The enemy of the open society
Last weekend it was reported that ANC President Jacob Zuma believed in
the need to debate "anything" as widely as possible - even politically
correct sacred cows - as this was the essence of democracy.
Of course this did not stop Zuma from turning down my request for a
full and frank discussion with him on the future of the Scorpions. He
obviously wants to choose with whom he debates, a luxury that should
not be afforded a political leader in a functioning democracy.
Well, I am ready to debate Mr Zuma whenever he is, on any issue of his
choosing, preferably in a public forum. If he is really serious about
the need for debate, he will take me up on this challenge.
The truth is that while Zuma professes to be open to discussion, the
ANC is simultaneously shutting down the space for free and informed
debate without which democracy cannot exist. All the signs are there
that, behind Zuma's affable rhetoric, his party is determined to close
down real debate, public participation and access to information – the
hallmarks of the open society envisaged in our Constitution.
UNISA principal Barney Pityana warned this week that Zuma is not to be
trusted. Indeed, recent events would suggest that the image of
openness that Zuma is cultivating is just a smokescreen for the
closing down of the public space.
President Mbeki's refusal – no doubt at the behest of the ANC
leadership – to release the full Khampepe Commission Report on the
location and mandate of the Scorpions is a case in point. Instead of
releasing the report in good time before the legislation to disband
the Scorpions is debated in Parliament, Mbeki has cited "national
security" as the reason to withhold it from the public.
There are other more far-reaching plans afoot to close down the public
space. One is the ANC's resolution to institute a media tribunal to
make the media accountable to Parliament. Under this proposal,
politicians will have the power to call the media to account, a
fundamental attack on the constitutionally enshrined principle of
press freedom.
Another, perhaps even more sinister proposal, is contained in the new
Protection of Information Bill. Under this proposed legislation, the
publishing of "sensitive information", defined as threatening the
"national interest", will be a criminal offence if the intention is to
"prejudice the state." Included among matters in the national interest
are "defence and security plans", "significant political and economic
relations with international organisations and foreign governments"
and "details of criminal investigations."
As the Mail & Guardian pointed out last week, if this legislation had
been in place at the time, then that newspaper's exposés on the
National Commissioner of Police, Jackie Selebi, would have been
illegal. The reporters who broke these stories would not be free to
continue shining light in dark corners, but would be sitting in jail,
out of harms way – all in the "national interest."
Perhaps the starkest indication of the ANC's plans to shut down the
open society is the arena where robust debate is most needed – the
Parliament of South Africa.
The DA has long warned that the ANC wants to turn Parliament in to a
rubber stamp for the executive. The concept of parliamentary oversight
would probably be long forgotten, if it were not for the DA's
insistence on holding Ministers to account for their actions.
It has been particularly disturbing that the Speaker cannot understand
the conflict of interests inherent in her role as the Speaker (who
must impartially defend the interests of all parties in Parliament)
and her role as ANC chairperson.
Baleka Mbete has defended her dual role by comparing her situation
with mine. She has said: "If Helen Zille can do two jobs, so can I".
This misses the point entirely, since her "two jobs" are fundamentally
contradictory and undermine the intention of our Constitution. It is
impossible to be a player and referee at the same time.
It is for this reason that the DA's Sandra Botha resigned as Deputy
Chairperson of Parliament after she was elected as leader of the DA
caucus. In doing so, she showed respect for the distinction between
the party and the state.
This year, we also face the prospect of Parliament sitting for a mere
15 days for the entire second half of the year. In this time,
Parliament is expected to process the 102 bills before it. This is
risible when one considers that the National Assembly passed only 112
bills in the last three years.
This proposal, driven by the ANC, has been accepted by all opposition
parties – with the notable exception of the DA.
The ANC's aim is two-fold. Firstly, it wants to free up the time of
its MPs to manage the run-up to the ANC's list conference where the
next generation of ANC MPs will be nominated. Clearly, for the ANC it
is more important for the party to manage its own internecine conflict
than it is to represent the people of South Africa in Parliament.
Secondly, by limiting the time for debate in Parliament, the ANC aims
to rush through several controversial bills with scant regard for
meaningful public participation, debate and deliberation.
Not least of these is the General Law Amendment Bill to disband the
Scorpions. The ANC has already stated that it wants the legislation
passed by 1 June and the Speaker has said that she will do all in her
power to make this happen. This speaks volumes about her ability to
act as a neutral arbiter, especially considering the massive public
opposition to the Scorpion's dissolution.
There are two other bills in the pipeline that have attracted less
attention, but arguably have even graver consequences. Both the Draft
Expropriation Bill and Single Public Service Bill (not yet tabled)
have profound constitutional implications.
The Draft Expropriation Bill aims to rescind the "willing buyer,
willing seller" model of land reform provided for in the Constitution.
Instead, it gives the Minister of Public Works the power to determine
the value of the property without giving the owner full recourse to a
court of law to review the value set by government.
The Single Public Service Bill aims to bring all public-sector
employees under the control of the ANC Minister, a move that would
allow the ANC to destroy the autonomy of municipalities and provinces
that it does not govern. Again, the Bill is a threat to the
Constitution, which guarantees the independence of each of the three
spheres of government.
The thinking in ANC circles is that the quicker that these pieces of
legislation are passed, the less chance there will be that opposition
to these bills will turn into a groundswell of public dissent that it
cannot ignore. For the ANC, public participation is not something to
be taken seriously, it is an irksome obstacle that can be neatly
side-stepped when necessary.
The closing down of Parliament, the threats to media freedom and the
desire to shield information from the public all point to the ANC's
increased assault on the open society.
For all its populist rhetoric, the ANC forgets that there can be no
democracy without the people. And, in a democracy, when people are
shut out by government, they invariably respond by taking their power
back. This is the lesson that Zanu-PF learned this week.
Best Wishes
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