THE DRAFT POLICY PROGRAMME OF THE IFP
THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY
The IFP exists as a political party to serve the people of South Africa, and to do so in the spirit of ubuntu/botho. Our primary purpose is to serve. It is why we exist. We contest elections and we seek power in order to serve the people by addressing their needs and by doing so better than anyone else. We are servants, not masters, of the people.
We recognise ubuntu/botho as the foundation of all human interaction. No person is an island. Because we are who we are only through our interaction with others, we respect everyone and treat everyone with compassion and empathy, and in a manner that recognises their intrinsic human dignity.
WHY ARE WE NEEDED?
Democracy in South Africa is increasingly under threat with an hegemonic ruling party viewing opposition politics as treason and fixated with cementing its hold on power. The IFP is the only non-racial, predominantly black party with the long term potential of governing the country. We represent the political centre ground, rejecting both centralised socialism as well as harsh ‘anything goes’ liberalism. These extremes do not serve South Africa well. We are the real alternative.
The IFP is needed in order to protect our young democracy against one-party absolutism and to lead South Africa into a second wave of democratic renewal, deepening democracy and taking it closer to the people. This is our mission.
A strong IFP for a strong South Africa.
WHO ARE WE? WHAT ARE OUR VALUES?
Values guide your behaviour. They give meaning to what you do. They depict who you are and what you stand for. Values are therefore the foundation of any organisation’s policies and programmes.
The IFP has three key values. These are: Solidarity, Freedom and Unity in Diversity, all of which are interconnected, and each of which is associated with other, secondary values.
Solidarity: In our service to the people, the IFP will stand together with those affected by poverty, unemployment, abuse, crime, violence and other social ills and discrimination. South Africa has an enormous number of people who, left to the exigencies of the market or a minimalist state, would suffer even more severe depredations than that fate has bestowed upon them. The IFP will not stand aloof as our people suffer but will work with them, as an expression of compassion and fraternity, in providing assistance.
Freedom: We seek a South Africa in which the potential of every person to a dignified life can be realised, with integrity, within a democratic environment. Internally, we believe everyone has the right to participate in party affairs and to advance themselves so long as their activities are premised on integrity. Everyone within the party has the right to speak and to be heard, to be treated with dignity, and to stand for any office. We embrace and promote internal democracy, transparency and accountability. On the national stage, we stand for a constitutional state in which individual rights are protected against intrusive government, in which the poor and vulnerable are assisted, and in which the autonomy of civil society is not infringed upon.
Unity in Diversity: We embrace our differences and reject the notion that we are all the same. We are equal under the law, of course, but South Africa is nonetheless made up of many different cultures, groups, races, religions, communities and peoples. None of these is more important than any other, though we do embrace Christian and other faith-based values. The IFP welcomes all into our fold. We are inclusive, we promote multiculturalism and we encourage the sharing of power among our constituents. The IFP is a home for all South Africans subscribing to our values and policies. Everyone is welcome to join with us in our great quest to make South Africa a better country.
These values reflect who we are in that they guide our behaviour as a political party. They equally reflect what we aspire to for the country as a whole.
OUR VISION
What society do we want for ourselves and future generations? It is, in short, a just, prosperous and moral society whose citizens engage with each other on the basis of ubuntu/botho.
A just society is one which is fair, which has successfully addressed the challenges of our past and, unfortunately, even the present – limited access to basic services, to sustainable jobs, to quality education and healthcare, and to security. It also results in freedom and equality for all before the law, irrespective of who you are and where you come from.
A prosperous society is one in which mass poverty has been eradicated and in which our people are able to pursue a better life, in which everyone is able to develop to his or her fullest human potential. A prosperous society provides opportunity for all, provides high quality services and contributes towards stability and unity.
A moral society is one governed by timeless moral precepts of good, unlike the situation in South Africa today which is often characterised by fear, violence, crime, greed and corruption. We believe in a society based on strong family and strong community. There is a contrast between some amoral leaders and elites and the essential goodness of most South Africans – we believe everyone has a role to play in making South Africa a better place.
