Let’s learn from our mistakes

IT IS nothing short of tragic that our national discourse has degenerated into a cacophony of noisy slogans and mocking sound bites in recent times. What a far cry from those rational and purposeful debates of the early 1990s that saw leaders from different backgrounds and a diverse spectrum of political opinions come together around a table to negotiate a difficult peace and usher in a new democratic era for our country.

Today, our debates in the House of Assembly as well as in the extra-Parliamentary arena sound more and more like the tyrrany of the loudest, the most shrill and most vulgarly insulting.

Citizens are encouraged to visit Parliament to witness democracy in action, but when they get there, all they’re treated to are shameful displays of name-calling and slanging matches as MPs slander and out-insult each other at the tops of their voices. And this malaise is not limited to the big House. It is often just as undignified in many municipal forums as rival political parties claw at each other for ascendancy. Party rallies serve little purpose too, except to deliver worthless populist rhetoric.

Much of the blame probably lies with the lack of inspired leadership in many forums, where party loyalties are often favoured over merit and experience.

We also need to be concerned about the growing obsession with greed and corruption in the ranks of many leaders, who forget they are here to serve the people – and not their self-interests.

Against this disturbing scenario, the recent proposal for a national convention to chart a way forward for the country makes eminent sense.

It is time for all South Africans to take stock of the state of our new democracy and to ask some serious questions about where we’ve gone wrong. A national convention will allow our leaders to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses, our opportunities and threats.

The advantage we have is that we’re not starting from scratch. We’ve walked this road before and are familiar with the twist and turns. What we need is the political will to succeed.

If we’ve made mistakes, we need to learn from them – not perpetuate them.

Our plea to our leaders is very simple: you’ve been tasked with a responsibility to serve the people you claim to represent. Put aside your differences and come together in a national convention so we can recommit ourselves to the principles and values enshrined in our constitution, and devise plans to overcome our priorities of poverty, injustice and inequality in our beloved country.