South Africa - How ‘the people’ can capture the state by Terry Bell
“THE people shall
govern.” It is a Freedom Charter slogan that has been heard loudly around the
country in the wake of the latest political turmoil. It is a legitimate demand
and one that implies direct democracy, a system where the citizens as a whole
have control over their lives and welfare.
Such systems where
political and economic power rest with the community have existed in the past,
usually on a village level, in Africa and elsewhere. Cooperative governance,
without chiefs or hereditary rulers, has been practised in areas as diverse as the
Eastern Cape and Iceland. Regular assemblies, in many cases admittedly only of
men, would be called to discuss and decide, as equals, policies to be
implemented and actions to be taken by the community and for the community.
Where necessary,
representatives, wholly accountable to, and recallable by, the community would
be elected to carry out specific functions. Their pay and conditions of
employment would also be decided by the community. This is real democracy in
action and should be the goal of every person laying claim to be a democrat.
The only question is
whether such a system can be applied in the South Africa of today. And, if it
can, how best should it be implemented. Communication is obviously the essence
here and it is readily pointed out that millions of people can hardly be
gathered together on a regular basis to discuss and make decisions; that the
partial democracy we now see around the world, in one form or other, is the
only answer.
It is not. Courtesy of
aspects of the very technology that has made increasing millions of men and
women redundant as workers, rather than freeing them from drudgery, it is
perfectly feasible for every citizen to be kept informed, to discuss all issues
and to decide and vote on appropriate actions. But this would also have to be
on the basis of a broadly agreed set of principles, a political programme.
In South Africa, such
a programme already exists in the Bill of Rights that “enshrines the rights of
all people… and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and
freedom”. We also possess in modern communications technology – everything from
the internet to cellphones, radio and television – the means to discuss issues
and make decisions as a society. All that is required here is organisation.
A coalition of
citizens could be linked with technology
People throughout the
country tend to be members of various organisations such as trade unions,
religious communities, sports clubs, stokvels and other groups – even political
parties – that come together regularly. Or they are part of neighbourhoods.
Together, these are units large and small of what could be a coalition of
citizens that could be linked with the technology that already exists. And each
citizen has a unique identity number that, as in the present electoral system,
protects against duplicate voting.
A trade unionist, for
example, may choose to be a member of a trade union unit of the coalition or of
a religious, community or other grouping. Only in the unit where the coalition
member is registered may that vote be recorded. Such votes could
instruct representatives to, for example, support labour intensive requirements
for all state contracts (so creating jobs). We do not require money grubbing
small business enterprises; we need to liberate the enormous potential of
ordinary people and create an environment that encourages confidence and
cooperation.
A citizens’ coalition
could also decide to introduce a universal “living wage” social security net
and show how it could be financed by additional corporate taxes or taxes on
individuals paid more than, say, R3m a year. On the job creation front, most
South Africans might also oppose the dumping on the local market of everything
from subsidised chicken portions and canned tomatoes to chocolate bars. These and other issues
could be debated and decided upon on the basis of what is best for the people
as a whole.
To get such a system
under way in the present conditions would perhaps require representatives from
major social organisations such as trade unions, religious groups and community
structures to come together to finalise the organisational details.These would
probably require the establishment of a computerised “hub” that would have no
political authority; it would be responsible primarily to collect and collate
the membership details of those subscribing to the coalition.
It would also act as a
“switchboard”, passing on debates, requests and arguments from various regional
groupings to every coalition member using perhaps a specially tailored social
media platform. Such a coalition would
initially have to operate within the present electoral dispensation, certainly
in the coming 2019 elections. This would mean candidates, selected after the
widest possible consultation, being nominated in proportion to the voters in
each province or region. Every candidate should also be required to sign a
“constituency agreement” that binds them to be wholly accountable to, and
recallable by, the constituents to whom they are allocated.
The proportion of
votes for such a citizens’ coalition in various regions should determine the
boundaries of “constituencies” and who should represent them. This would
finally place the long neglected horse of democratic politics before the now
stalled cart of general wellbeing that still continues to be dominated by an
elite minority. This idea of “peoples’
power” is now being promoted - and claimed - by all manner of groups. But much
of this is mere rhetoric, sometimes mouthed by individuals who for years have
been part of the problem. However, if the citizenry can take practical steps to
implement such direct democracy, this country may again provide an example to
the world.