A society underpinned by the spirit of ubuntu/botho must necessarily promote justice and prosperity and morality for all. We believe such a society is a possibility, and is not merely a dream. We believe our values of solidarity, freedom and unity, and our principles and policies coupled with bold leadership and political courage, can achieve this vision.
THE CHALLENGE
Without faster economic growth, the challenge of creating sufficient numbers of sustainable jobs cannot be met. At present, even with the current 4.5% growth rate, the numbers of unemployed persons rises every year - unfortunately, GEAR’s 6% economic growth target has remained elusive.
We agree with most economists that in order to generate the levels of employment needed, the economy needs to grow at 8% or 9% plus, comparable to the more successful emerging economies.
The fact of the matter is that South Africa needs to be growing at around 9% a year. Over a 5 year period, if we achieved this 9% growth, our economy would be substantially larger than it would be if we grew at only 5%, to the obvious benefit of all South Africans, both employed and unemployed.
The key point is that while growth cannot of itself solve all the problems of unemployment, poverty or inequality, it gives policy makers the tools to grapple more effectively with a wide range of socio-economic problems.
THE SOLUTION
The IFP believes we can indeed grow our economy at 9% per annum.
What is required to raise our present modest growth are the following measures:
ü Dramatically improve our skills base. This should be done via a variety of measures, most important of which are better educational outputs from a system which is currently in crisis. We should also access the global market for skilled workers and entrepreneurs both because our skills shortage impedes growth and because every skilled worker we import generates additional permanent jobs at minimal cost.
ü Change our labour laws to make it easier for small businesses to create new jobs. In most countries, it is the SMMEs that generate the greatest number of jobs, but this is not the case in South Africa which is fixated on the role of large companies.
ü Give smaller businesses easier access to capital. Raising capital in South Africa is very difficult for new entrants into the economy and we need to remedy this if we are to promote entrepreneurship.
ü Improve our infrastructure (roads, power supplies, ports). This is critical. We are short of power stations, our harbours are a disgrace and the rail system cannot cope.
ü Liberalise the communications sector. Modern, cost effective communications is central to any modern economy. The present managed liberalisation process has failed South Africa whose communications costs are far higher than they should be if we want to grow the economy faster.
The IFP does not advocate unbridled, laissez faire capitalism associated with a minimalist state. We are indeed a developmental state, but this does not imply an over-interventionist state whose actions unnecessarily limit the growth potential of our economy. However, though we need to recognise the important role of the state, we believe more emphasis must be placed on the role of the private sector in generating growth and jobs. And we need to ensure that whatever we do to promote growth and jobs, we protect our more vulnerable citizens and provide a safety net for the poor.
A significant section of our population is trapped in poverty. This is demeaning both in respect of the lack of access by the poor to material resources as well as in their poverty being an affront to their human dignity.
Indeed, the IFP believes the biggest indictment of democracy in South Africa is that poverty has worsened, and is in fact more prevalent today than at any time in our recent past. Neither the levels of economic growth nor the various measures the government has taken to date have been sufficient to free the poor from their poverty trap.
While the IFP endorses the widespread provision of a variety of grants to the needy, this needs to be balanced against long term, more sustainable interventions which encourage self-sufficiency and self-help. The present approach of strengthening dependency and creating a culture of entitlement has unfortunately weakened the natural inclination of the poor to try to improve on their circumstances. At the moment, the poor are suffering from alienation, desperation and hopelessness.
The IFP will change this.
THE SOLUTION
Lacking appropriate economic skills and often trapped in sub-economic rural areas, the poor require focused anti-poverty measures to improve their life chances. The IFP believes both short-term and long-term initiatives are required.
In the short term, the poor require measures to improve their living standards, including:
ü Improved infrastructure – better roads, water, energy and sanitation.
ü Improvements to the grant system – better benefits for the aged, for child-headed families, for carers of aids orphans, for children. An IFP government will implement a Basic Income Grant.
ü Improved heath care – better local preventive and curative care at minimal cost.
ü Rural agriculture must be resuscitated. A healthy agricultural sector is crucial for both food security and for sustainable livelihoods. Government must assist with training, seeds, tractors, fertilisers and so on.
