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UFS Thought-Leader series: South Africa’s leadership a threat to domestic stability

05 April 2023 | Story André Damons and Samkelo Fetile | Photo istock

Union Building Pretoria — The University of the Free State presented its first webinar titled, The threats to South Africa’s domestic stability and security challenges, which is part of the 2023 Thought-Leader Webinar Series on Tuesday 4 April.

The biggest threat to South Africa’s domestic stability and the health of the country’s democracy is its leadership and the continuing political corruption of the ANC.

This is according to the panelists at the University of the Free State (UFS) first Thought-Leader webinar for the year. The webinar titled, The threats to South Africa’s domestic stability and security challenges, had as panelists Busisiwe Mavuso, Chief Executive Officer: Business Leadership South Africa; Palesa Morudu, Director: Strategy and Marketing Clarity Global Strategic Communications; Prof Hussein Solomon, Senior Professor: Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, UFS; and Dr Ivor Chipkin, Co-Founder and Director: New South Institute. Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor was the facilitator.

Lawlessness is the problem

Mavuso said the essence of the country’s problems is lawlessness.

“The conversation is not just about threats, but when you look at why these threats exist, it’s because we have a lawlessness problem as a country. South Africa has degenerated into a lawless country. And lawlessness is the symptom. If you want to get to the bottom of why we have a lawlessness problem, my view is that we need to start with the root – the culture issue.

“South Africa’s problem when it comes to corruption, is a culture problem. It is a culture that has been cultivated and set from the top. The political culture in South Africa is that being accused of a crime is not embarrassing. We have a culture conducive to theft, and if that is the culture at the top, what makes you think that as a country people won’t follow suit because the message is clear that crime pays and that nothing will happen to you and you can still hold political office. Better still, you can be the president of the country,” said Mavuso.

According to her, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime report last year shows that SA is witnessing a dramatic expansion and legitimisation of organised crime which is rising rapidly, with dire implications for the economy and the country’s stability.

Mavuso said countries fall apart when governance fails at government level because it is governments that set countries apart, not geography. Government is what separates good prosperous states from bad failing states. And it is unfortunately where we are as a country because our leaders are not what they ought to be.

The focus for the country right now, said Mavuso, needs to be economic recovery, trying to attract investment as it is the only way to get out of this economic rut and deal with poverty, unemployment, and inequality crises.

“I am worried that if we do not get this right, domestic stability is not going to get better. The threat to South Africa is bigger than we comprehend. It really is an issue of leadership. The solution is having the right leadership that is going to set the right tone. Let us agree and accept that South Africa is divorced from leadership which is why we are on the verge of becoming another failed African state.”

Not unique to South Africa

In her presentation, Morudu also focused on international policy and to what extent it may or not lead to negative developments on the domestic front. She said the topic is not unique to SA as the world is going through a deeply unsettling phase. From the threats to democracy, to climate change, to rising inequality, a bloody war in Ukraine, threatening economic recession as a result of COVID-19, and a growing mental health crisis among young people, especially in the US.

“The world is quite a frightening place at the moment. I am not saying this to say that our problems are minor, but to help us understand the international context and that if we do not respond with some speed to our present challenges, not only will our backsliding economy and politics have very serious consequences for us, but it will also have major consequences for the part we play in the international system.

“I think it makes absolutely no sense for South Africa to align with Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. Russia invaded a sovereign country; it came into that country with tanks and guns. It is very much like when the apartheid government invaded Angola in 1975 and pretty much stayed there until 1988,” said Morudu.

According to her, South Africa’s backsliding democratic principles and foreign policy will also find expression in domestic policy. Nothing demonstrated this as keenly as the years of state capture that we lived through over the past 10 to 15 years. State institutions were hollowed out and rendered ineffective. Says Morudu: “The corruption of institutions took hold and thieves inside the state stole with impunity. The end result of that was there for all the world to see during the mass riots of July 2021. The state was literally unable to secure the safety of its own citizens. People had to organise themselves to stop the looting and to provide basic services to one another. It was an extraordinary moment for South Africa.”

Crises of democracy and the crisis of government

Dr Chipkin said there seems to be a strong correlation in the crises of democracy in South Africa and the crisis of government. “There are questions around the role, integrity or value of democracy and I think a lot of that has to do with the crisis of government, the seeming inability of our public service, our state institutions, to deliver on the very ambitious programme of economic transformation that is part of constitutional promise.”

