Our leaders should take a lesson from Kolisi’s ‘diversity’ message

Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi led his triumphant Springboks on a weeklong victory parade this week, giving South Africans a chance to join in the celebrations. The win over New Zealand’s All Blacks in Paris last Saturday came as a welcome tonic for a nation whose vitality has been sapped these past few years. That rugby should emerge as a unifying force is an irony given that the Springbok emblem was for so many years a standout symbol of racial oppression, resisting transformation at every turn.

In the years since 1994, transformation has earned a bad name among some citizens, which only worsened when it appeared that its primary goal was the replacement of white players with black players, almost regardless of results. The feeling seemed to be that success on the field took second place to racial transformation.

It is now commonplace that Springbok rugby in particular, previously the domain of white Afrikaners, has made significant strides in selecting a team that is arguably more representative of the country than those of other sporting codes. Notably, it also boasts greater racial diversity than other sectors of public life, notably business and the professions where black representation at senior level is marginal nearly 30 years into democracy.

And the Springboks are also stronger for their diversity. It’s what makes them the winners that they are. Shrewd decision-making by, among others, rugby director Rassie Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber gave birth to a squad that represents the best of all South Africans. Gone are the scornful references to

“quota players”. Gone too is the suspicion, ever present in South Africa, that team selections are made to fulfil quota demands. Or, worse still, to avoid punitive action by the government.

This was the essence of the message Kolisi delivered to President Cyril Ramaphosa this week in a remarkable exchange that attempted to penetrate the defensiveness of a government whose members are drawn from a party, the ANC, whose claim to governing South Africa is based on its nonracial ethos.

Yet, in practice, that nonracialism appears to the observer as a sham. It is unfortunate yet not surprising that some among the minorities have developed the perception that our government appears to be wholly black, and that no-one else counts or has anything to offer. Those who are excluded may feel that there is no role for them in governing a modern South Africa.

They may be wrong or even mischievous in their analyses, but calls for greater diversity, if well meant, are surely a recognition that we can do better as a nation by harnessing our diversity as a force for good, rather than regarding diversity as an unfortunate historical fact.

So the question arises, as Kolisi suggested, why are we not putting our diversity as a nation to good practical use as the Springboks showed us can be done?

Kolisi said: “Diversity is our strength in South Africa ... I want to encourage [you] Mr President and the cabinet, we need to use our diversity a bit more. It is a powerful force that a lot of countries don’t have, that we can use.

“We are very diverse [as a team],” he said, adding, “Everything I do is focused on that and that is what we did as a group of players. You can use that in the country.”

It is a powerful message for South Africa, especially in a context in which the country is clearly at a crossroads. It’s not a matter of including a few token minority symbols to appease those who may feel left out. Rather, it requires a conscious decision by government, and other sectors of society, to deliberately emphasise a renewed ethos of co-operation — in much the same way as the Springboks found they are a better team because of diversity and not in spite of it.

Why are we not putting our diversity as a nation to practical use as the Springboks showed us can be done?