ü There is a need to inculcate and promote - with government assistance - a sense of self-help and self-reliance to build a better life and to discourage permanent dependency on the state.
ü Municipalities, and also provinces, are key role players in addressing poverty. Their powers and resources to deal with poverty should be increased. Government should work with NGOs and civic organisations as partners.
Despite its positive interventions, Government has, over three terms of office, failed to deal decisively and effectively with poverty. Indeed, poverty and inequality endure at unacceptably high levels. Unfortunately, there are no signs of the situation improving and there is no comprehensive plan to turn the situation around.
The IFP however, has the compassion and vision to do what is right and what is necessary to address the plight of the poor.
THE CHALLENGE
The pre-eminent responsibility of any government is to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. Without it none of the other policy goals have much significance. One could therefore argue with conviction that the creation of a law-abiding country is the most important single policy priority.
The challenges facing our failing criminal justice system are legion. Some examples: the courts take too long to finalise cases; there is inadequate policing; resources are inadequate; there is too much centralisation of police functions, including crime prevention strategies; our borders are porous, allowing criminals free entry and exit; there is a lack of proper training; there is a lack of respect for authority; there is political interference in the system (eg, the disbandment of the DSO/Scorpions); our prisons are overcrowded; police are disempowered by disallowing them to use maximum force to arrest criminals; corruption is endemic.
In general, the courts are cumbersome, and the State lacks the ability to successfully handle the many and complex prosecutions; the effectiveness of the police has plummeted; and the prisons are notorious for their criminality and corruption.
In the meantime, since 70% of all cases are not being prosecuted to conclusion, most criminals escape unpunished, free to engage in crime. And to top it all, crime in South Africa is characterised by excessive violence, creating a psychosis among our people, wondering if each day will be their last.
THE SOLUTION
Much is required to turn this around. While there has been progress in certain areas, in general it is insufficient and must be rapidly accelerated.
The judiciary:
ü Mandatory time frames should be legislated to improve the efficiency of judgements and sentencing.
ü Accessibility to the courts should be improved. We need to ensure affordable legal costs, inter alia by improving the legal aid system.
ü Corruption must be eradicated.
ü Working conditions of the judiciary must be improved.
ü Appointments to the bench should be depoliticised.
Policing:
ü We need to upgrade the training system, with a special focus on investigative skills and forensics.
ü Policing powers should be decentralised, even to the local level.
ü There should be far more community involvement in crime prevention and in inculcating a culture of respect for authority, and the police should be more accountable to communities.
ü Government must provide adequate resources for effective, efficient and professional policing.
ü Appointments to the police force must be depoliticised.
ü Working conditions must be significantly improved.
ü The country must develop a highly qualified, well paid and highly motivated cadre of crime fighters to make South Africa safe.
ü More focus must be placed on victims’ rights.
Prisons and correctional institutions:
ü The parole system must be overhauled and depoliticised to prevent hard-core criminals and the politically connected from benefiting.
ü Hard labour should be reintroduced for certain categories of crime and there should be stricter control over conditions under which hard core prisoners serve their sentences.
ü There should be improved working conditions.
ü Much more effort must be made to rehabilitate juvenile offenders.
ü There should be alternatives to prison for those convicted of minor offences.
ü More prisons and correctional facilities should be built.
ü Corruption must be stamped out and appointments depoliticised.
Since 1994, the criminal justice system has failed to deliver, and for most South Africans, the systemic criminality of our society appears as bad, if not worse, than it has ever been. What many perceive to be a kid glove approach has not worked. It is time for a new, tougher, and more localised approach.
THE CHALLENGE
Education in South Africa is in a state of crisis. Some examples:
The government has failed miserably in providing an education that prepares our students for the job market. The country presently lacks a highly qualified, well paid and highly motivated cadre of educators. Under the present system there is a scarcity and uneven or erratic distribution of resources. The management of the whole education system is structurally dysfunctional. The present system does not address the shortage of educators in the fields of maths, science and technical subjects. Our educational institutions have become havens of drug abuse, violence, teenage pregnancies, ill-discipline and immoral behaviour. Under the present system school governing bodies play no meaningful role. The system is in crisis as a result of the government’s state of denial with regards to the HIV-aids pandemic.