He said there has been a lot of work done to professionalise the public service in SA. “It is credible, intelligent, durable and I do believe that there is some appetite for change. There is an opportunity for the university to jump into that space, as activists or as academics, to claim and widen that space going forward.”

He believes that reforming the public service is going to close the door or at least narrow a pathway to the kind of corruption we have in SA. “As we make improvements in professionalising public services, I suspect organised crime is going to grow as it will be threatened by these progressive initiatives. It is going to resist. What is pertinent on the agenda is progressive moves towards modernisation in SA need to be accompanied by serious moves to reform and improve the capacity of the police to respond to the situation of interpersonal emergencies of organised crime in particular, and ultimately state capture.”

According to him, the situation [with the police] is not as dire as we think. He said the police as an institution is probably in a better state than we would like to think. “It is not full of incompetent policemen. I think it is full of a thousand capable, committed, honest and sincere policemen trying to do their jobs under circumstances which are terrifying difficult. I think challenges in the police are rather institutional.”

Corporate sector reeling from criminal violence

Prof Solomon said the country’s security situation is rapidly deteriorating and he fears something really bad is lurking on the horizon for the country and its people. “Consider the following. It is estimated that more than 40% of women in South Africa will be raped in their lifetimes and that only one in nine rapes are reported. It is also estimated that only 14% of perpetrators of rapes are convicted in South Africa,” he said.

He stressed that beyond the level of personal violence, the corporate sector is also reeling from criminal violence. According to him, in 2019 already, 183 infrastructure and construction projects nationwide valued at more than R63 billion have been hindered by violent disruptions by the so-called construction mafia who euphemistically refer to themselves as business forums, typically demanding a 30% stake in projects.

“There has been little to no police intervention to stop this extortion economy and foreign investors flee in the face of the naked violence. As every first-year political science student knows, one of the characteristics of the state is its monopoly over coercive force within its territorial boundaries. The existence of these construction mafias and their ability to exert violence undermines this statehood, therefore South Africa is increasingly being referred to as a failed state.”

He says this inaction begs the question as to what the state of our security services is. For 20 years terrorist financing in SA has been an issue. In July 2022 the problem of terrorism financing came to the fore when the United Nations Security Council experienced grave concern at how the Islamic State’s tentacles were spreading across the African continent and how SA has been used to fund Islamic State affiliates.

“The bottom line is this. South Africa’s security situation is worsening. There are concrete recommendations which we can embark upon, but these will not work whilst the ANC is in power. The government lacks the capacity and legitimacy to rein in the forces of chaos which are about to envelop the country,” he said.

News Archive

SRC Inauguration speech: 22 January 2005

2005-01-22

Campus Head (Prof Peter Mbati). Dean of Students (Dr Natie Luyt). Deputy Director: Student Affairs and my boss (Mr. Teboho Manchu), Members of the University executive and Academic staff members, SRC members, Leaders of trade Unions and Student organizations, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, most importantly first entering students and Parents receive my heartfelt revolutionary greetings.

Let me extend my word of appreciation to our distinguished guests for adding value and dignity to this event. Your presence here means a lot to us. Program Director what I bring here with me, assisted by facts, and is therefore just the work of my imagination. Like a love letter addressed to a sweetheart miles away, even though you do not know how she feels, what she wants to hear, and do not even know how her face looks like.

To me a speech is just an honest and intimate conversation. That is why I got into the habit of establishing a dialogue, or a debate, with my acquaintances looking at their faces and trying to persuade them of what I am telling them.

Mr. Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament we are gathering at this ceremony, significantly few weeks after the release of grade 12 results, with the exception of those from Mpumalanga because of fraud. The Grade 12 results also show that only 18% of Black learners matriculated with exemptions, as compared to 53, 6% of white learners. This is an indication that our education system needs an overhaul.

We are also gathered here significantly a day after the management retreat held in Bloemfontein, Masselspoort. The retreat discussed, among other things, the transformation agenda, and some possible solutions to challenges we are facing now.

Most regrettably, we are gathered here when the whole world morns the victims of Tsunami tragedy. Let me therefore tore the line and convey our deepest condolences, from the last robot of my heart, to the affected families. Our hearts and thoughts will always be occupied by this horrified tragedy.

Creating a new Institution

I would submit, for purposes of debate and discussions that this Institution should strive to specialize and excel in regional rural development studies. Since our higher education, institutions in South Africa are generally weak in rural development studies. Instead, most of them tend to have an urban orientation to their programmes. Training everybody for the cities, big business and the private sector. This is a big weakness in a country with such large rural areas and population trapped in poverty, disease and ignorance.

