Rising tribalism in South Africa: A rejoinder

The efforts of William Gumede in the last issue of Pambazuka News to enlighten the masses on the possible danger of tribalism rising in South Africa’s infant democracy are commendable. One has to be aware, though, of the following facts:

1. Tribalism is always alive as a tool sharpened by contenting leadership than for its own sake or people prosperity generally.

2. Democracy is as old as when people existed anywhere except that western written democratic procedures tend to reduce our own efforts (the black people of African origin) as none existent, which I refuse to accept.

3. Corruption is an aspect of poor governance than necessarily a brainchild of tribalism, which tends to suggest that where there is no tribalism corruption does not exist: Not entirely a true reflection on dynamics of social change and governance.

With the above observation as contribution to the dialogue I offer further input that tribe politics will emanate from insecurity first and foremost than from power control. Power quest in African has been based on the realization that we have been oppressed and therefore now need to correct the past. Correction is based on the fact that racism and discrimination are evils any community need overcome in order to achieve meaningful development. But to also accept the fact that race and discrimination are realities of life; we need device solutions through well thought and digested strategic planning. If we succeed in business because we invest time and resources to get the best mode and methods, we need not underestimate the role in developing tribalism in order to transit into the next phase: To harness development than negate it.

Patronage based society is another reality of life that we need to isolate as far from being primitive or backward. All societies have some degree of patronage. The difference is whether patronage is used to foster community values or to aggrandize an individual and poise them for acquisition and exploitation of others using the privilege of people granted power (votes through elections). Parent-child patronage cannot be viewed as negative, else we advocate for a future fraught with uncertainties on respect and values of “Untu” in a person. So should also be community based values based on patronage except as they cut across simple human rights laws.

What we are contending with is the evolution of power management by many who now exercise governance through democratic processes today. First, do people believe in elections as the best way to choose a representative? Second, is the electorate well educated to understand how to use the voting power and are they safe from abuse or otherwise by those who control the machinery of power process? Third, do we have a precedent where authority has been taken to task by either the news media or law enforcement agency for violating electoral processes? If these cases are far and too wide spread apart, what evidence is there to render electoral processes the best alternative from the traditional chieftain values where ‘elections’ were run from a birth and linage stand point?

We have taken democracy for granted and developed nothing to develop further the processes of people transitioning into fully developed democratic processes. Insecurity has taken control of many people on the African continent where people have died and none has commented or even taken action for correction. All these things have involved common people, who also in time have known the reality of being abused by those in authority.

We need develop our systems in order to accept demonstrations from people who wish to express views against what they do not want and not to look at them as a negative process which needs to be resisted and punished by those in government. We need money spent on building institutions which will equip people with skills for negotiation using a give and take methodology to settle differences than impose dictatorial political sloganeering. Our perceptions as leaders or even as people to opposition as a concept need elevation so we can acknowledge tolerance to handling disagreements in politics. We need not refer to thinking process as always belonging or being influenced by the west, since this defeats the whole purpose of education and thinking.

When faced with insecurity we all behave irrationally. This is what many governments in Africa are doing. The irrationality comes from failure to acknowledge tribe as nothing but species of human life. Any human species when feeling insecure will trigger an action of irrationality in the hope to secure self-defence. Alliances whether on racial or tribal grounds comes from the fact that those in power show lack of moderation in acts relating to appointments and distribution of resources equitably. Cliques and the ‘them and us’ syndrome comes from and is created by uncaring avarice by those who administer justice. Justice encompasses all areas of human life and when it is visibly open to all, people feel secure.

There is no much difference between many of our politicians because none has yet learnt the full extent in sacrifice, giving and being a Stewart. In South Africa Zuma and Mbeki cannot be measured by their eloquence but by their performance in government translated programs on deliverables and services to people. There has been little transformation from what the economy was in the 1980s and what it is now except for having created a few rich blacks and more poor blacks. The doctor per person ratios and income per family may be now worse than in the 1990s.

Institutions must be created in rural areas to teach people ownership and running of business successfully in order to reduce the battle over the meagre resources. Creative management is necessary to reduce rural-urban migration by making the rural life reasonably good, efficient with simple amenities like good wells for water and access to food through green cash generating cropping systems. Ownership and empowerment improves the political articulation on interests and choices, making political contestants elected on merit and visible past achievements in working and helping people and the country improve generally.

No one suggests this is easy. A lot is required in terms of people education in order to breed a mentality of do it yourself than that of dependence syndrome. Gumede is right in his conclusion that people will seek refuge in tribalism when democratic institutions are made to fail. I need to make further proposals that when we invest in education at different levels, so will be the levels of people mentality improving towards innovations on dealing with conditions and situations.

Dependence taught us to run into ruin by collaborating with initiators of dependence than to grow a dependence free mentality. We need more vocational educational services to help in skills that deal with our environment, our conditions and think answers from situations on the ground. We will learn to elect people who are relevant to our environment and not necessarily connected to a system that make us suffer. The road is long subject to focused determination. That we attained independence means very little as many of us have learnt by and by from the rule of aggrandizement and greed from those that courted power into their hands.

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* Andrew M Manyevere is Executive Drector of the Multicultural Association of Fort McMurray in Canada.

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