All in all, education is in a sorry state.
THE SOLUTION
Specific issues to be addressed include the following:
ü South Africa needs a diversified education system that properly caters for the vocational, technical and academic needs of the country.
ü The country must develop a highly qualified, well-paid and highly motivated cadre of educators to achieve quality education.
ü We need more teacher training colleges and the provision of far more bursaries in targeted subjects such as maths and science.
ü We must ensure that all institutions of learning are adequately and appropriately resourced.
ü Policy making should be devolved to provinces with the autonomy to formulate their own education policies suitable to their diverse needs.
ü Discipline, of both learners and educators, must be returned to schools. A respect for authority and a respect for the profession, must be reintroduced. We must revisit laws that allow for or encourage anti-social behaviour.
ü We should recall qualified and experienced personnel prematurely lost to the profession, providing better incentives.
ü We must minimise the use of third party agencies in the distribution of textbooks and stationery. Existing staff must be capacitated in the acquisition and supply processes.
ü We must bring back a culture of accountability throughout the system, at educator and management level.
ü Education should be free up to and including grade 12. We must do away with the half measures characterising the status quo.
ü We must make tertiary education more affordable.
ü We must make our education more competitive in the global market.
While the government inherited a racially discriminatory education system, it has nonetheless failed to provide all South Africans with quality education, and there remains a vast gap between the education provided the poor and the rest. The IFP believes far more must be done to address inherited inequities and to ensure the education system affords everybody the means to fulfil his or her potential.
THE CHALLENGE
If the single defining health issue is whether citizens have access to affordable, good quality health services, then the answer must be an unfortunate “no”. The health system is facing many challenges, but despite the fact that South Africa spends as much or more on health as do other comparable countries, our outputs are depressing: for instance, the average life expectancy of post-apartheid South Africans is decreasing every year when it should be increasing.
The most shocking instance of the failure of the health system relates to the extremely poor leadership of the government in respect of the HIV-Aids pandemic in which the prevalence rate has increased from 3% to between 11% and 17% since 1994. The anti-intellectual, anti-scientific and pro-quackery leadership of the health department has made SA the laughing stock of the world and has condemned too many of our people to a miserable and unnecessary death. Pandering to dissidents’ denialism also led to the country squandering an opportunity for early and decisive intervention when the infection rate was more manageable. Government needs to apologise to the country for the ensuing tragedy.
Other challenges facing our health system include: the often appalling state of our clinics and community health centres with their shortages of equipment and medication; the critical shortage of health professionals at state hospitals generally and rural hospitals in particular; poor treatment of heath professionals in rural areas, leading to resignation and defeatism; an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude to communicable diseases; etc.
THE SOLUTION
HIV/Aids:
ü The IFP will adopt a radical departure from the present genocidal HIV/Aids practice and declare HIV/Aids a national crisis.
ü The IFP advocates, as the most effective tool for prevention of HIV infection, abstinence, delayed sexual debut, reduction in numbers of sexual partners (premarital couples), fidelity (married couples) and more condom use (among sexually active).
ü In terms of treatment, the IFP will prioritise upgrading the health system and rolling out treatment in line with the original targets of an additional 278 000 people being put on ARVs every year.
ü The IFP will support the ARV rollout by giving coherent and consistent messages about the relative benefit of ARVs, nutrition and alternate remedies.
ü The IFP will advocate that Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) should be routinely done like other baseline blood tests to de-stigmatise HIV/Aids.
ü The IFP’s Ministry of Health will use powers under the Patents Act to issue compulsory licences to enable the local production or importation of generic versions of the patented drugs.
Other:
ü The IFP will employ the expertise of Human Resource practitioners, experts and researchers, to formulate a Human Resources Health Plan (HRHP) for the recruitment and retention of skilled health professionals in the public sector.
ü This plan will change the status quo in which some hospitals operate on a ratio of 1 nurse for every 18 patients to 1 nurse for 4 patients in general wards. As a recruitment strategy, the IFP supports the raising of public sector salaries.
ü The IFP will decentralise powers and health functions to provincial, district and local governments. We will also support their attempt to access international grants such as the Global Fund to fight the scourge of HIV/Aids, TB and malaria.
