ANC self-correction needs partnership with progressive civil society formations – by Mandla Nkomfe
ANC self-correction needs partnership with progressive civil society formations
As part of the New Dawn, ANC has a responsibility to recalibrate its relationship with civil society formations in order to regain its position as a leader of society. ANC must reengage progressive civil society organizations so that a new equilibrium can be established.
By Mandla Nkomfe, ANC Sonia Bunting Branch
The resistance movement consisted of members from various South African communities including those not affiliated to any political formation but participated in civic organizations.
Led by the African National Congress (ANC), whose primary goal is to create a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa, the progressive civil society organizations in South Africa were an important pillar to the resistance movement. Under the umbrella of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which brought together more than 400 organisations, civil society organisations created conditions that made it impossible for apartheid to be sustainable. Amongst others, these civics included community based organisations, faith-based organisations, trade–unions and Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s).
Civil society organisations played a critical role to raise the social and political consciousness of ordinary South Africans. Their involvement in the fight for the liberation of South Africa from the apartheid system, culminated in crafting of the democratic state’s founding document, the 1996 Constitution of South Africa. Civil society organizations were actively involved in crafting policies of the post-1994 democratic government, starting with the development of the Reconstruction and Development Policy (RDP).
The Constitution is an embodiment of people’s aspirations for a radically different vision of a future envisaged in the Freedom Charter adopted at the Congress of the People in 1955.
Informed by the Freedom Charter, Raymond Suttner argues that “the Constitution is now part of our democratic heritage and appears to be accepted as part of our national heritage. It is something new and it is not a physical site but a document. It forms the basis for us living together with a degree of tranquility in the 21st century.” Through the ability to inspire, organisation of a range of popular groups, the ANC and its allies managed to cement its organisational presence across the length and breadth of the country. Which earned it the support of the majority of South Africans.
Beyond defeating apartheid, the ANC and its allies were involved in a struggle to create a new society based on democratic and progressive values. Its ideas held sway to most groups and people in society. In other words, the movement itself became hegemonic.
The struggle for hegemony is at the same time a conscious effort to create what Antonio Gramsci calls a ‘New Historical Bloc’. For Stephen Gill, “A historical bloc refers to a historical congruence between material forces, institutions and ideologies, or broadly, an alliance of different class forces politically organize around a set of hegemonic ideas that gave strategic direction and coherence to its constituent elements. Moreover, for a new historical bloc to emerge, its leaders must engage in conscious planned struggle. Any new historical bloc must not have only power within the civil society and economy, it also needs persuasive ideas, arguments and initiatives that build on, catalyze and develop its political networks and organization”.
It was this type of ‘New Historical Bloc’ led by the ANC that brought about the democratic breakthrough in 1994. The creation of a new democratic dispensation requires a patient and deft consolidation and construction of a new historical bloc. This will involve the promotion of progressive constitutionalism, building of institutions that reflect the values and aspirations of our emerging society and commitment to social justice.
Many factors can be attributed to current state of relations between ANC and broad civil society movement. Firstly, that ANC had to reestablish itself as a legal organisation in communities meant work hitherto done by the civil society organisations will be done by ANC branches. Unfortunately, a clear demarcation of roles was not articulated. Some of these organisations were thus shifted sideways.
Secondly, the inability of the ANC to delicately manage the dual character of both a liberation movement and an electoral political party resulted in inability to take up people’s struggles on the ground. In the course of time, the ANC’s leadership role over the progressive civil society movements was weakened. At the height of the recent social justice crisis, these movements escalated their activism and ultimately came to be in direct conflict with ANC, inside and outside government.
As part of the new dawn, ANC has a responsibility to recalibrate its relationship with these movements in order to regain its position as a leader of society. This paper is an attempt to provide a framework within which the ANC can reengage with progressive civil society organizations so that a new equilibrium can be established.
What is civil society?
Civil society is the sphere outside political society. The latter consist of political parties, governments and various state organs. It also exists outside of the market (i.e. business), but ` in the public sphere. According to Victoria Graham (2015), civil society is concerned with public and not private ends. It is organized through citizens acting collectively in the public sphere to express their interests, passions, ideas, exchanging information, achieving mutual goals, making demands on the state, as well as holding state officials accountable.
Public sphere should be central the conception of the left and its allies. It is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems (Jürgen Habermas, 1991). And through such discussion, influence political action. Informed by our traditions of political and civic engagements, the Freedom Charter and the transformative nature of our Constitution, the ANC and the progressive civil society movement should work towards greater and authentic public-spirited conversations. The task it to transform the public sphere into an arena of progressive discussions about what matters to the lives of citizens.
In capitalist and authoritarian regimes, the public sphere is narrowed and, in many cases, closed. Civil society organisations and community-based structures have a responsibility to expand the horizons of the public sphere and not restrict it. The commodification of the public sphere in capitalist societies have pushed the poor and the vulnerable outside the zone of public deliberations
Civil society organisations in the past were narrow in their concerns as they addressed specific issues. They have now evolved and are preoccupied with the overarching focus of holding those in power to account in both the private and public sectors. In this regard, progressive civil society aims to expand frontiers of social and economic freedoms. Civil society functions can be understood to be adversarial, collaborative and communicative (Victoria Graham, 2015). Its role can be adversarial in situations of authoritarianism, collaborative in democratic environments and communicative in trying to establish a link between citizens and the state.
