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WHAT is the state of the nation as we look back on 2015? Is the glass empty or full? Half empty or half full? Where do we stand?
Many people, seeing how things went downhill during the past year, will be inclined to see an empty or at least a half empty glass. Look at the astonishing incompetence displayed by the giggling Number One, the way he is enriching himself and his cronies (and expecting the taxpayer to foot the bill).
Let me just write down one name: Nhlanhla Nene. Need I say more?
Have we ever had a leader so shameless in his ignorance that he could allege, without batting an eyelid, that Africa was the biggest continent in the world, one all the others could fit into?
We’ve had several near-crashes in 2015. The rand, for one. South African Airways. Nuclear energy. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and the locomotive scandal. Load shedding.
And now we have a water shortage which, it is true, the government cannot be blamed for as such. But the country will have to import food, for which it will have to pay through its neck because the rand’s value has dived, due to the almost criminal incompetence of the governing ANC – exceptions like Nene, Pravin Gordhan and Trevor Manuel notwithstanding.
Looking at the state of the nation through this negative prism, we cannot blame anyone for thinking that the glass is empty or, at best, half empty.
But there is another side to the story as well. And that is only to a small extent represented by the few competent and honest politicians in the ANC.
Two positive elements
The ANC government is, after all, only one element in society, albeit a very important one. And here I would mention two elements, both positive.
The one is the constitutional watchdogs which guard our democracy, especially the judicial power, the auditor general, the public protector, etc.
It is true that the ANC, as behoves a party which was spawned from a totalitarian Marxist-Leninist background, has done it best to emasculate these institutions. Plans have been hatched to prevent the courts from testing bills and policy against the constitution, while Thuli Madonsela was vilified and pilloried with unbelievable venom. She was even accused of being a CIA agent.
But these institutions (with the exception of the public prosecutor's office) have held up against the onslaught. They have not given way.
That is not to say that the offensive will stop soon. The ANC, as embodied by President Jacob Zuma, clearly sees itself as entitled to excercise power “till Jesus comes back”. It is not planning to give up power anytime soon, and we will have to pose the serious question whether the party will surrender quietly if and when it loses an election.
The attacks on those institutions not under control of the ANC will no doubt continue. And we may safely assume that the government will do its level best to manipulate the appointment of Madonsela’s successor so that one of their loyal cadres gets the job - one like Mandonsela’s spineless predecessor, Lawrence Mushwana, who was despised by friend and foe alike.
But there is more positive news. South Africa has a very lively and viable civil society. By and large, we exercise healthy and robust debate in which there are no holy cows. Unfortunately, the race factor still plays an important role, but perhaps that is to be expected.
Nevertheless, many – perhaps most – South Africans feel passionate about their freedom of speech and their right to be consulted about decisions which affect their lives.
And when these rights are trampled upon, as frequently happens, they are vocal in their protests. Sometimes they resort to violence, but often the protests are dignified and peaceful.
The point is that people are very quick off the mark to let the government know when it is going too far.
In the end, therefore, the answer to the question of how full the glass is will depend on your vantage point. If you look from above, the glass will appear rather empty. If you look from below, it will seem rather full.
Perhaps the trick is to view it from a neutral point, like the side. When I try that, I see a glass which is both half full and half empty.
This is my last column for Fin24 and with this, I take leave of the readers who followed my articles for the last three years.
I wish everyone reading these words an overflowing glass and a prosperous 2016!
*What are your views on this? Let us know and you could get published.
Leopold Scholtz is an independent political analyst who lives in Europe. Views expressed are his own.