ü Although the IFP supports health care professionals belonging to professional associations, we oppose their unionisation because their profession is an essential service. We further believe that appointments to the various health sector councils should be depoliticised and the Minister’s powers in this regard must be curbed.
ü The IFP is committed to consulting more with health care practitioners ‘on the ground’ whose work provides them with unique insights into the obstacles their patients are struggling with.
ü The IFP will promote the economic rights of people living with HIV/Aids, review and improve the current CD4 count-based disability grant criteria, and potentially, introduce a chronic illness grant.
There have been advances in the health care system since 1994, but this is overshadowed by government’s gross failings in dealing satisfactorily with HIV/Aids. The resultant genocide will forever taint the government and undermine its credibility.
THE CHALLENGE
Since 1994 political development in South Africa has been contradictory in that there has been progress, stagnation, and retrogression. We applaud the progress, decry the stagnation and denounce the retrogression. Unfortunately, in the years since the attainment of freedom in 1994, certain trends have emerged indicative of democracy in South Africa being under threat:
o The growing reality of SA becoming a procedural democracy that is in all but name, a one party state.
o Threats to press freedom, including harassment of journalists, pre-censorship and regular unwarranted invocations of treason and racism, together with the public broadcaster being run as the government broadcaster.
o The growing centralisation of power nationally and within the presidency, at the expense of provinces and municipalities.
o Growing ruling party hegemony in all areas of politics, the economy and society.
o The conflation by the ruling party, of party and state, as though the interests of the two are one and the same.
o The demonisation of the opposition as unpatriotic, as serving non-legitimate interests.
o Abuse of powers of patronage to entrench ruling party dominance in all areas of life in South Africa. This includes its appointees dominating the supposedly independent institutions established in Chapter 9 of the Constitution.
o The ruling party’s liberation movement mentality in which it has yet to see itself as or to operate as, a normal political party, together with its portrayal of itself as the only legitimate representative of the people.
o The abuse of floor-crossing, thereby weakening the opposition and destroying voter confidence in the electoral system.
o Frequent violations of the spirit of democracy by the ruling party in its governance.
o Growing corruption, especially by the patronage-dispensing ruling party in and out of government.
o A growing arrogance of power by the ruling elite in which it even attempts to place itself above the law.
o Abuses of power, including interference in the judiciary and the prosecuting authorities.
o Myriad policy delivery failures, resulting in growing public discontent.
o Much of the above carried out in the name of the ruling party’s “national democratic revolution” whose ends are seemingly justified by a range of increasingly undemocratic means.
THE SOLUTION
The alarming power of the ruling party must be checked. The IFP has a solution. In fact, the IFP is the solution. In the medium to long term, the IFP, as the second largest non-racial, predominantly black party, has the greatest potential to grow itself to take on the ANC, and it is vital that the IFP positions itself and is supported by the voters, to perform this role.
We want to achieve the following:
ü Grow the IFP into a larger party. People must see and believe that the ruling party cannot grow indefinitely.
ü Become a viable alternative to the ruling party.
ü Become the alternate government. Democracy will be best served if there are realistic prospects of the ruling party being replaced as the government of the day.
ü In the meantime, the IFP will act as the custodian or watchdog of democracy by:
§ highlighting all abuse of power;
§ exposing fraud and corruption; and
§ protecting the people against the intrusions of the state.
ü The IFP will continue opposing the growing centralisation of power. We will do everything we can to save the provinces from attempts to erode their powers.
ü The IFP in government must be a role model of good governance and must showcase service delivery.
ü We commit ourselves to amending the Constitution to provide for greater autonomy of civil society, including the freedom of the press.
ü We will bring government closer to the people, and give the people a greater say in how they are governed.
ü We will change the electoral system to improve the accountability of public representatives to those who vote for them.
The dangers to democracy of a rampant, intolerant and arrogant ruling party are clear. And, though SA needs opposition parties, the notion that any one of these parties should abrogate unto itself the role of being the only alternative is false. The IFP has a very bright future and will independently and resolutely play our historic role in making SA a better place for all its people.