South Africa has a long history and tradition of civil society activism, starting from as early as late 1800s to the present time. Its role and posture has since changed in line with the changing political, social and economic situations. Whereas under apartheid they united under the banner of the UDF to fight against the apartheid, under democracy the progressive civil society organisations exists to promote, consolidate and protect democracy
Civil Society in a Democratic South Africa
Civil society organisations played an important role in shaping the form and substance of post-apartheid South Africa. It is precisely the inclusive approach that the ANC took, that facilitated the meaningful participation of civil society. This ranged from the drawing up of the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) to the formulation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
This inclusive approach to governance and developing and implementing policy involved many organisations, making it unique in South Africa’s political history. It is based on best traditions of the liberation movement evidenced by the approach to develop policy documents such as the African Claims and the Freedom Charter. This tradition consists of consultation, widespread participation and accountability.
This democratic ethos also guided the constitution-making processes.
Underlying the basic thrust of our constitution is consultation, participation, accountability and putting people first. Chapter two of the Constitution provides for entrenchment and promotion of a Bill of Rights for all South Africans. This Bill of rights is the cornerstone of our democracy. The new constitution enabled us to have a thorough and substantive conception of the new South Africa. It envisages a deeper and radical democracy that goes beyond formalism of liberalism. It is this transformative nature of the Constitution that the broad left organisations should grasp as a victory of the democratic revolution. Otherwise if left to the liberal and conservative groupings, it will be denuded of its revolutionary content.
Challenges of the early period
The construction of a new political dispensation required that the ANC should establish a vast machinery of government at national, provincial and municipal levels. National departments had to be set up. As a consequence of this imperative, cadres of the democratic movement as well as of civil society joined the ranks of government.
The unintended consequence of this phenomenon was the weakening of the civil society movement as well as the ANC as an organisation. As a result, the ‘New Historic Bloc’ was weakened throughout the period of the 1990’s and antagonistic tension and contestation started to emerge.
This is illustrated by President Nelson Mandela in his Political Report to the ANC’s National Conference in Mafikeng in 1997. He said, “Returning to our own reality we must make the point that our experience of the last three years points to the importance of non-governmental organisations (NGO’s), community-based organisations (CBO’s) and grassroots-based political formations in ensuring popular participation in governance. The effective and admirable way in which many of these structures have functioned has served to emphasise the point that, in many instances, the public service, however efficient it may be, may not be the best instrument to mobilise for popular involvement and participation. However, we must also draw attention to the fact that many of our non-governmental organisations are not in fact NGO’s, because they neither have a popular base nor the resources as they rely on the domestic and foreign governments, rather than the people, for their material sustenance. The success achieved by many CBO’S are based on the contribution of ‘sweat equity’ by very poor communities which therefore points to the need for us to seriously consider the matter of the so-called organs of civil society.”
Former President Mandela’s lament was due to a weakened progressive civil society movement resulting in new kind of organisations with an agenda other than that of furthering the interests of the people of South Africa.
Resurgence of Civil Society
The rise of civil society over the past two decades could be attributable to:-
- Decline of ANC branches as sites of vibrant participation, debate and progressive politics. People seeking a real political home where they can become part of an idealistic project had to look elsewhere and many have landed in movements such as Treatment Action Campaign, Social Justice Coalition, etc.
- Elections are held only once in five years and are conducted on the basis of national and provincial lists. This resulted in a political gap during non-election years filled by localized campaigns run by civil society and community-based organisations
- The decline of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) had a significant impact in the activism of the youth. Much of the activism of the youth has come from sections of young people who may be disaffected by what the ANCYL has become and therefore have built their own movements.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa promises a range of freedoms namely political, social, economic and cultural. The last ten years there has seen a steady decline of values-based and credible political leadership. Our political process has been defined by the emergence of self-seeking leadership whose mission is to feed at the trough and not to serve the national interest. The social distance between politicians, public representatives and ordinary South Africans has widened. As a result, marginalization and alienation is palpable throughout our society. The quality of life of ordinary South Africans has been improving at a declining rate. Furthermore, the incomes of the middle strata are falling therefore deepening inequality in society. Levels of unemployment are increasing at an exponential rate and exacerbating levels of poverty.
Consequently, the struggles for social justice have taken centre stage of national lives. The majority of civil society organisations and non-governmental issue based organisations have taken up the fight for social justice. These organisations’ strategies have included forcing national parliament to address key issues of social justice and inequality. Others have resorted to the courts to force the hand of government.
Social justice issues have manifested themselves in health, pension, education, State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as well as corruption at different levels and spheres of government. State capture has contributed immensely in the widening of social injustice in society.
