KENNETH MOKGATLHE | SA’s problem is not race but corrupt politicians

Politics of divisiveness through race and ethnicity should never be tolerated in a united SA.

The recent elections have proved that there are few populist figures such as Jacob Zuma, Julius Malema and a few others who see an opportunity to mobilise people based on their skin colour or the language they speak. SA is a maturing democracy and will never seek to regress its nation-building efforts.

I was shocked to see the party I used to be its spokesperson, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), aligning itself as a “black party” alongside a few others. What puzzled me was that in the PAC I had been taught about nonracialism as a central point of organising our society.

Nonracialism is a concept that was coined by freedom fighter Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, who declared that there was only one race to which all belong and that was the human race. He further pointed out that “race” as applied to man, has no plural. 

The ANC abandoned its concept of “multiracialism” and many throughout the world have adopted Sobukwe’s inclusive concept of nonracialism. This concept is not only embedded in a philosophical aspect, however, there is a scientific aspect of it. Sobukwe’s nonracialism definition is an acknowledgement of the non-existence of race as a scientific fact.

Sobukwe’s commitment to a society without recognition of “race” is a commitment to build a united society. His argument at the time was that the structure of the body of man provided evidence to prove the biological unity of the human species.

SA, like other countries, built a new nation that would be nonracial, non-sexist and united which was accepted by an overwhelming majority. Institutions, systems and policies were established to advance the ideals of a new SA such as those found in Chapter 9 of our constitution, something that many countries do not have.

We have seen how many African countries still use ethnicity as an electoral and political mobilisation tool. We are seeing throughout the world how demagogues are emerging as possible leaders of their countries by engaging in divisive politics. 

We have to appreciate our electorate for having rejected to rally behind those populist figures who continue to polarise our country by instigating hate against other people who don’t look or speak like them. We are supposed to organise and mobilise electoral support based on our policies that we would like to effect once we become government.

Unlike other countries, we have functioning systems of governance that are sometimes compromised by corrupt elements, which is a setback for all South Africans. It is black people who are running the state, we have a lot of money,  more than some European countries collect through tax, but we have people who want to hijack the government and steal this money.

Our problem is not race and we know it. We are our worst problem. We must be patriotic and serve our country with the utmost love and selflessness. 

We have corrupt politicians and public servants who prioritise their pockets before the interests of the country. Who is giving entry and exit to all the illegal immigrants who are inside SA?

Are we justified to blame anyone for all these failures to govern? We have to do things differently from this new administration. We have to establish special courts which will deal with corruption as quickly and efficiently as possible. By crushing corruption in our public sector, we could easily build a capable state that will have quality public services, a thriving economy and general progress in all aspects of the political economy.

• Mokgatlhe is a political writer and columnist.