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10 March 2021 | Story Prof Sethulego Matebesi | Photo Supplied
Dr Sethulego Matebesi
Prof Sethulego Matebesi is a Senior Lecturer and Academic Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State.
No South African will deny that the most criticised Chapter Nine institution in recent times has been the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane.

Five years ago, the National Assembly endorsed Advocate Mkhwebane’s candidacy as the fourth Public Protector with an overwhelming majority vote in 2016. Since then, a litany of adverse court rulings created a seesaw effect between those who support her and those who vehemently oppose her continuation as Public Protector. This rift is likely to widen after an independent panel appointed by Parliament recently concluded that there is prima facie evidence of repeated incompetence and misconduct. 

Still a long way before the Public Protector can be impeached

Of great concern is that the Public Protector failed in her attempts to obtain a court interdict to halt the inquiry into her fitness to hold office, pending her challenge of the rules that the National Assembly adopted for the impeachment process.

It is still a long way before the Public Protector can be impeached. In this regard, it is not the aim of this contribution to rehash the events leading up to the findings of the preliminary inquiry. The purpose here is to answer a question being asked about how the ANC will respond to the impeachment of the Public Protector.

One can use two critical points as prisms to understand the likely scenario that will play out: the history of voting in Parliament and the political currency of the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction inside the ANC.

For most of our history, voting in Parliament since the dawn of democracy has been – as can be expected – along party lines. Even when deviation occurred, this was extremely low. A safe bet is that this voting pattern will persist because of MPs' strong inclination to conformity.

What is less predictable, is just how the whippery of the ANC will respond to the possibility of voting for or against the removal of the Public Protector. Elsewhere in the world, legislators are allowed to vote according to their conscience, rather than their party's official line on contentious issues.

The PP's future depends on the ravenous political trade-offs between two ANC factions

Outside of Parliament, the ANC's RET faction has been encouraged by the actions of the party's Secretary-General and the former president. They are aptly using the political currency of victimhood to their advantage. The longer the court cases of Ace Magashule and Jacob Zuma drag on, the more political currency they gain in support of the ANC's RET faction. With so many party members facing legal challenges, some of them are inevitably drawn to conspiracies. The political behaviour fostered by this group is an antithesis of constitutional democracy. This has turned into a power conundrum for the ANC, which has exploded over the past two years.

Ironically, the Public Protector's future depends on the ravenous political trade-offs between the two factions within the ANC. Like a swinging pendulum, her support is tilted mainly by those who trust and distrust her. These differences are not part of the normal give-and-take dynamics of politics. It is an outcome of politicians whose future depends entirely on their fightback strategy. Why then would an ANC MP who is sympathetic to the cause of the RET forces vote for the removal of the Public Protector? 

In hindsight, this seems to be an eminently sensible general analysis of the issue. However, this analysis may be highly untenable in the eyes of an ANC MP. That the motion to remove the Public Protector came from the DA further compounds this situation.

But what is absurd and difficult to explain is the legal counsel of the Public Protector's argument that the DA has a vendetta against her and National Speaker Thandi Modise's questionable attitude. This is the narrative that some ANC MPs will advance to vote against the DA's motion and not protect constitutional democracy in South Africa. 

Meanwhile, the pendulum of trust and distrust in the Public Protector keeps on swinging. But if we think the only solution to deal with the myriad and severe challenges faced by the Public Protector is her removal by Parliament, our wait for a solution will be much longer.

Opinion article by Prof Sethulego Matebesi, Senior Lecturer and Academic Head of the Department of Sociology, University of the Free State

 


News Archive

UFS celebrates Africa Month
2017-05-24

 Description: ' Africa Month Tags: UFS celebrates Africa Month

Most of the international students at the UFS come from
the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and other countries in Africa.
Photo: iStock

“Africa Month provides an opportunity
to every student and staff member to
commemorate African unity and celebrate
our rich cultural heritage, diversity,
energy and social dynamism.”

The University of the Free State (UFS) celebrates Africa Month to commemorate African unity and praise cultural heritage, as well as to take ownership of the future of the continent. According to Prof Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies, these are reasons to take part in the festivities.

Formation of Organisation of African Unity

Africa Day is the day on which Africa observes the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963. A total of 32 independent African states attended the formation.

The OAU’s aims were to promote unity and solidarity of the African states and act as a collective voice for the continent, in order to secure Africa’s long-term economic and political future and to rid it of remaining forms of colonialism. The OAU later gave birth to the African Union, which formally replaced the OAU in July 2002.

Prof Hudson says celebrating Africa Month forms part of her centre’s institutional mandate to promote an African focus in research, teaching, as well as public debate.

“Africa Month provides an opportunity to every student and staff member to commemorate African unity and celebrate our rich cultural heritage, diversity, energy and social dynamism. Secondly, by participating we all begin to take ownership of our future on this continent.”

She adds that Africa month provides a platform for reflecting on past experiences and achievements, as well as to critically assess the failures, challenges and the lessons learnt for the sake of a better future for the continent’s people.

Working relations across the continent

The UFS has working relations with universities, embassies and consulates in African countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Tunisia.

Five cooperation agreements exist – they are with the Botho University (Botswana), Greater Zimbabwe University, Universidad Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique), Trinity Theological Seminary Ghana, and Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary.

According to Kanego Mokgosi, Senior Officer at Internationalisation, there are also working relations between the university and The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Swedish International Development Agency and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. All of these focus on research development in Africa.

Most of the international students at the UFS come from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the continent. It hosts 1393 students from SADC countries.

“The UFS employs SADC protocol guidelines which, among others, enjoin SADC universities to admit at least 5% of their student population from the SADC region,” says Mokgosi.

Memorial Lecture by Dr Zeleza

On 24 May 2017 the Centre for Africa Studies hosted an Africa Day Memorial Lecture by Dr Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, the Vice Chancellor (President) of the United States International University Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.

The UFS library, in collaboration with the Department of English and the Office of International Affairs, also celebrated Africa Day on 25 May 2017. They hosted a conversation on the Land Debate in South Africa, together with the launch of a book titled White Narratives: The depiction of Post-2000 Land Invasions in Zimbabwe by Prof Irikidzayi Manase. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of English.

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