Democracy in SA is in turmoil.
That was the overriding message from speakers at a robust community dialogue hosted by The Herald and Nelson Mandela University at the South End Museum on Monday night.
Under the theme “How much trouble is our democracy in?”, the panellists discussed some of the pressing issues faced by ordinary citizens as well as fascism, gangsterism, lawlessness and corruption and SA’s alignment with authoritarian countries.
The debate was led by political analyst and podcaster Eusebius McKaiser, who said gangsterism had manifested itself in the government.
He projected a bleak future for SA if lawlessness and corruption were not dealt with.
“The true state of the nation is far worse than we understand ... In fact, we are a gangster state,” McKaiser said.
“We have seen a creep in our democracy ... an anti-democratic creep that has found its way to government.
“Compared to five years ago, we have more red flags than the positives
“Fifteen years ago, we didn’t talk about political assassinations — those are the things we used to see in KZN — but now we talk about business assassinations, which are not good for this state.”
McKaiser said the politicising of the country’s police and intelligence services had opened doors for unaccountable leadership and corruption.
He likened President Cyril Ramaphosa to his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
“Nothing is going to change with Ramaphosa.
“What we’ve seen is a president that has no backbone who is a constitutional delinquent — a term we mostly used to [describe] his predecessor.”
Prof Christi van der Westhuizen, of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy, said the SA government’s tentative alignment with authoritarian states such as Russia and China should serve as an indication of the direction the country was taking.
Van der Westhuizen cited research that found that some people preferred an autocratic leadership style, as opposed to democracy, as long as they could have a home and law and order.
“We should be worried about the declining voter turnout.
“And these withdrawals are predominantly ANC members who are not taking their votes to other parties,” she said.
Arguing against McKaiser’s prediction of a bleak future under coalition governments leading to 2024, Nelson Mandela Bay’s deputy mayor, Mkhuseli Jack, emphasised the importance of having opposition parties in a democratic state and called for more political involvement by voters.
“Our democracy is in big trouble,” Jack said.
“No-one in our households cares about economic recession until it affects their daily livelihood.
“Once our basic needs are being threatened then people start to wake up.
“Load-shedding has woken up even the most laid-back people about social issues,” Jack said.
He defended coalition governments despite the squabbling among political parties in the Bay council.
“I invested a lot in the opposition.
“We had the opposition ... back in the ’80s which were against what was happening and I have decided to join that today.
“I could have joined the ruling party and be politically silenced.”
Jack said the only thing keeping SA’s democracy intact was the judiciary, adding that it had also become a target.
“We can be angry about a lot of things but we should be proud to see our judiciary, the constitution not being captured.
“Just imagine what could be left of us,” he said.
Urban Issues Consulting chief executive Lorenzo Davids emphasised the need to strengthen the social fibre of communities and instil the values of accountability.
“The dreams of our democracy [are] dying,” Davids said.
“Our inability to be clear is fundamental to what is good democracy.
“Our inability to point out what’s bad is important in building a strong democracy.”
• The next community dialogue curated by NMU in partnership with The Herald will be held on Thursday at the West End Community Hall in Bethelsdorp. McKaiser will discuss why he considers the concept of nonracialism to be of little use in the ongoing struggle for an anti-racist and just SA.
HeraldLIVE
SA’s democracy in big trouble, experts agree
Robust community dialogue addresses some of country’s most pressing challenges
Digital reporter
Image: FREDLIN ADRIAAN
Democracy in SA is in turmoil.
That was the overriding message from speakers at a robust community dialogue hosted by The Herald and Nelson Mandela University at the South End Museum on Monday night.
Under the theme “How much trouble is our democracy in?”, the panellists discussed some of the pressing issues faced by ordinary citizens as well as fascism, gangsterism, lawlessness and corruption and SA’s alignment with authoritarian countries.
The debate was led by political analyst and podcaster Eusebius McKaiser, who said gangsterism had manifested itself in the government.
He projected a bleak future for SA if lawlessness and corruption were not dealt with.
“The true state of the nation is far worse than we understand ... In fact, we are a gangster state,” McKaiser said.
“We have seen a creep in our democracy ... an anti-democratic creep that has found its way to government.
“Compared to five years ago, we have more red flags than the positives
“Fifteen years ago, we didn’t talk about political assassinations — those are the things we used to see in KZN — but now we talk about business assassinations, which are not good for this state.”
McKaiser said the politicising of the country’s police and intelligence services had opened doors for unaccountable leadership and corruption.
He likened President Cyril Ramaphosa to his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
“Nothing is going to change with Ramaphosa.
“What we’ve seen is a president that has no backbone who is a constitutional delinquent — a term we mostly used to [describe] his predecessor.”
Prof Christi van der Westhuizen, of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy, said the SA government’s tentative alignment with authoritarian states such as Russia and China should serve as an indication of the direction the country was taking.
Van der Westhuizen cited research that found that some people preferred an autocratic leadership style, as opposed to democracy, as long as they could have a home and law and order.
“We should be worried about the declining voter turnout.
“And these withdrawals are predominantly ANC members who are not taking their votes to other parties,” she said.
Arguing against McKaiser’s prediction of a bleak future under coalition governments leading to 2024, Nelson Mandela Bay’s deputy mayor, Mkhuseli Jack, emphasised the importance of having opposition parties in a democratic state and called for more political involvement by voters.
“Our democracy is in big trouble,” Jack said.
“No-one in our households cares about economic recession until it affects their daily livelihood.
“Once our basic needs are being threatened then people start to wake up.
“Load-shedding has woken up even the most laid-back people about social issues,” Jack said.
He defended coalition governments despite the squabbling among political parties in the Bay council.
“I invested a lot in the opposition.
“We had the opposition ... back in the ’80s which were against what was happening and I have decided to join that today.
“I could have joined the ruling party and be politically silenced.”
Jack said the only thing keeping SA’s democracy intact was the judiciary, adding that it had also become a target.
“We can be angry about a lot of things but we should be proud to see our judiciary, the constitution not being captured.
“Just imagine what could be left of us,” he said.
Urban Issues Consulting chief executive Lorenzo Davids emphasised the need to strengthen the social fibre of communities and instil the values of accountability.
“The dreams of our democracy [are] dying,” Davids said.
“Our inability to be clear is fundamental to what is good democracy.
“Our inability to point out what’s bad is important in building a strong democracy.”
• The next community dialogue curated by NMU in partnership with The Herald will be held on Thursday at the West End Community Hall in Bethelsdorp. McKaiser will discuss why he considers the concept of nonracialism to be of little use in the ongoing struggle for an anti-racist and just SA.
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