Familiar cast of characters can’t move economy forward
As a one-time resident of the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, in the early part of this century, I have always been intrigued by its political theatre, which has played itself out like a Shakespearean play over the past 50 years. Leaders have come in and ushered in a new dawn for a country whose fate is tied to that of its only neighbour. For the most part, there has been very little that any of its five prime ministers could do in isolation to boost its prospects. Since its independence in 1966, its politics has primarily been about a reshuffling of its old guard. The players have not changed, a cast with the same ideas spinning about in the same old washing machine. The frequency of its political changes has left its economy stagnant and bereft of new ideas. The only idea is to convince the most powerful faction within the military to support them for power and, more importantly, to allow them access to the state coffers.
I thought about Lesotho and its political and economic stagnation when considering the promise of a “New Dawn” by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Having been at the right hand of former president Jacob Zuma in his final term of office, there’s no doubt that he has every intention to change the narrative around SA, one that painted a picture of a state captured by nefarious forces. But in that pursuit, how does he achieve it with pretty much the same cast of characters?
It’s these players we ought to believe will now drive us towards this
New Dawn. The soundbites havechanged. When last did you hear the term “radical” when any government official speaks of economic transformation? But is it, as an idea that included such things as nationalising banks and mines, dead? The answer is quite simply no.
It’s an argument that will live again, but, with the country closing in on possible IMF assistance (should the economy not move into high gear, and soon), it’s one that lies dormant. However, as an idea, it lives on and will be recycled some time in the future, when the state of play allows.
So now the narrative is that SA is open to business, fixing a relationship that broke down under Zuma. The Black Business Council (BBC), which left Business Unity SA some six years ago as it sought to benefit from these fractured relations, is now set on a course to return to the organisation. It’s being led by newly elected president Sandile Zungu, the very same person who led the walkout in 2012 as its secretary-general.
I can only wonder what new ideas this reformed BBC will bring to the table. On the surface this seems an attempt to get close to a president who prefers speaking to a business grouping rather than playing to factions.
This is not saying SA’s opposition benches are necessarily a place open to new ideas either. The DA under Mmusi Maimane has feigned being sensitive and alert to the transformation needs of the country. The voice of the party’s base was heard this week with calls for scrapping BEE policy altogether. It’s the same old argument within a libertarian party struggling with its dual ambitions of being a national and a regional power.
While some may proclaim the EFF as the centre of a new politics, the party still represents the interests of a faction of the ruling party. Its economic policies are as dated as the ANC itself.
Our political body, in its entirety, is playing with some rather dated ideas of just how to move SA forward, some choosing to appeal to their base. And as they sing the same old tunes, SA seemingly remains as stagnant politically and economically as Lesotho, just on a much, much larger scale. In the case of our small neighbour, what is at stake is a R28bn economy. SA is a R4.8 trillion economy. In 2011 it was R5.7 trillion.
@ronderby derbyr@sundaytimes.co.za
Our political body is playing with some rather dated ideas