Shields against corruption
IN YESTERDAY’S editorial you conjectured that Makhosi Khoza’s brand new party had the odds stacked against it. You questioned whether she would succeed where Bantu Holomisa and Terror Lekota, among others, had failed. It is no doubt a daunting task to face the behemoths with their war chests full to the brim in an election.
That is why Cope relentlessly campaigned for a disclosure of party political funding. Now this significant matter is finally beginning to be addressed in Parliament. The ANC and the DA will be most hesitant to hasten this process. They have too much to hide.
Electoral success and failure is linked to money. It is money that guarantees success for big political parties. By the same token it is this money, sourced from questionable quarters, that fuels corruption and the abuse of power. Success and corruption have got terribly tangled together.
I do not, however, agree that “new political parties have done little to promote change”. Cope, for instance, is the only political party that constitutionally allows every member in good standing to have a direct vote in choosing party leaders. Commentators like William Gumede and others are urging the ANC to do the same.
Then also, there is the question of courage. You make the point that “Far too many politicians in the ANC have been showing far too little ability or courage to fight to improve the lives of those they claim to represent the poorest of the poor”. Their leader is captured and by extension so are they. It is MPs in the small parties that are manifesting the courage that MPs must display.
The editor must also acknowledge that Cope, the EFF and the UDM have been involved in taking the National Assembly and the president to court on numerous occasions. We have stood solidly behind freedom of expression and the need to create congenial space for the constitution to flourish. It was the EFF action which clarified that the decisions of the public protector were binding. Small parties also got Zuma to pay a portion for the palatial Nkandla homestead.
Furthermore, the fact that Cope has been and remains involved in successful coalitions at the local government level indicates that we are a stabilising force, a reliable partner and determinedly opposed to any kind of corruption. When coalition government becomes widespread we will have had plenty of experience and plenty of opportunity to build lasting trust. Today, many MPs and councillors are occupying ANC and DA seats. We trust they will carry forward the values they learnt with us and scorn corruption as vigorously as we have been doing.
It is up to citizens whether they wish to be captured, used and dumped. If voters organise themselves into powerful voter blocs, an equilibrium will be reached where voters will have tremendous clout and the capacity to demand and get accountability and quality governance.