DEON PRETORIUS | Collaborative politics can take SA to new heights and a better society

I appreciated Mamphela Ramphele’s article titled “May 2024 Elections an Opportunity to Go Beyond Transactional Politics.” 

She makes the point that the elections that we have just gone through are an opportunity for SA to vote for new leaders with the commitment to complete the unfinished agenda of our transformation beyond the political settlement.

Then she refers to the scourge of transactional politics and suggests that it has, at all levels of government, created “a huge feeding scheme for tenderpreneurs and their public official partners to tender for services that our over-paid, ineffectual and corrupt public servants should render.”

Finally, she suggests that we have “another opportunity, as citizens of our constitutional democracy, to use the power of our votes to elect leaders who have the courage, ethics, creativity and accountability to restore our trust in a future fit for our great-grandchildren.”

I do not think that we will ever achieve the political dreamland of political leadership that consists of only courageous, ethical, creative and accountable leaders and excludes corrupt and opportunistic political entrepreneurs.

However, I think that the choices that are going to be made about who to partner with in the new era of enforced coalition politics will either take us towards the socio-political disaster that has been looming on the horizon for a while or a platform for a new type of politics. 

The case for collaborative politics and collaborative coalitions. I have been arguing for collaborative politics for a while. It can best be understood if differentiated from other forms of politics.

Let us start with what Ramphele calls transactional politics. What does that mean? In SA, transactional politics has taken on different forms of deal-making. It refers to a system where political power is exchanged for personal or material benefits rather than based on ideological, principled or policy differences. This phenomenon is characterised by the use of economic incentives, threats and other forms of transactional bargaining to influence political decisions and voter behaviour. In SA, transactional politics takes on various forms.

Volumes can be said and written about the consequences of transactional politics but there is no doubt that the prevalence of transactional politics in SA has significant implications for the country’s democratic system. More than anything else it leads to a lack of trust in political institutions, undermines the legitimacy of elected officials and creates a culture of corruption and clientelism.

This election suggests that there is a split between a majority of people who have had enough of this in SA and a minority who still are content with this unfortunate situation. 

What are the alternatives to transactional politics?

Firstly, there is conventional and old-fashioned adversarial competitive party politics where individuals and parties work against each other to achieve a goal that only one or a few can attain. It can drive innovation and efficiency, but it may also lead to conflict and inequality.

Then there is cooperation where individuals or parties work independently towards a shared goal. Unlike collaboration, cooperation does not require an elevated level of integration or the sharing of resources.

Another option is where individuals or groups work side by side without interacting with each other. They share a common space or resources, but they do not have a shared goal or coordinated activities.

Isolation is the scenario where individuals or a group work entirely on their own, without any interaction or sharing of resources with others. The Orania option.

Then there is dependency where one individual or group relies on another to achieve their goal. The dependent party has less control over the outcome.

Finally, there is collaboration which is a form of interaction that involves working together towards a common goal. Here are some key characteristics that set collaboration apart from other forms of interaction.

• In collaboration, all parties are working towards a common goal or objective. This shared purpose is what drives the collaborative process. In SA this could, for instance, be the goal of a more equal and inclusive society.
• Collaboration is typically characterised by a mutual benefit. All parties involved in the collaboration stand to gain something from the achievement of the shared goal.
• It requires active participation from all parties. Everyone involved contributes their skills, knowledge, or resources to the collaborative effort.
• In a collaborative relationship, there is a level of interdependence. Each party relies on the others to fulfil their part of the task or project.
• Successful collaboration requires open and effective communication. This allows for the sharing of ideas, resolving conflicts and coordination of efforts.
• Importantly, collaboration is built on a foundation of trust and respect. Each party must trust the others to fulfil their responsibilities and respect their skills and contributions.
• Last but not least, in a collaborative relationship, decisions are made jointly. All parties have a say in the decision-making process and consensus is often sought.

These characteristics distinguish collaboration from other forms of interaction or relationships. Collaboration is about working together, leveraging collective strengths, and achieving something that may not be possible individually.

• Pretorius is an independent development sociologist and practitioner from Gqeberha