Assisted by the media, interventions by these organisations have played a positive role in entrenching the values of our democratic constitution. Significant part of the ANC and revolutionary allies- SACP, COSATU and others played an important role in fighting state capture. The economic impact of state capture has been devastating to the ordinary South Africans. More money that could have been deployed to education, health and other social services have been diverted to service private interests. More work still need to be done to understand the financial cost of state capture at our various SOEs.
In the last two years, civil society organisations have organized and mobilised communities around a range of issues. The major achievement of the activities of civil society have been:-
-
- Mobilization and raise consciousness of society around issues of state capture.
- Reactivation of business, sections of the labour movement, churches and the broader civil society into active participation in the processes for change.
- Link up immediate issues of state capture to the medium, long term issues of reform.
- Reclaim institutions stolen through state capture such as Eskom, PRASA, SABC and SASSA.
The ANC, Civil Society and the future of South Africa
The current challenges facing South Africa are deep and widespread. Underlying these challenges are a stagnant economy that does not create jobs, high levels of inequality and widespread poverty. Added to this is corruption in the public and private sphere of our Republic.
Guided by the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the ANC and civil society organizations have always played a critical role in ensuring that the principle of “The People Shall Govern” becomes a reality. This principle has guided the relationship between the ANC, Government and civil society organisations since the dawn of democracy. Admittedly, owing to the divergence in tactical positions, this relationship has been one of cooperation and contestation, but the strategic objective, on both sides, has always been understood to be that of creating a better South Africa for all.
According to the ANC Strategy and Tactics (2018), “Leadership of the motive forces includes contributing to the formation of, and co-operation with, progressive structures of civil society: including in communities and among youth, women, students, people with disability, the religious community, issue-based campaigns, traditional leaders and the business community”. The ANC’s disengagement from the progressive civil society movement over more than a decade did not stop civil society organisations from taking up grass-root issues and other social justice related problems facing communities in the forefront of social prominence, consciousness and debate.
There is a determined effort to systematically recapture state institutions to repurpose them away from large scale looting for the benefit of a few. At the centre of this, is the ANC that is continually being decimated, amidst a fragmented trade union movement and a communist party that is organizationally and ideologically incoherent and inconsistent. This does not bode well for South Africa and its people.
Veterans and stalwarts of the ANC, faith-based organisations, labour movement, South African Communist Party, business organisations and civil society organisations have stood firm defending the gains of our democracy. They are looking at short, medium and long-term solutions to our current challenges. These include:-
- Help ANC rediscover its true values, mission , role and place in South Africa
- Ensure emergence of the right leadership in the ANC
- Stop and end state capture
- Fight corruption
- Defend our institutions
- Create a front to rebuild our politics, society and grow the economy
- Inspire hope and confidence
- Build a viable civil society/mass movement
Fighting Corruption and Resisting State Capture
Key issue that needs to be addressed is how ANC should contribute towards consolidation, effectiveness and unity of the civil society movement around the issue of state capture. In this regard, what will be required of the ANC to prepare itself to be part of this movement against corruption and state capture?
Civil society organisations have in the recent years pushed back against a growing wave of state capture. These organisations have been a pillar to the anti-state capture movement. They did this by providing expertise and human resource as well as formed coalitions which have been able to coalesce and make up for their limited capacity or infrastructure.
In a recently published book titled “Shadow State: The politics of state capture” Ivor Chipkin, Mark Swilling al et, say, “In moves reminiscent of the 1980’s, independent journalists, social movements, trade unions, legal aid centres, NGOs, the churches and some academics have helped to mobilise South African society against state capture. A new and varied movement has arisen, bringing together awkward partnerships between ideologically disparate groups and people. What they have nonetheless shared is a broad support for the Constitution, for democracy and for a modern, professional administration, and they are all, broadly speaking, social democratic in orientation”.
ANC and the broader liberation movement can learn key lessons from this. That is, for ANC to work with and amongst forces for social justice, it has to rediscover its core mission and values.
Broad social formations ought to work side by side with the ANC-led alliance to advance objectives of social transformation. But subjective weaknesses of ANC have made it difficult to have a common thrust to problems of joblessness, poverty and inequality. Instead as the Strategy and Tactics (2018) observes, “At the same time, natural allies among the intelligentsia, in the religious community and other sectors, and even within veterans of the movement, have sought to coalesce outside of the ANC, in opposition to deviant conduct that has become intolerable”.
The 54th National Conference of the ANC should constitute a key moment in its renewal process. Part of this process of renewal should be to reconnect with civil society movement and community-based organisations. In seeking to seize the moment of hope and renewal, President Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (2018), has sought to reverse this trend and rebuild trust with the civil society sector. In this regard, the President said, “In recognising the critical role that Non-Governmental Organisations and Community Based Organisations play in tackling poverty, inequality and related social problems, we will convene a social sector summit during the course of the year. Among other things, this summit should seek to improve the interface between the state and civil society to address the challenges that NGOs and CBOs face”.