REDRESSING THE WRONGS OF THE PAST
THE CHALLENGE
South Africa’s apartheid past lives on in the present, not politically, but in respect of a wide range of unfair legacies affecting the previously oppressed and unfortunately, far too many of their post-1994 children and grandchildren. In living standards, health, education, access to economic opportunity and the like, the eradication of enormous backlogs entails suitable policy and the expenditure of huge resources and will take a generation or more to deal with satisfactorily.
Unfortunately however, while the ruling party has started a process of redress, it has not gone far enough and in many areas is taking too long to implement. As a consequence, for example, there are more South Africans living in poverty today than there were in 1994, and the ranking of South Africa in respect of the United Nations Human Development Index is dropping every year. For a post-apartheid democratic government, this is simply not good enough. In the social and economic fields in particular, the legacy of apartheid must be dealt with in a more systematic and comprehensive manner.
THE SOLUTION
The IFP believes the answers lie in the following:
ü Declare war on gross poverty and inequality. Although government has committed itself to halving poverty by 2014, SA has perhaps still the highest inequality of any society in the world, in which vast wealth and extreme poverty exist side by side. Great wealth is not necessarily wrong, but that it lies alongside great poverty is obscene.
ü Establish clear and shorter timeframes linked to clear redress objectives. The idea that we can solve these inherited problems with small, incremental changes over many, many years is not very appealing to the poor or those still waiting for services that others currently enjoy.
ü More rapid economic growth is a necessity because it will provide the resources for government to spend, while an expanding economy offers greater opportunity for self-advancement. Average growth provides average levels of government expenditure (which is what we have now), while high levels of growth provides government with more to spend.
ü Give substantially more life to the second generation rights enshrined in our Constitution. A fair amount has been achieved since 1994, but a lot more can still be done. The Constitution affords people right of access to various government services, with the proviso that these rights are realisable over time. But in respect of quality health care, education, municipal services and the like, the country must simply spend more.
ü Ensure the state drives the redress process, in:-
§ Providing resources directly to the disadvantaged. Direct grants, soft loans, improved services, improved access to opportunities (eg, tenders), and physical assets (eg, land and housing), are examples of instruments to be used.
§ Promoting self-help and self-reliance as key issues. Government should not simply provide for people. It should likewise help people to help themselves. Specific programmes modelled on this principle (such as sweat equity housing) must be implemented.
§ Providing an environment conducive to individual self-advancement. A growing economy with healthy, skilled, safe and happy people able to make their way in the world on their own is the most desired outcome. Government must do more to create such an environment.
ü Target critical areas, especially in the rural areas and informal settlements and deal comprehensively and holistically with their needs in respect of education, health, land, infrastructure and municipal services.
In addressing the inequities and injustices of the past, the ruling party is not doing enough and is not doing what needs to be done quickly enough. But it is at least trying. The IFP however, whose constituency is in dire need of better redress, believes government is the servant of the people and must simply serve them better than the ruling party is currently doing.
THE CHALLENGE
The IFP recognises that South Africa is an integral part of the African continent and a role player in the global community.
There are major challenges facing Africa however: the breakdown of the rule of law; a lack of culture of democracy and poor governance institutions; a lack of culture and respect for human rights; endemic conflicts, wars and genocide; the scourge of HIV/AIDS; famine, diseases and under-development; ethnicity; and xenophobia on the part of SA citizens.
Equally, there are numerous global challenges to be confronted: the lack of commitment among developed countries towards Africa; problems of terrorism, drug and human trafficking and wars; the manipulation of multi-lateral institutions by super powers; racism as an obstacle to integration into the global community; and dealing with the notion of a United States of Africa.
THE SOLUTION
The IFP is a South African party for Africa. Our values oblige the IFP in our action in the field of international relations to:-
ü Strengthen and democratise regional & continental forums and institutions such as SADC and the AU.
ü Create mechanisms to persuade member-states to conclude and observe conventions and protocols which promote democracy and good governance - e.g. regular free and fair elections.
ü Promote constitutionalism and a culture of human rights in African states.
ü Continue to play an active role in conflict resolution and peace keeping missions to stamp out conflicts and wars.
