Voters, whichever party they support, who believe in democracy, watch aghast as the ANC and the EFF prove they do not support the Rule of Law.
The opposition leader in the Johannesburg City Council, Clr Mpho Moerane, usually seems like a decent chap, especially compared with one or two of his ANC predecessors and friends. A relative of the Mbeki's, he was always regarded as a gentleman. That is until the voters rejected him and the ANC in the recent election.
Now, he is earning for himself an appalling reputation of tolerating loutishness, disregarding law and order and thuggish behaviour under the tutelage of the EFF. Between them, they have disrupted several Johannesburg Metro Council meetings. Their disgraceful behaviour has prevented the council from going ahead and doing the job of looking after the residents and voters of the city.
As someone who spent a lifetime in opposition, believe me, I have some experience on the opposition. I must warn Moerane that he is not making friends for himself or the ANC; he is losing them.
In democratic countries, after the vote-counting, voters expect the winners to take office and the losers to go into opposition to fulfil an essential role: holding the government to account, firmly, consistently and respectfully. In opposition, you do not have to hate your opponents or seek to make them hate you. They are not your enemies.
They are women and men whose persons, beliefs and policies are to be respected. Governing parties need to remember this too.
The EFF may be a lost cause. This 10% party thrives on thuggishness, lawlessness and general bad behaviour. But is there no one in the ANC who recognises that the example they are setting undermines the Rule of Law and damages their party?
Remember Tshwane after the previous election? The ANC councillors thought that acting like this would win them support. It did not. It merely switches off more voters and sets a terrible example to our young people of how one acts in a Constitutional Democracy.
As South Africa approaches the 2024 general election, it becomes ever-clearer that the ANC has lost the plot. What will happen after 2024 when the ANC loses its majority? It could be replaced by a coalition government consisting of the DA, ActionSA, FF+, ACDP, COPE and several other parties. Will the ANC then try to bring the country to its knees? Will they refuse to vacate office and carry on in Parliament the way the EFF so often does?
We have deep divisions in our country - culture, language, colour, religion, gender, sexuality. Differences in education, wealth and poverty, of life expectations. More than anything else, we need leaders who will unite, rather than divide; build, rather than break down; seek to co-operate instead of tearing each other apart. Above all, leaders who put the people first and themselves and their party squabbles second.
I feel sure we have some leaders like that. There are politicians, in several parties, working sincerely and honestly to advance the people and the community, often at significant personal sacrifice.
The trend towards coalition government, which works well in many parts of the world, gives us an opportunity to practise finding each other. Can we put aside the enmities, the hatreds, the bad blood of the past, in a bid to work towards a new and better future?
Douglas Gibson is a former opposition chief whip and former ambassador to Thailand. His website is douglasgibsonsouthafrica.com
This article first appeared in The Star newspaper.
