Caviar+comrades,+electoral+reform,+Karima+Brown,+Business+Day

Business Day, Johannesburg, 10 October 2006
=‘Caviar comrades’ do democracy in SA disservice=


 * Karima Brown**

NOT only are the caviar lifestyles of many public representatives, funded as they are with public money and resources, a big waste, but they are also immoral and dangerous because they alienate voters from the political process — and can have far-reaching consequences for our nascent democracy.

Moreover, they widen the credibility gap between the electorate and their leaders and political parties. Politicians in SA already, by virtue of the fact that we do not have a constituency-based electoral system, are not held directly to account by voters, but by their parties. And if the party is led by people securing tenders and bids for government largesse so they can become overnight millionaires, who will provide more guidance to lower-ranking politicians who love bling?

This lack of accountability creates an uncomfortable distance between the people and institutions of state. The glib explanations proffered by politicians when they are called upon to explain why they waste taxpayers’ money also reveals a disturbingly cavalier attitude towards voters. Politicians are very happy to visit “the people” only when an election rolls round every five years, and duck and dive any criticism of their actions in between.

However, politics is as much about perception as it is about power. And the public perception is that the majority of politicians are in office to serve themselves instead of the people.

Already the warning signs of disaffection with the political process are clear for everyone to see. Mass protests often resulting in violence forced even the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which was assured of a landslide victory in last year’s municipal elections, to wake up to the reality that power without credibility is nothing but a hollow victory.

So it came as no surprise that the ANC had to resort to desperate measures — it forced its councillors to sign a pledge that they would remain and live among the communities that elected them — to ensure greater accountability of its public representatives.

It seems, though, as if the ANC’s charm offensive is perpetually undermined by scandalous reports of party bigwigs living high on the hog. Judging by the colossal amounts spent on government cocktail parties, office renovations and five-day crane-spotting trips, I am not surprised when government types fend off criticism by stating they did not “struggle to be poor”.

While government apologists recently dismissed the R96000 that big-spender Gauteng finance MEC Paul Mashatile splurged on a fancy dinner at the swanky French restaurant Auberge Michel as par for the course — given that Mashatile has a limit of R400000 on a government credit card — they fail to explain to the ANC’s mass base why politicians, put in power by a vast majority of poor people, live in such splendour and grandeur.

No wonder ANC supporters and members are involved in all kinds of shenanigans to acquire leadership positions at every level. Today occupying leadership in the ANC has become synonymous with power and privilege. ANC and government high-ups are often cushioned from the lived reality of their supporters. More importantly, without a constituency-based electoral system, voters can only choose between parties instead of electing their representatives, making the danger of the politics of poverty more apparent.

Leaders are driven around by chauffeurs, often whisked through busy airport terminals to sit in VIP lounges engaging with equally empowered business people. This bubble existence, acquired with haste once a politician enters government, explains why most public representatives have such scant regard for the difficulties of everyday life and the uphill battle many people face to make ends meet.

It is clear that the current electoral system does not foster accountability and that SA needs a different system sooner rather than later. While the ANC government has shelved its own report re-examining our electoral system, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called for a mixed electoral system at national, provincial and local levels, and has specifically proposed 65% constituency-based and 35% proportional representation.

The labour federation also called for a referendum to be conducted next year to determine the level of support for a constituency-based electoral system. This call should be welcomed and encouraged by all those who claim they are interested in the deepening of democracy and greater accountability.

Many among the chattering classes have called for direct presidential elections, scared stiff by the prospect of Jacob Zuma being swept into power by a “populist” ANC membership, but have remained silent on the need for overall electoral reform. What we need is consistency. I say lets back Cosatu’s call for a referendum to test the waters.


 * Brown is political editor.


 * From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A286438**

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