An ill wind
Zuma has been good for SA
● As the curtain falls on the chequered leadership of President Jacob Zuma, many would think it absurd to suggest that he may have left any positive legacy, but he has , surprisingly, contributed favourably to South Africa’s infant democracy.
Zuma has ended the political innocence, naivety and blind support of sizable sections of rank-and-file ANC members and supporters.
Blind loyalty for the sake of “unity” has been the bane of almost all African liberation movementsturned-governments since World War 2.
Zuma has forced ANC members to weigh up whether they should continue supporting the ANC merely because of its glorious past, even if the party is currently engulfed in corruption, mismanagement and incompetence.
Zuma’s actions have also been the catalyst for ANC members for the first time to vote against the party line, with the opposition, as was seen in the parliamentary vote on the motion of no confidence in Zuma in August.
There has been a fundamental shift among the ANC’s traditional constituency, driven to a large extent by Zuma’s foibles.
Large numbers of black voters may in future be unlikely to vote for the ANC merely out of loyalty, emotions and past allegiance. This in itself is good for democracy.
Zuma has single-handedly reconfigured South Africa’s post-apartheid politics. His actions have reduced the ANC’s political dominance, intellectual hegemony and leadership of the country broadly, and in black society in particular.
Since he was elected ANC president in 2007, two significant electoral breakaways from the ANC: COPE, from the centre, and the EFF, from the populist left, have changed politics.
The EFF has now become so significant that most of the key policies adopted at the ANC’s conference last month tried to outpopulist the upstart, by adopting policies that the EFF has made its own, such as expropriation of land without compensation, free higher education and the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank.
Zuma’s presidency has led to the reconfiguration of the tripartite alliance with Cosatu and the SACP. It has caused a split in the ANC-aligned trade unions and forced the SACP to consider repositioning itself and contest local and national elections independently from and in opposition to the ANC.
Zuma has helped to galvanise civil society, which has taken up the cudgels for clean government and has pushed business to defend democracy, support social justice initiatives and fight corruption.
Many citizens have become active in holding government and leaders accountable, be it in street protests, petitions or on social media.
The judiciary has become more activist as it tries to hold the line against the attack on democratic institutions, lack of accountability and corruption by elected and public officials.
Zuma’s presidency has helped settle in the minds of ordinary citizens the idea of South Africa as a constitutional democracy, with the constitution as the supreme law, rule book and set of values.
The rejection of Zuma’s many court appeals against past charges of corruption confirms that no one is above the constitution or beyond the scrutiny of democratic watchdogs.
Under Zuma’s watch — again by default — the principle of constitutional review of executive and parliamentary decisions has become entrenched.
Over the years, many members of the executive and parliament have opposed the principle of constitutional review of executive and parliamentary decisions.
Now even the president, albeit grudgingly, has publicly accepted the supremacy of the constitution and the Constitutional Court.
Zuma has also increased grassroots awareness of the constitution itself and of the way it can be used to assert one’s rights, as opposition parties and others have increasingly done.
The constitution has increasingly become the touchstone all can rally around — the role that was envisaged by its framers.
Zuma has galvanised opposition parties across the divides of ideology, ethnicity and race to work together more strategically.
This has helped to foster the idea that co-operation Picture: Simphiwe Nkwali across race and politics is “normal”, despite South Africa’s past history of racial, class and ideological divisions.
Nelson Mandela introduced post-apartheid coalition politics when he set up the government of national unity, including the National Party, IFP and other opposition parties in his government. His successor, Thabo Mbeki, encouraged a provincial governing coalition between the ANC and the IFP in KwaZuluNatal. These governing coalitions did not last long.
The DA has had governing coalitions in the Western Cape. Zuma, again by default, may have heralded the coalition as the lasting form of political governance at all levels in South Africa.
The ANC, weighed down by corruption, scandals and government failure under Zuma, may still win the elections next year with Cyril Ramaphosa, but it might fail to secure an outright majority and will then have to negotiate a governing coalition.
Alternatively, in such a scenario, opposition parties, led by the DA and the EFF, having worked together in coalitions at city level, may form their own national governing coalitions, with the ANC in opposition.
Zuma would be mostly to blame if the ANC loses power in the elections next year, even with new party leader Ramaphosa in charge.
It is now very likely that the actions, decisions and behaviour of future leaders and governments will be scrutinised much more deeply by citizens, civil society, the media and democratic institutions.