Engaging Civil Society
The renewal of the ANC requires reengagement with civil society, aimed at working together to address social justice issues that affect communities. The ANC should be alive to the fact that such formations will insist on their independence, but will cooperate where required and in some instances hold different perspectives. The political maturity of ANC should embrace the understanding that civil society plays a significant role in holding those in power accountable. In some instances, civil society can help highlight policy failures, avoiding public resource wastage.
When civil society hold the state accountable, a confrontation can arise as a consequence of denial of weaknesses on the part of the state. Confrontation can also arise as a result of information asymmetry. Meaning that the state can fail to perform its resposibiliies because of resource and capacity limitations and this could be perceived as a refusal to alleviate the plight of communities.
Furthermore, in reengaging with civil society, ANC needs to recognize that the relationship will be one of contestation and cooperation. For the relationship to thrive in the long term, it needs to be underpinned by certain principles that will serve as rules of engagement. These includes transparency on the part of the state in its resource allocations and the willingness to engage in good faith. For their part civil society organisations need to maintain and safeguard their independence.
Sifting through the chaff
The ANC will need to distinguish different agendas under the broad umbrella of “civil society”. There is a distinction between progressive civil society and conservative civil society. For example there is an important difference between #UniteBehind which is closely aligned to the broad social transformation aims of the ANC and AfriForum which is conservative and seeks to frustrate the full implementation of the Constitution. AfriForum may even speak in progressive language and use the Constitution to its advantage when it suits its narrow agenda, but ultimately it does not align with the historic goals of the liberation movement.
While the ANC would seek to work with #UniteBehind as an ally, it should distinguish between groups that have a mass base (e.g.#UniteBehind or Equal Education) and groups that do not, such as the Helen Suzman Foundation or Corruption Watch. It must be acknowledged that the response of civil society is far from uniform and remains fragmented. There is apparent weakness in many of these organizations as evidenced by their suspicious modus operandi and silo mentality that continues to inform their operations.
The other weakness facing civil society, is that they face sustainability challenges due to unpredictable and insufficient funding. Also, their challenges includes keeping focus on ‘niche’ issues whilst at the same time supporting broader coalitions to whom they can lose their identity and uniqueness.
Notwithstanding the above, there are strengths in civil society. It has expert knowledge across a variety of issues.
Conclusion
The role of civil society cannot be underestimated and their participation in the social dialogue needs to be supported and amplified. The ANC needs to regain its lost ground as legitimate change agent that transforms lives of its citizens. It needs to work closer with all social partners in rebuilding. It must recognise that there are diverse views that need to be reconciled along with its own ideology and vision.
A new social compact needs to be designed and agreed upon for the ANC to realise its vision for South Africa. In his state of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa noted the positive role that civil society and community based organisations play in the lives of our communities. He said “In recognising the critical role that NGOs and community-based organisation play in tackling poverty, inequality and related social problems, we will convene a Social Sector Summit during the course of this year. Among other things, this Summit should seek to improve the interface between the state and civil society and address the challenges that NGOs and CBOs face.”
This is a massive stride to bring the civil society movement at the centre stage of the country’s discourse. Given the significant voice and role that civil society plays in our public sphere, it is imperative that the conversations between the ANC and civil society organisations commence in earnest.
For the ANC to meaningfully engage and lead societal formations like civil society formations, it must continue with the project of renewal that was ignited by the recently held 54th National Conference. A significant part of the renewal project should aim to promote:-
- A leadership and membership that is confident, decisive, accountable and informed by a desire to serve the interests of South Africans. It must preserve and not to impinge the organizational and political integrity of the ANC
- Entrench a culture of participation and accountability in decision-making
- Promote values of our constitution such as human dignity, equality, human rights, non-sexism, non-racialism, supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.
These and other measures will put the ANC on a better stead to be once again a leading organ of our people to realise its vision and aspirations.
16. References
1. African National Congress, Declaration of the 54th National Conference, 2017, Nasrec, Johannesburg
2. African National Congress, Declaration of the National Consultative Conference, 17-19 November 2017, Johannesburg
3. African National Congress – Strategy and Tactics Document, adopted at the 54th National Conference, Nasrec, Johannesburg
4. Chipkin, I., Swilling, M. (2018). Shadow State: The Politics of State Capture. Wits University Press. Johannesburg
5. Gill, S. (2002). Power and Resistance in the New World Order, Palgrave, Macmillan.
6. Graham, V. (2015). Civil Society and Civic Participation. In South African Politics: An Introduction. De Jager, N., Gumede, V., Mangcu, X., Neethling, T., Steyn Kotze., Welsh, D. (Eds). Oxford University Press, Cape Town, South Africa
7. Mandela, R.N. (1997). Political Report. 50th National Conference of the African National Congress, Mafikeng
8. Ramaphosa, C, (2017). Closing Address to the ANC 54th National Conference, Nasrec, Johannesburg
9. Ramaphosa, C. (2018). State of the Nation Address, Parliament, Republic of South Africa
10. Suttner, Raymond. (2004). The UDF Period and its Meaning for Contemporary South Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies, Volume 30, Number 3, September 2004. Carfax Publishing
ANC self-correction needs partnership with progressive civil society formations
As part of the New Dawn, ANC has a responsibility to recalibrate its relationship with civil society formations in order to regain its position as a leader of society. ANC must reengage progressive civil society organizations so that a new equilibrium can be established.
