From Rainbow nation to reality: The tragedy of the unfinished republic

Like our current parliament buildings, we are stuck with the unfinished work of building a great country. That’s what South Africa has finally bumped its stubborn head onto. Those on the outside who have been screaming this for decades can only weep at the stupidity and stubbornness of an ANC that is now confronted with what is its imminent demise.

Its recent 5th National General Council (NGC) meeting gave the sense that the ANC was sending its early resignation letter to the country, despite all the bravado. 

One can only wonder what FW De Klerk, Pik Botha, Kraai van Niekerk, Derek Keys, Abe Williams and Dawie Botha said to the ANC during those early 1994 Cabinet meetings about how to take this newly born State forward. What were the risks and rewards the ANC contemplated? How did these two groups – former oppressors and former oppressed – conduct healthy discussions without destroying the table they were meeting around? 

I can only imagine the smug smiles of Thabo Mbeki and Stella Sigcau, who couldn’t wait to drop their Herod-like insights at Mandela’s feet later, after the cabinet meeting ended. Or a De Klerk who perhaps saw the need to caution Keys and Botha to curb their enthusiasm for the cigar-smoking moments of wisdom with the ANC’s inner circle. How did any of them know how to govern? 

The ugly truth is they did not. They floundered. Made too many mistakes. Today, we sit with the consequences of their failure to adopt a sense-making leadership style and of their rush to ethno-nationalist, power-driven leadership practices. None of them knew how to build a country for all. They therefore grabbed a recent slogan, draped themselves in it, and proclaimed to all the world: 'Henceforth we shall be known as the rainbow nation of God!' And with that, they considered the work of reconciliation, freedom, and restitution to be done. The people's long lists of concerns are hereby considered addressed. And smiling about their divinely inspired insights, they said: "Now, let's get to the more serious business of dividing the cake between us."

They ate their cake for two years and smiled broadly, as they saw the natives at rest, eagerly attending Diversity Management workshops until that day in March 1996, when the media broke a story that Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, then Minister of Health, and playwright Mbongeni Ngema, the creator of Sarafina II – The Musical, were allegedly involved in corruption to the value of R15 million.  

And here we are - 29 years later, and R700 billion Rands lost to corruption – and the structural and policy chaos and corruption are still part of our lives. Government eats cake. Clothed in their Rainbow Nation cassocks. The people starve. Some die. The Friends of the Government Society becomes increasingly wealthy. And slowly, day by day, the infrastructure collapses. Every four to five years, the ANC dusts off its food-and-faeces-stained rainbow-nation cassocks, steps out onto "The Balcony of The Unknown Reality," and promises the people "Renewal!" They speak the word 'renewal' with such crazed-eyed conviction as if it were a word that they had just invented. Then, exhausted by their energetic utterance of "renewal," they slump back onto the couch, and doctors and nurses rush with more cake, first-class air tickets and blue lights to sustain them, for behold, the nation needs them to live and not to die. For what will the nation do without such self-sacrificing ethno-nationalistic fervour? 

South Africa has had significant quantities of the “Rainbow Nation drug,” fed to it by Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and Cyril Ramaphosa. We have experienced a prolonged state of hallucinatory euphoria from which we are still struggling to wake up. Our prognosis is not good: If Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa could not wake us out of this hallucinatory state, what will? Persuaded by our own invincibility, we rush forth into the world, believing that we are still the infallible rainbow nation of some deity. 

But data is beginning to show us that positive race and cultural relations are at their lowest since 1994. We are seeing a rise in race-premised arguments, speeches and publications. While most traditional media platforms spin happy messages of how great we are as a nation, the truth is, we are in deep trouble, more than we care to admit at this stage.

One misses the in-your-face, tough discussions that people like Eusebius McKaiser give the nation. We don't have people who can ask those kinds of questions anymore. They’re gone. We are sliding towards a takeover by prancing populist candidates – of the left or right. Not just of our country – but of our media. Everything we see, read and hear is a non-disruptive, very pale, cyan-coloured information stream. We believe our own spin.  

I am reminded of the story of Croesus, who ruled Lydia (Turkey) around the 6th century BCE. Herodotus records his story in his “Histories.” Croesus, being one of the wealthiest kings ever to live, consulted the Oracle of Delphi on whether he should attack King Cyrus of Persia. The Oracle replied: “If Croesus crosses the river Halys, he will destroy a great empire.” 

Croesus foolishly assumed this meant the downfall of the Persian empire, never considering it might mean his own. Convinced, Croesus marched to war. He was defeated, captured, and condemned to be burned alive. King Cyrus felt pity for him and eventually spared his life. 

The lessons are clear. We must stop misreading, misrepresenting and miscalculating what is before us. Our future as a country depends on it. Our current prosperity or popularity is no guarantee of a secure future. We need sense-making leadership, not power-hungry populists.

South Africa needs to stop the practice of gaining clarity when it is on the brink of destruction. One day, it will let us down badly. We saw that with Mbeki. With Zuma. With the Guptas. We almost always wait too late to change course.