Sustainable success needed to make multi-party coalition work

THE Multi-Party Charter of South Africa (formerly the moonshot pact) is considered to have succeeded, because all seven participating parties have (after some tense debates) put their signatures to the agreement.

That was quite a two-day achievement. Sustainable success, however, will depend on whether the participants will continue to stand united in most of the positive aspects that flow from the joint responsibilities of governing policies.

The former UDF also achieved unity (mainly with the initiative of massive international boycotts and sanctions) in making South Africa ungovernable under the previous regime. Unity in “opposition”, however, does not lead to unity in the responsibility of government.

An apt description would be the picture of dogs chasing cars – what would they do if they “caught” the car? The failure of the tri-partite ANC/ SACP/Cosatu government to govern positively “for a better life for all” is patently obvious to all and there is no sign of positive improvement.

Every single state department has been a failure.

The postal services, local municipalities, SAA, Denel, Eskom Transnet and the Port Authorities, the Public Works Department, the mishandling of public tenders, the steep unemployment, the hefty increase in the crime rate, the assassination of whistle-blowers, the political assassination of councillors and amakhosi – you name it – the list is endless.

To crown it all, we have a president who enjoyed massive broad-based public support shortly after he was elected, but who has been an equally massive disappointment, because he puts party before country and the party is split asunder.

South Africa’s problem is that the ANC counts on the ongoing support of people who falsely believe that an alternative to the ANC would herald a return to apartheid.

The fact is that the DA is far more multi-racial – both in its composition and its leadership – than the ANC or the EFF.

A solid and sustainable coalition would have to negotiate a comprehensive set of binding common support for a detailed list of most of the potential responsible aspects of government.

The compilation of such a comprehensive list and reaching agreement thereon would normally take one or two months and not two days.

Thereafter it would require the committed participation by responsible and selfless leaders.

The present situation has indicated the opposite.