By Mandla Nkomfe, ANC Sonia Bunting Branch
The resistance movement consisted of members from various South African communities including those not affiliated to any political formation but participated in civic organizations.
Led by the African National Congress (ANC), whose primary goal is to create a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa, the progressive civil society organizations in South Africa were an important pillar to the resistance movement. Under the umbrella of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which brought together more than 400 organisations, civil society organisations created conditions that made it impossible for apartheid to be sustainable. Amongst others, these civics included community based organisations, faith-based organisations, trade–unions and Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s).
Civil society organisations played a critical role to raise the social and political consciousness of ordinary South Africans. Their involvement in the fight for the liberation of South Africa from the apartheid system, culminated in crafting of the democratic state’s founding document, the 1996 Constitution of South Africa. Civil society organizations were actively involved in crafting policies of the post-1994 democratic government, starting with the development of the Reconstruction and Development Policy (RDP).
The Constitution is an embodiment of people’s aspirations for a radically different vision of a future envisaged in the Freedom Charter adopted at the Congress of the People in 1955.
Informed by the Freedom Charter, Raymond Suttner argues that “the Constitution is now part of our democratic heritage and appears to be accepted as part of our national heritage. It is something new and it is not a physical site but a document. It forms the basis for us living together with a degree of tranquility in the 21st century.” Through the ability to inspire, organisation of a range of popular groups, the ANC and its allies managed to cement its organisational presence across the length and breadth of the country. Which earned it the support of the majority of South Africans.
Beyond defeating apartheid, the ANC and its allies were involved in a struggle to create a new society based on democratic and progressive values. Its ideas held sway to most groups and people in society. In other words, the movement itself became hegemonic.
The struggle for hegemony is at the same time a conscious effort to create what Antonio Gramsci calls a ‘New Historical Bloc’. For Stephen Gill, “A historical bloc refers to a historical congruence between material forces, institutions and ideologies, or broadly, an alliance of different class forces politically organize around a set of hegemonic ideas that gave strategic direction and coherence to its constituent elements. Moreover, for a new historical bloc to emerge, its leaders must engage in conscious planned struggle. Any new historical bloc must not have only power within the civil society and economy, it also needs persuasive ideas, arguments and initiatives that build on, catalyze and develop its political networks and organization”.
It was this type of ‘New Historical Bloc’ led by the ANC that brought about the democratic breakthrough in 1994. The creation of a new democratic dispensation requires a patient and deft consolidation and construction of a new historical bloc. This will involve the promotion of progressive constitutionalism, building of institutions that reflect the values and aspirations of our emerging society and commitment to social justice.
Many factors can be attributed to current state of relations between ANC and broad civil society movement. Firstly, that ANC had to reestablish itself as a legal organisation in communities meant work hitherto done by the civil society organisations will be done by ANC branches. Unfortunately, a clear demarcation of roles was not articulated. Some of these organisations were thus shifted sideways.
Secondly, the inability of the ANC to delicately manage the dual character of both a liberation movement and an electoral political party resulted in inability to take up people’s struggles on the ground. In the course of time, the ANC’s leadership role over the progressive civil society movements was weakened. At the height of the recent social justice crisis, these movements escalated their activism and ultimately came to be in direct conflict with ANC, inside and outside government.
As part of the new dawn, ANC has a responsibility to recalibrate its relationship with these movements in order to regain its position as a leader of society. This paper is an attempt to provide a framework within which the ANC can reengage with progressive civil society organizations so that a new equilibrium can be established.
What is civil society?
Civil society is the sphere outside political society. The latter consist of political parties, governments and various state organs. It also exists outside of the market (i.e. business), but ` in the public sphere. According to Victoria Graham (2015), civil society is concerned with public and not private ends. It is organized through citizens acting collectively in the public sphere to express their interests, passions, ideas, exchanging information, achieving mutual goals, making demands on the state, as well as holding state officials accountable.
Public sphere should be central the conception of the left and its allies. It is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems (Jürgen Habermas, 1991). And through such discussion, influence political action. Informed by our traditions of political and civic engagements, the Freedom Charter and the transformative nature of our Constitution, the ANC and the progressive civil society movement should work towards greater and authentic public-spirited conversations. The task it to transform the public sphere into an arena of progressive discussions about what matters to the lives of citizens.
In capitalist and authoritarian regimes, the public sphere is narrowed and, in many cases, closed. Civil society organisations and community-based structures have a responsibility to expand the horizons of the public sphere and not restrict it. The commodification of the public sphere in capitalist societies have pushed the poor and the vulnerable outside the zone of public deliberations
Civil society organisations in the past were narrow in their concerns as they addressed specific issues. They have now evolved and are preoccupied with the overarching focus of holding those in power to account in both the private and public sectors. In this regard, progressive civil society aims to expand frontiers of social and economic freedoms. Civil society functions can be understood to be adversarial, collaborative and communicative (Victoria Graham, 2015). Its role can be adversarial in situations of authoritarianism, collaborative in democratic environments and communicative in trying to establish a link between citizens and the state.
