By SELLO TATAI
The political literature of Africa’s independence is awash with many case studies of malfeasance. This administrative conundrum has had an adverse impact in the socio-political and economic stability of many post-colonial countries.
This has often resulted into civil wars, genocides, famine and human rights abuses.
Chinua Achebe in his much-celebrated novel, A Man of the People, augments this narrative through a dubious character named Chief Nanga whom after independence becomes the Minister of Culture.
His primary responsibility is to become a custodian of the country’s traditions and culture instead he uses his political power to only serve himself, his pals and some in his constituency.
He further uses his wealth to bribe law enforcement agencies and other officials in an attempt to amass more political power and enrich himself as well as his family. He also preys on vulnerable young women determined to overcome the post-colonial mirage.
South Africa’s post-Apartheid discourse mirrors a similar narrative and over the past few years provincial governments and municipalities have fallen prey to political clientelism.
In its watershed Conference of 2017, the African National Congress committed to the renewal of the organisation. This as a consequence of cronyism, patronage and critically clientelism which have engulfed the organisation since at least the 2007 Polokwane Conference.
This has had a detrimental impact on the smooth running of government and in particular the country’s municipalities where the poor and economically disenfranchised reside.
In the North West the appalling state of municipalities has left many residents disgruntled.
Some maintain the ANC is vindicating those who are still clamouring for the
Bophuthatswana Administration. They allege a flourishing infrastructure which was inherited from Mangope’s government has been left to decay leaving hundreds of communities in a state of paralysis akin to many failed post-colonial democracies.
Under the banner of Khawuleza, an initiative by the ANC to expedite service delivery, the governing party maintains its members in public office need to be agents of change.
High on the agenda is to put emphasis on ethical leadership, fight corruption in all its forms, and to speed up the delivery of services with the sole purpose of improving the lives of South Africans.
While these intentions are noble and are aimed at putting the ANC in the right political trajectory, the diagnosis seems to be wrong. Issues ranging from corruption, mal-administration, fraud and patronage are variables of a broader malice which is political clientelism.
Political clientelism can be defined as a reciprocal relationship which provides political support in exchange for granting access to state resources.
This practice relies on the use of state resources to provide jobs and services for mass political support as access is in most instances conditioned on subordination, compliance and dependence on the goodwill of power brokers who have the money.
As the governing party gears itself towards this year’s local government elections the ANC must guard against the processes designed to nominate councillors being hijacked by political & tender-preneurs.
The country’s municipalities are currently riddled with councillors who first and foremost pledge their allegiance to business people who funded their campaigns and later their political bishops who have assisted them manipulate nomination and list processes.
Tenderpreneurs would later be rewarded with lucrative tenders while political bishops would be granted support with money accrued from state projects.
In the process service delivery is compromised due to shoddy work. As accountability fails to trickle down violent service delivery protests become the order of the day.
This is not far from how Chief Nanga was toppled.
And as the masses turned their backs on him the post-colonial state was thrown into a state of disarray and consequently a civil war.
*Sello Tatai is an activist and a former journalist. He writes in his personal capacity and these views does not necessary represent Taung DailyNews.
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