In my letter last week I wrote that President
Kgalema Motlanthe’s government has its work cut out
to restore confidence at home and abroad in the
integrity of our institutions; particularly in the
independence of our judiciary and executive
transparency and accountability. Such confidence, I
said, thrives upon truth, obligations and
protection. I said the government must move quickly
and that we, South Africans of goodwill, can only
wish them well.
Then last Sunday, Sunday 28 September, President
Motlanthe addressed the nation in his first
television address. The address was statesmanlike,
generous – rightly – in its fulsome praise of Mr
Thabo Mbeki’s record and was marked by a sense of
both certitude and humility. The text provided an
anchor in a turbulent sea, as the winter clouds
continue to billow over our beloved loved.
I believe it was a particularly important marker in
setting the scene for “free and fair” elections in
six months based upon legitimate political
competition and I was greatly encouraged by the
exhortation to South Africans to turn out for the
polls.
He began by observing:
“Our country is emerging from one of the most
difficult weeks in the history of our young
democracy. It has been a week of uncertainty and
doubt, hurt and anger. Yet, it is at moments like
this that the true character of our nation emerges.
It is when we are tested, that we demonstrate our
resilience and determination. We have shown in the
past that though we may at times experience
difficulty, we have both the will and the means to
rise above the challenges of the moment.” To this,
we, including those of us who sit on the loyal
opposition benches, can only say “Amen”.
The President then crisply enunciated the complex,
interrelated and pressing public policy challenges
facing SA: to reduce unemployment and poverty by
half within 10 years; to provide the skills required
by the economy; to ensure all South Africans are
fully able to exercise their constitutional rights;
to provide compassionate and competent service to
the people; to massively reduce cases of TB,
diabetes, malnutrition and maternal deaths, and turn
the tide against HIV and AIDS; to effectively reduce
the number of serious and priority crimes, with a
programme that also addresses the social roots of
criminality; and, to position South Africa
strategically as an effective force in global
relations.
I welcomed the President’s refreshing candour about
the magnitude of the Mount Everest public policy
incline SA faces. The Motlanthe administration,
however, will have to move quickly to paint in the
specific details of public policy interventions.
Will they, at last, introduce a Basic Income Grant?
How, in fighting the HIV/Aids epidemic, will the
government and new health minister show greater
openness, and opposition to stigma; with improved
treatment, self-protection through education,
prevention and counselling for behaviour change?
Will the government now, in view of the crushing
tide of crime, consider decentralised policing
and a zero tolerance approach to juvenile criminals?
Will we see an end to the pervasive centralisation
of power in every nook and cranny of our country’s
life? On the economic front, will the government
tighten or relax fiscal policy and seek to invest in
large-scale job creation programmes? Will the
government honour its previous promises to
traditional leaders? These are just but a few random
questions we eagerly await answers to.
I was perhaps most encouraged by President
Mothlanthe’s peroration. He said: “In everything
that we do, we are guided by the vision of the
Freedom Charter, which said that:
“South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black
and white, and that no government can justly claim
authority unless it is based on the will of all the
people.”
This vision is all-encompassing. It does not exclude
any single South African. Nor does it allow that any
person has any greater claim than any other to being
an integral part of this nation.
Just as we all have an equal claim to this country,
we all have an equal obligation to build a society
that is united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist
and prosperous.
This is a task for all of us – for government, for
communities, for non-governmental organisations, for
workers, for business, and for all sectors in which
our people are organised.”
I was relieved to hear the evocation of the Freedom
Charter, as the ruling-party, I am sorry to say, have
indulged in the last decade, since the end of Mr
Nelson Mandela’s rule, in a narrowly defined
‘African’ nationalism characterised by the cleavages
of race and division.
And, of course, as the President said, a nation and
our great task are bigger than the government of the
day. Echoing those immortal words of John F Kennedy,
let us all resolve in our own way to “ask not what
your country can do for you—ask what you can do for
your country”.
Yours sincerely,
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP
Contact: Jon Cayzer,
084 5557144