South Africa has a long history and tradition of civil society activism, starting from as early as late 1800s to the present time. Its role and posture has since changed in line with the changing political, social and economic situations. Whereas under apartheid they united under the banner of the UDF to fight against the apartheid, under democracy the progressive civil society organisations exists to promote, consolidate and protect democracy
Civil Society in a Democratic South Africa
Civil society organisations played an important role in shaping the form and substance of post-apartheid South Africa. It is precisely the inclusive approach that the ANC took, that facilitated the meaningful participation of civil society. This ranged from the drawing up of the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) to the formulation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
This inclusive approach to governance and developing and implementing policy involved many organisations, making it unique in South Africa’s political history. It is based on best traditions of the liberation movement evidenced by the approach to develop policy documents such as the African Claims and the Freedom Charter. This tradition consists of consultation, widespread participation and accountability.
This democratic ethos also guided the constitution-making processes.
Underlying the basic thrust of our constitution is consultation, participation, accountability and putting people first. Chapter two of the Constitution provides for entrenchment and promotion of a Bill of Rights for all South Africans. This Bill of rights is the cornerstone of our democracy. The new constitution enabled us to have a thorough and substantive conception of the new South Africa. It envisages a deeper and radical democracy that goes beyond formalism of liberalism. It is this transformative nature of the Constitution that the broad left organisations should grasp as a victory of the democratic revolution. Otherwise if left to the liberal and conservative groupings, it will be denuded of its revolutionary content.
Challenges of the early period
The construction of a new political dispensation required that the ANC should establish a vast machinery of government at national, provincial and municipal levels. National departments had to be set up. As a consequence of this imperative, cadres of the democratic movement as well as of civil society joined the ranks of government.
The unintended consequence of this phenomenon was the weakening of the civil society movement as well as the ANC as an organisation. As a result, the ‘New Historic Bloc’ was weakened throughout the period of the 1990’s and antagonistic tension and contestation started to emerge.
This is illustrated by President Nelson Mandela in his Political Report to the ANC’s National Conference in Mafikeng in 1997. He said, “Returning to our own reality we must make the point that our experience of the last three years points to the importance of non-governmental organisations (NGO’s), community-based organisations (CBO’s) and grassroots-based political formations in ensuring popular participation in governance. The effective and admirable way in which many of these structures have functioned has served to emphasise the point that, in many instances, the public service, however efficient it may be, may not be the best instrument to mobilise for popular involvement and participation. However, we must also draw attention to the fact that many of our non-governmental organisations are not in fact NGO’s, because they neither have a popular base nor the resources as they rely on the domestic and foreign governments, rather than the people, for their material sustenance. The success achieved by many CBO’S are based on the contribution of ‘sweat equity’ by very poor communities which therefore points to the need for us to seriously consider the matter of the so-called organs of civil society.”
Former President Mandela’s lament was due to a weakened progressive civil society movement resulting in new kind of organisations with an agenda other than that of furthering the interests of the people of South Africa.
Resurgence of Civil Society
The rise of civil society over the past two decades could be attributable to:-
- Decline of ANC branches as sites of vibrant participation, debate and progressive politics. People seeking a real political home where they can become part of an idealistic project had to look elsewhere and many have landed in movements such as Treatment Action Campaign, Social Justice Coalition, etc.
- Elections are held only once in five years and are conducted on the basis of national and provincial lists. This resulted in a political gap during non-election years filled by localized campaigns run by civil society and community-based organisations
- The decline of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) had a significant impact in the activism of the youth. Much of the activism of the youth has come from sections of young people who may be disaffected by what the ANCYL has become and therefore have built their own movements.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa promises a range of freedoms namely political, social, economic and cultural. The last ten years there has seen a steady decline of values-based and credible political leadership. Our political process has been defined by the emergence of self-seeking leadership whose mission is to feed at the trough and not to serve the national interest. The social distance between politicians, public representatives and ordinary South Africans has widened. As a result, marginalization and alienation is palpable throughout our society. The quality of life of ordinary South Africans has been improving at a declining rate. Furthermore, the incomes of the middle strata are falling therefore deepening inequality in society. Levels of unemployment are increasing at an exponential rate and exacerbating levels of poverty.
Consequently, the struggles for social justice have taken centre stage of national lives. The majority of civil society organisations and non-governmental issue based organisations have taken up the fight for social justice. These organisations’ strategies have included forcing national parliament to address key issues of social justice and inequality. Others have resorted to the courts to force the hand of government.
Social justice issues have manifested themselves in health, pension, education, State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as well as corruption at different levels and spheres of government. State capture has contributed immensely in the widening of social injustice in society.
