What can we take away from the national dialogue on coalition government, given the nature of conversations and undertakings made? Let us reflect in one way, out of many ways many will offer in the coming days and weeks, I believe.
This weekend, the majority of political parties with seats in Parliament, joined by many civil society formations, structures of indigenous leadership, religious formations, women, youth and student organisations, participated in what was dubbed the National Dialogue of Coalition Government.
Opening the dialogue, the convenor, Deputy President, the Honourable Paul Mashatile, suggested that the country should have had this “collective reflection” some years back as part of the continuous process of promoting consensus about our democracy.
The need for this dialogue has been made even more urgent by recent experiences in relations among political parties, including in coalitions that have struggled to gel and stabilise. Mashatile could have said that this realisation also came as the National Planning Commission released its 10 Year Review of the implementation of the national vision and plan, the National Development Plan (NDP), last week, showing that the country was beset with major challenges related to governance.
These challenges, the review found, included the poor institutionalisation of long-term planning in government and in society that led to the growing short-termism and opportunism; the inability of government at all levels to steadfastly implement the NDP; weak leadership evident in the failure to build a visible and effective social compact and to drive social cohesion; and failure to improve the capacity of the state to deliver on the shared aspirations of society.
Under those conditions, not only are we lagging behind our national goals and global commitments under Sustainable Development Goals, but citizens’ trust in public institutions is in decline. The future of our democracy is at stake with growing apathy, social anger, social divisions and fatalistic tendencies in society.
The economy is not growing anywhere near the envisaged level; poverty, inequality and unemployment are showing a negative trend. The social compact is urgently needed, and strong political and administrative leadership across society is required, said the National Planning Commission (NPC).
Clearly, the challenges the dialogue discussed are similar to what the NPC review showed about all forms of government we have had so far. They are not all problems of coalition governments, but they are problems of our political system and how it is managed by its key participants, including political parties.
It is about the state of our democracy and how it is shattering the aspirations of many for whom democracy’s success must manifest in a better life for all. The challenges of fractures among political formations that corrode any form of cohesion in policy and society voiced out at the dialogue are generalised.
So are problems of political instability, the neglect of development plans (national development plan, provincial growth and development plans, and integrated development plans at municipal levels), the breaching of the political-administrative lines in government in the form of political interference, the abiding short-termism and the pre-eminence of sectional interests, unabated corruption, including the monetisation of politics, incompetent political leadership and partisanship, and so forth, all common challenges without coalitions.
Though focused on the constitution of coalition governments, the dialogue underlined the need to consolidate democracy, strengthen the capacity of the state at all levels, to deliver on its plans, and promote active citizenship alongside responsible leadership and accountable government.
These, it said, are the basis for coalition governments that consolidate rather than corrode the South African democracy. The suggestion that in negotiating coalitions, parties are encouraged to think about configurations that improve service delivery and democratic governance was widely held.
On coalition-specific matters, the need for legal reform to enable shared aspirations for more efficient management of coalitions, for curbing the abuse of coalitions by big and small parties, to strengthen oversight, including by civil society formations, and resolve conflicts among coalition partners, was widely raised.
Such reform would anchor the relevant constitutional provisions and thus further enhance the constitutional bases of South African democracy. The need for continuous dialogue among political parties expressed should help strengthen their ability to identify points of agreement among them and manage their points of disagreement. This could help strengthen cohesion in political society without limiting variety, taming its vibrancy or undermining the vitality of political debate.
While the parties disagreed and showed the usual mistrust of each’s objectives, with the ANC and DA accused of trying to manage post-2024 coalitions in advance, the debate on the actual issues that framed the dialogue showcased how parties could work together in the national interest without losing their individualities.
It all showed that outside of a parliamentary pattern fashioned on an out-moded Westminster idea of ruling versus opposition parties, political party activists can actually have a rational dialogue that is meaningful to us in civil society too. They are able to attend to matters of logic and rationality, matters of interest to ordinary people, and matters vital to our country.
The original meaning of Parliament is a house of vibrant discussion leading to decisions and legislations. But with the Westminster tradition we unthinkingly inherited, it has been reduced into gimmicks and meaningless gamesmanship.
The national dialogue, which the parties and civil society thought must be repeated regularly, was something close to a catharsis, a breather, a moment of reflection for the political and social actors involved. It could be more inclusive, especially of the peoples on the margins of society.
Our country and political system needed, but more will need to be done to facilitate more dialogue on more specific issues we need to deal with like a social compact, social cohesion, economic recovery, the macro-reorganisation of the state, the institutionalisation of planning and evidence-based public action, development dividends of democracy and so forth.
Siphamandla Zondi
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.