeding. It won 45 percent of the vote in the last election. The DA says evidence suggests that it will win at least 40 percent of the vote and will lead its nearest competitor by 10 percent.

Jan 23
2009

Will COPE help bring real change?

Posted by admin in January
Friday, January 23, 2009
Will COPE help bring real change? 
Outside the city of Cape Town, in a northern suburbs home, COPE party leader, Mosiuoa Lekota, sips a glass of cold apple juice. A small boy, with large innocent eyes, toddles into the lounge and he takes him onto his knee as he speaks. There is no sign of the anger, agitation and frustration he displayed a few weeks ago when he left the ANC. The child too is still and quiet sensing the calm.
The past weeks of contact with South Africans of all walks of life have energised Lekota. “We are attracting people from all sectors of society, many who had abandoned politics,” he said. “Young people in particular see in COPE a party of their time.”

He ascribes his sense of well-being particularly to acknowledging the mistakes he and others had made. “I share responsibility for failures in full,” he said. “It is not for lack of effort. It is partly because we missed some fundamentals.” He feels peaceful since deciding to make a fresh start. “There is nothing more painful than being at loggerheads with one’s conscience,” he said.

The party he leads will launch its manifesto in Port Elizabeth on Saturday barely two weeks after the ANC’s impressive launch in nearby East London. Will their manifesto signal a changed approach to the huge challenges facing our country? Will this inject fresh hope into the body politic or can we expect more of the same?

Lekota identifies two areas that require considerable change – non-racialism and economic empowerment. COPE will not challenge the broad philosophy of these policies. Instead it believes that substantial change has to take place with the implementation.

Huge effort has gone into popularising the idea of non-racialism but some fundamentals were missed in implementation. “On the side of the ANC, we did not read the mood and were unable to fashion an approach that would help all sections of the population feel they belonged,” he said. 

He argues that the language used by the democratic government has sustained an apartheid mentality. “We should strongly have spoken about South Africans,” he said.
In terms of Chapter three of the Constitution, citizens were all equally entitled to rights and benefits and all equally bound by duties of responsibilities, he said. “We communicated a message that in this democracy you pay tax but when it comes to your rights, you are less of a citizen.” COPE will stick closely to the founding provisions of the Constitution and make sure that the language used be fully inclusive. 

This will require a neutral approach to economic empowerment. Instead of emphasising black economic empowerment, COPE will call for economic empowerment for all and provide assistance to those who need it based on a means test. “In all sections of the population, people are poor. We need to find ways to reverse these trends in all communities,” he said.

If COPE has its way, Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) will become Grassroots Economic Empowerment (GEE). The country will become a food exporter not a food importer by working the land effectively and will increase the production of tradeable goods. Since 1994, the industrial sector in the country has slowed down dramatically, forcing South Africa to import many goods.

He is sensitive to the need to fashion an approach that will draw on the strengths of all South Africans irrespective of race, gender or religious affiliation.
Not only was there an emphasis on being black, there was also an emphasis on being ANC. “We need to depoliticise the civil service and draw on people from all political parties with the necessary skill to do the job,” he said.

For Lekota, COPE has revived people’s hopes of achieving a genuine democracy. “If we stay on course, we will inject new life into the political process.”

Will his message of change resonate with the South African public? Much depends on his parties conduct over the next few weeks. The proof will be not in only in what they say but in how they conduct themselves. The reality is that many of those who have moved into COPE bring their experience of the ANC with them. The question is whether or not they will leave behind that which is bad and take with them that which is good?

Genuine change requires serious personal reflection. Listening to Lekota and observing him suggests he has done some soul-searching. When the pressure builds up over the next few months, it will be interesting to see whether he will remain resolute in his determination to chart a different course – one that recognises as Mandela said that there are good men and women in every political party. There are good men and women irrespective of race who are keen to work to make South Africa function optimally.

By Freedom Day this year, we are likely to know whether we have reached a level of freedom that allows us to consider new and fresh ideas and welcome these into the body politic. The danger however remains that in the process, we may carelessly break down painstaking gains that have been made. Once again, the challenge will be how to find the balance between the old ways of doing things and the new. In his inaugural address on Tuesday, US President Obama put his finger on the essence when he said : “Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to those truths.”

Since 1994, we have moved our country towards the contemporary and dominant way of the world. We have been encouraged to believe that greed is acceptable, that personal well-being requires massive accumulation of material wealth, that the welfare of our neighbours are not essentially our responsibility, that there is no right or wrong. The rapid collapse of the global economy says something different. It challenges us to reconsider the dominant way of today’s world and will force us to rethink our “anything goes” approach.

It is the dreams of greater equality and kindness that moved us to create a movement for change that found expression in the ANC. It is those values of peace and goodness that we all yearn for. COPE will just be another one of the many political parties, if its leaders are not seen to be seriously reflective of how they have conducted themselves in the past and demonstrate in right actions a commitment to a fresh approach.
Observing Lekota, it appears that he has taken a step in the right direction. He has indeed been given a second chance but he needs to know that for him and those around him, there will be not be a third. COPE has a huge responsibility. It will not be easy to breathe fresh life into our fledgling democracy again if citizens discover that hidden behind the rhetoric and veneer of deepening democracy lies a shallow interest in self-promotion. It is not only poverty that destabilises public life. It is the perceived unfairness in the way important decisions made and politics is conducted.
If we cannot reshape the way in which we do the business of politics, what will be the future of that small boy with the large innocent eyes perched on Lekota’s knee?

ends

Nov 06
2008

The world as we know it is coming to an end

Posted by admin in Untagged 
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The world as we know it is coming to an end 
The world as we know it is coming to an end. Barack Obama has taken over the White House. Global capitalism is facing the worst crisis in its history. Millions across the world face losing their jobs. A young man who by his own admission has trained at the feet of Nelson Mandela has been propelled onto the center stage.