Assisted by the media, interventions by these organisations have played a positive role in entrenching the values of our democratic constitution. Significant part of the ANC and revolutionary allies- SACP, COSATU and others played an important role in fighting state capture. The economic impact of state capture has been devastating to the ordinary South Africans. More money that could have been deployed to education, health and other social services have been diverted to service private interests. More work still need to be done to understand the financial cost of state capture at our various SOEs.
In the last two years, civil society organisations have organized and mobilised communities around a range of issues. The major achievement of the activities of civil society have been:-
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- Mobilization and raise consciousness of society around issues of state capture.
- Reactivation of business, sections of the labour movement, churches and the broader civil society into active participation in the processes for change.
- Link up immediate issues of state capture to the medium, long term issues of reform.
- Reclaim institutions stolen through state capture such as Eskom, PRASA, SABC and SASSA.
The ANC, Civil Society and the future of South Africa
The current challenges facing South Africa are deep and widespread. Underlying these challenges are a stagnant economy that does not create jobs, high levels of inequality and widespread poverty. Added to this is corruption in the public and private sphere of our Republic.
Guided by the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the ANC and civil society organizations have always played a critical role in ensuring that the principle of “The People Shall Govern” becomes a reality. This principle has guided the relationship between the ANC, Government and civil society organisations since the dawn of democracy. Admittedly, owing to the divergence in tactical positions, this relationship has been one of cooperation and contestation, but the strategic objective, on both sides, has always been understood to be that of creating a better South Africa for all.
According to the ANC Strategy and Tactics (2018), “Leadership of the motive forces includes contributing to the formation of, and co-operation with, progressive structures of civil society: including in communities and among youth, women, students, people with disability, the religious community, issue-based campaigns, traditional leaders and the business community”. The ANC’s disengagement from the progressive civil society movement over more than a decade did not stop civil society organisations from taking up grass-root issues and other social justice related problems facing communities in the forefront of social prominence, consciousness and debate.
There is a determined effort to systematically recapture state institutions to repurpose them away from large scale looting for the benefit of a few. At the centre of this, is the ANC that is continually being decimated, amidst a fragmented trade union movement and a communist party that is organizationally and ideologically incoherent and inconsistent. This does not bode well for South Africa and its people.
Veterans and stalwarts of the ANC, faith-based organisations, labour movement, South African Communist Party, business organisations and civil society organisations have stood firm defending the gains of our democracy. They are looking at short, medium and long-term solutions to our current challenges. These include:-
- Help ANC rediscover its true values, mission , role and place in South Africa
- Ensure emergence of the right leadership in the ANC
- Stop and end state capture
- Fight corruption
- Defend our institutions
- Create a front to rebuild our politics, society and grow the economy
- Inspire hope and confidence
- Build a viable civil society/mass movement
Fighting Corruption and Resisting State Capture
Key issue that needs to be addressed is how ANC should contribute towards consolidation, effectiveness and unity of the civil society movement around the issue of state capture. In this regard, what will be required of the ANC to prepare itself to be part of this movement against corruption and state capture?
Civil society organisations have in the recent years pushed back against a growing wave of state capture. These organisations have been a pillar to the anti-state capture movement. They did this by providing expertise and human resource as well as formed coalitions which have been able to coalesce and make up for their limited capacity or infrastructure.
In a recently published book titled “Shadow State: The politics of state capture” Ivor Chipkin, Mark Swilling al et, say, “In moves reminiscent of the 1980’s, independent journalists, social movements, trade unions, legal aid centres, NGOs, the churches and some academics have helped to mobilise South African society against state capture. A new and varied movement has arisen, bringing together awkward partnerships between ideologically disparate groups and people. What they have nonetheless shared is a broad support for the Constitution, for democracy and for a modern, professional administration, and they are all, broadly speaking, social democratic in orientation”.
ANC and the broader liberation movement can learn key lessons from this. That is, for ANC to work with and amongst forces for social justice, it has to rediscover its core mission and values.
Broad social formations ought to work side by side with the ANC-led alliance to advance objectives of social transformation. But subjective weaknesses of ANC have made it difficult to have a common thrust to problems of joblessness, poverty and inequality. Instead as the Strategy and Tactics (2018) observes, “At the same time, natural allies among the intelligentsia, in the religious community and other sectors, and even within veterans of the movement, have sought to coalesce outside of the ANC, in opposition to deviant conduct that has become intolerable”.
The 54th National Conference of the ANC should constitute a key moment in its renewal process. Part of this process of renewal should be to reconnect with civil society movement and community-based organisations. In seeking to seize the moment of hope and renewal, President Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (2018), has sought to reverse this trend and rebuild trust with the civil society sector. In this regard, the President said, “In recognising the critical role that Non-Governmental Organisations and Community Based Organisations play in tackling poverty, inequality and related social problems, we will convene a social sector summit during the course of the year. Among other things, this summit should seek to improve the interface between the state and civil society to address the challenges that NGOs and CBOs face”.