Women’s studies

Program Director, it is only a moron who can argue against the fact that for us to reposition the institution around the regional development challenge, we need to start first with women empowerment. It is a fact that in most of our poor communities and families, it is women who withstand the worst of poverty. They are the ones who daily have to wipe tears from children who are hungry. It is women who look after the sick, the elderly, those dying from AIDS and the jobless. They are the one who have to fetch water, make fire and cook. There can therefore be no rural development studies without women studies, in particular on how to empower them and assist in the provision of basic services, so that they are relieved from some of the burdensome task of the society.

Registration Process

Mr. Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament let me indicate that the registration is a process and not an event, so it cannot be concluded overnight. This huge process demands for people to stay calm, as there is no crisis. People should stop being excited. At the same time, no organization should use its cheap popularity and unilaterally disrupt the continuous and smooth running of the registration process at hand.

Let me strongly indicate, madam deputy speaker, that I am on record for stating that I have forgiven all those who have wronged us. I harbour no bitterness towards the protagonists of our painful and unfortunate events of the past week. And we will overcome this process not by our own devices but by the help of Almighty God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Concerning registration of first years, we have programs, concerning that of senior students, we have programs, regarding graduations we have programs, and concerning HIV\AIDS we have programs. So, there is no need for people to press panicking buttons.

Mr. Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament let me be opportunistic and welcome the entire student body on Campus for the academic year 2005. May our lovely first entering students have a happy and momentous year as part of Qwaqwa Campus of University of the Free State. May your studies be fruitful and enjoyable.

Student years are generally the happiest years of your life, so please make the most of them. While you are doing, all your preparations bear in mind that University is not an opportunity, it is just creating opportunities for a person.

On behalf of SRC members, our people, our students and management members I would like to welcome you all. Even though your parents are far away, here at Uniqwa you have more brothers, more sisters and more parents. Since we will love you with the same love as if we are from one family, and I have no doubts that management members will love and care for you as if you are their own children. Should you encounter any problem while studying at the Qwaqwa Campus of University of the Free State do not hesitate to contact us at the SRC offices because we need to ameliorate any factor influencing you negatively while on campus. I wish you well in the attainment of your academic pursuit.

Senior Students: We are not faced with just a new year but another academic year where we all have to work together to achieve our common goal of building our Institution through the development of human power. I urge you to invest your whole selves in this SRC.

For quite some time now, a debate has been ranging as to, whether has there been any progress in this incorporation process, or we are just moving with no direction. This debate is important, but I hasten to add not essential. The SRC is also involved in this debate, but with definite shift in emphasis. For us it is not important to participate in the debate than it is in finding solutions for the challenges of this new chapter in the history of humankind.

To my colleagues: Comrades, we are leading this Institution with a sense of pride and duty, and I know very well that we lead men and women, students who are determined to ensure that we all reach our destination safely and on time.

I said in one of our meetings that there are more enemies on our way, more than we can imagine. I think you witnessed that during the course of this week. The excitement and unnecessary confusions caused by some confused and loosed charlatans bear testimony to my statements. We should not reveal our game plans unless we are ready to slam.

Let me also borrow from the words of the late Albert Lethuli when he said and I quote: “There remains before us the building of the new land, from the ruins of the old narrow groups, a synthesis of the rich cultural strains which we have inherited. The task is immense”. Lastly, a navy divided within its ranks will be vanquished and destroyed by the enemy, but a navy united in purpose and action, loyalty and commitment will not drawn but sail on to victory.

In conclusion, let me call upon all political structures, church denominations, developmental structures, clubs, societies and forums to put aside all their differences, ideological insinuations and forge unity towards transforming Qwaqwa Campus of University of the Free State into an institution that is seen playing vigilant role in developing students academically, politically, socially, spiritually, religiously, culturally and otherwise.

Program Director, let me end my speech by indicating that every drop of my blood is telling me that Uniqwa is my home. I firstly became a student here, I became an activist here, I became a leader here, I became a president here, I will become a graduant here and hopefully I will become an employee here. So never, doubt my commitment towards the community of this campus.

Please be informed, in a central University of Technology’s way, that if there is no UNIQWA in HEAVEN, then I am not GOING.

Let us broaden the social base.

Tello Titus Wa-Motloung President General

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