ü Put HIV/Aids on the regional and continental agenda and declare HIV/Aids a continental disaster.
ü Form partnerships with other African nation states in stimulating research in areas of HIV/Aids, disease & food security.
ü Address the problem of xenophobia in South Africa, which is aggravated by the fact that we have a porous border resulting in an influx of too many illegal immigrants from north of our borders.
ü Co-operate with other African states in prioritising African development in global forums.
ü Democratise multilateral institutions such as the UN to ensure equality among member states.
ü Co-operate with other states in fighting against global racism.
South Africa needs answers for Africa. The IFP, while it respects the right of any country to deal with its internal affairs, strongly believes that South Africa needs to do more to stand up for ordinary citizens throughout the continent when their best interests are not served by their governments. We need to be more vocal in dealing with governments that do not respect human rights and abuse the rule of law. It is our duty to protect democracy, not autocracy.
THE CHALLEGE
South Africa is today a country that has reached a moral crossroad. If we continue along the same path and in the same direction as we have treaded since 1994, our destination is moral bankruptcy.
All around us, we see the results of wrong behaviour. South Africa is not simply perceived to be the crime capital of the world, which is bad enough in itself, but as either top or nearly top offender in respect of the most morally repugnant crimes such as murder, rape, violent assault and crimes against children, women and the aged. Criminals are harboured by communities. Public facilities such as schools are vandalised. Some educators and learners play truant instead of engaging in serious and meaningful teaching and learning. Promiscuity is rampant. Corruption is rife, in both government and business. Very young girls abort without their parents even knowing their children are pregnant. Children don’t respect their parents or elders. Gangsterism is idolised. Greed and cronyism are ubiquitous and justify all kinds of excess. There is a lack of respect for society’s elders. And so on.
This moral degeneration has not been addressed by the ruling party which, with its permissiveness, corruption and contempt for the moral views of the ordinary man and woman, is itself an important contributor to the problem.
The only alternative to continuing along this path is to acknowledge that we are morally lost. We need to change direction. This is the moral challenge facing South Africa.
THE SOLUTION
While it was laudable for government to establish a moral regeneration campaign, its proponents have failed to live up to the country’s expectations – they too often failed to walk the talk. The IFP however, is calling for real changes in people’s behaviour and the behaviour of leaders, in order to make South Africa a better country.
The IFP strongly believes in the human rights afforded us by the Constitution and see little purpose being served in promoting fundamentalist conservatism - South Africa does not require one excess replacing another. These are some of the specific measures that should be taken up:
ü Bring back the teaching of ubuntu/botho in schools. Civic education premised on the humanity underpinning ubuntu/botho is a key to long term attitudinal change by the young.
ü Casual attitudes by some educators and learners towards education must be changed. Educators who are drunk or abscond or engage in sexual relations with their charges should be severely disciplined. Learners roaming the streets instead of being at school must be dealt with firmly. Parents should be held responsible.
ü There must be a crackdown on corruption. The ruling party’s present tolerance of its members’ corruption and cronyism, especially in government, must be rejected by all. Any instances of corruption by SAPS members, including senior leaders, must be dealt with particularly harshly.
ü Abolish floor crossing which corrupts democracy.
ü The commitment by everyone to fighting crime must be increased. The police must be allowed to use force whenever it is reasonably necessary.
ü Victims’ rights cannot be secondary to those of criminals as is the case at present. The community must itself respond to the challenge of turning in suspects.
ü Promote the family and values that affirm and strengthen the family.
ü Consider the judicious and strictly controlled reintroduction of more effective disciplinary measures in both schools and as a sentencing tool.
ü Permit custom (such as virginity testing) which serves to strengthen positive moral outcomes.
ü Discipline and self-discipline must be promoted and rewarded. Use the fiscus to reward positive behaviour (eg, achievements in schooling).
The IFP vision of a moral society is at odds with much that is prevalent in South Africa today. The ruling party has proven itself unable to stop the rot. The IFP however, with its commitment to ubuntu/botho, its healthy balance of liberal, conservative and social values and its determination to change South Africa for the better, is able to chart the way forward and lead this campaign for moral regeneration.