Engaging Civil Society
The renewal of the ANC requires reengagement with civil society, aimed at working together to address social justice issues that affect communities. The ANC should be alive to the fact that such formations will insist on their independence, but will cooperate where required and in some instances hold different perspectives. The political maturity of ANC should embrace the understanding that civil society plays a significant role in holding those in power accountable. In some instances, civil society can help highlight policy failures, avoiding public resource wastage.
When civil society hold the state accountable, a confrontation can arise as a consequence of denial of weaknesses on the part of the state. Confrontation can also arise as a result of information asymmetry. Meaning that the state can fail to perform its resposibiliies because of resource and capacity limitations and this could be perceived as a refusal to alleviate the plight of communities.
Furthermore, in reengaging with civil society, ANC needs to recognize that the relationship will be one of contestation and cooperation. For the relationship to thrive in the long term, it needs to be underpinned by certain principles that will serve as rules of engagement. These includes transparency on the part of the state in its resource allocations and the willingness to engage in good faith. For their part civil society organisations need to maintain and safeguard their independence.
Sifting through the chaff
The ANC will need to distinguish different agendas under the broad umbrella of “civil society”. There is a distinction between progressive civil society and conservative civil society. For example there is an important difference between #UniteBehind which is closely aligned to the broad social transformation aims of the ANC and AfriForum which is conservative and seeks to frustrate the full implementation of the Constitution. AfriForum may even speak in progressive language and use the Constitution to its advantage when it suits its narrow agenda, but ultimately it does not align with the historic goals of the liberation movement.
While the ANC would seek to work with #UniteBehind as an ally, it should distinguish between groups that have a mass base (e.g.#UniteBehind or Equal Education) and groups that do not, such as the Helen Suzman Foundation or Corruption Watch. It must be acknowledged that the response of civil society is far from uniform and remains fragmented. There is apparent weakness in many of these organizations as evidenced by their suspicious modus operandi and silo mentality that continues to inform their operations.
The other weakness facing civil society, is that they face sustainability challenges due to unpredictable and insufficient funding. Also, their challenges includes keeping focus on ‘niche’ issues whilst at the same time supporting broader coalitions to whom they can lose their identity and uniqueness.
Notwithstanding the above, there are strengths in civil society. It has expert knowledge across a variety of issues.
Conclusion
The role of civil society cannot be underestimated and their participation in the social dialogue needs to be supported and amplified. The ANC needs to regain its lost ground as legitimate change agent that transforms lives of its citizens. It needs to work closer with all social partners in rebuilding. It must recognise that there are diverse views that need to be reconciled along with its own ideology and vision.
A new social compact needs to be designed and agreed upon for the ANC to realise its vision for South Africa. In his state of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa noted the positive role that civil society and community based organisations play in the lives of our communities. He said “In recognising the critical role that NGOs and community-based organisation play in tackling poverty, inequality and related social problems, we will convene a Social Sector Summit during the course of this year. Among other things, this Summit should seek to improve the interface between the state and civil society and address the challenges that NGOs and CBOs face.”
This is a massive stride to bring the civil society movement at the centre stage of the country’s discourse. Given the significant voice and role that civil society plays in our public sphere, it is imperative that the conversations between the ANC and civil society organisations commence in earnest.
For the ANC to meaningfully engage and lead societal formations like civil society formations, it must continue with the project of renewal that was ignited by the recently held 54th National Conference. A significant part of the renewal project should aim to promote:-
- A leadership and membership that is confident, decisive, accountable and informed by a desire to serve the interests of South Africans. It must preserve and not to impinge the organizational and political integrity of the ANC
- Entrench a culture of participation and accountability in decision-making
- Promote values of our constitution such as human dignity, equality, human rights, non-sexism, non-racialism, supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.
These and other measures will put the ANC on a better stead to be once again a leading organ of our people to realise its vision and aspirations.
16. References
1. African National Congress, Declaration of the 54th National Conference, 2017, Nasrec, Johannesburg
2. African National Congress, Declaration of the National Consultative Conference, 17-19 November 2017, Johannesburg
3. African National Congress – Strategy and Tactics Document, adopted at the 54th National Conference, Nasrec, Johannesburg
4. Chipkin, I., Swilling, M. (2018). Shadow State: The Politics of State Capture. Wits University Press. Johannesburg
5. Gill, S. (2002). Power and Resistance in the New World Order, Palgrave, Macmillan.
6. Graham, V. (2015). Civil Society and Civic Participation. In South African Politics: An Introduction. De Jager, N., Gumede, V., Mangcu, X., Neethling, T., Steyn Kotze., Welsh, D. (Eds). Oxford University Press, Cape Town, South Africa
7. Mandela, R.N. (1997). Political Report. 50th National Conference of the African National Congress, Mafikeng
8. Ramaphosa, C, (2017). Closing Address to the ANC 54th National Conference, Nasrec, Johannesburg
9. Ramaphosa, C. (2018). State of the Nation Address, Parliament, Republic of South Africa
10. Suttner, Raymond. (2004). The UDF Period and its Meaning for Contemporary South Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies, Volume 30, Number 3, September 2004. Carfax Publishing