Few expect that he will be able to effect great change immediately. The constraints of the American economic and political system will limit him in the same way as it has always limited others before him.

His election however does bring with it a strong message of hope at a time when the world most desperately needs it. For the past eight years, the international reputation of the United States has steadily declined. Obama's election signals that ordinary people can make a difference when they exercise their democratic vote. It also moves issues of race and racism onto another level. No longer will people of colour have to submit to the prejudice that they are inferior. No longer will they in turn be able to pigeon-hole all white people.

Not only does Obama epitomise the fusion of black and white, he also brings into the equation an Arab- Muslim dimension that potentially could help subside present-day hostilities. His name Barack derives from the Arabic word baraka which means blessings.


His refreshing and easy connection with millions of people in his country and across the world paves the way for a symbiotic relationship which may just release fresh energies of ordinary people as the world struggles to deal with a crisis of unprecedented proportions.


We in South Africa are so insular that we spend a great deal of time bemoaning our fate rather than carefully examining our strengths and weaknesses. The United States has lived through at least eight years of terribly poor leadership but has come back fighting for the ideals envisioned by their founding fathers. Obama's election creates the kind of space in the world for those with fresh ideas to come forward without fear.

His election is also an indication that citizens want their leaders to lift them beyond themselves. They want their leaders to provide a moral compass and create a context within which they can help create a decent and respectful life.


After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the East-West divide, the world has endured a period of unfettered change that has left greater poverty and spiritual dislocation.



In South Africa, our Obama stepped into our lives during this time. Not only did Nelson Mandela lift us beyond ourselves, he also inspired Obama and countless others around the world. Strangely we seem to have forgotten that we have been blessed with a legacy of great leaders – Luthuli, Smuts, Tambo, Sobukwe. Mandela who took this legacy to its greatest heights is 90 years old this year and perhaps not too long away from leaving us. Either we recognise that this legacy has today been championed by one of the most important countries in the world or we miss this moment and tie ourselves up in internecine warfare.


The weekend's national convention in Sandton contains within it the possibilities of both paths. It is too early to say which path will dominate. It depends on how those who were part of the national convention conduct themselves over the next few months. It also depends on how creatively the ANC responds to this unexpected upheaval. The world as we know it is coming to an end.



Old ways of dealing with this new situation is not going to advance the quality of life much. Terror Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa as well as the existing opposition parties will have to realise that they too can be left behind by the groundswell of change that is taking place. They may garner 15 to 20% of the vote next year and secure seats in parliament for loyal party members but will they have understood that we are living in a time of the internet, and an economic and spiritual crisis that cries out for something wholesome and different.

The South African electorate is not as unsophisticated as many may want to believe. Those who characterise this national convention as purely the response of petulant losers will find they have misread the signs of the times. The convention leaders must also remembers that people are aware that they were in positions of leadership during the past 14 years when the floods of change swept through the country. In a short space of time, they have played a part in dashing the hopes of many who fought alongside them.



Some South Africans have benefited from the end of racism but many can be seen scratching in bins for food. They say they scratch for food and clothes that people throw away in order to feed and clothe their families. There is no stronger indictment against this democracy. In a land of plenty, millions eat very little daily.



Lekota and Shilowa made some of the right noises this weekend when they spoke about the need for respect, their commitment to family values and non-racial inclusivity. However they are a loose group of individuals that have yet to forge an identity. They will have to bear in mind that large numbers of the South African electorate has experienced Obama's direct and simple appeal. They also carry within themselves the memory of the grandness of Tambo and Mandela. Rudeness, insults and uncouth conduct will not win many votes. Constantly excluding sections of citizens from public life also does not bode well for democracy. Empty promises will not fall favourably on the voters ears. Both they and the ANC will have to come to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is coming to an end. What lies ahead is unknown. The only message that will make any impact is one of hope and change expressed through respectful personal conduct.


However weakly organised they might turn out to be, there is a great chance that South Africans may decide to give the new kids on the block their protest vote. The ANC will have to shift from sticking to positions and conduct that do not resonate with large numbers of South Africans. By calling them "the black DA" and "counter-revolutionary", they may further unleash the groundswell of disappointment and anger that is definitely simmering below the surface. If it chooses to use this unexpected turn of events to recognise fully the feelings that have emerged and respond to these creatively, it may yet undermine those who have broken away


Both the ANC and the new group will have to come to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is coming to an end. What lies ahead is unknown. The only message that will make any impact is one of hope and change practically demonstrated through respectful and thoughtful personal conduct. No one person has the answer to the difficulties confronting us. There is a desperate need for political space that will give a wide range of South Africans the opportunity to help solve the many challenges facing us. 
Posted by Zubeida Jaffer at 11/06/2008 09:36:00 AM 

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