After 80 years of struggle, South Africa adopted a constitution regarded as the envy of many other countries in the world. In the Constitution, under the heading Founding Provisions, Values, the eighth bullet reads: “There will be a multi-party system of democratic government to make sure there is accountability and openness.”
Given the very widespread corruption currently being revealed, the question has to be asked whether the critical founding provision quoted above has been observed. The answer must be that it has not and an answer to this failure has to be agreed. If the intention of the Constitution had been achieved, accountability and openness would have prevented corruption and abuse of power from becoming endemic.
While the original motivation of a proportional representation electoral system is understood, it is with this system that the problem starts. The problem is compounded by the ‘democratic’ practices of the major political parties.
In terms of the Separation of Powers principle, the intention is that the legislature will pass legislation that is the will of the people and conduct oversight of the Executive to ensure good governance and implementation. Fundamental to both of these principles is accountability – elected representatives are accountable to the people and members of the executive are accountable to the elected representatives.
Once accountability collapses at the level of Parliament, it will collapse all the way down the line – as has happened in South Africa.
The de facto position under the PR system is that Members of Parliament are accountable to their party leadership and how they carry this out determines whether they will be on the party ‘list’ at the next election. The absence of a direct link between the MP and voters stands in the way of enabling MP’s to perform their representative role.
The effective MP is not one that has a good attendance record and contributes from her or his own expertise at committee proceedings. The effective MP is one that:
- Moves among the people to hear their views and needs
- Is available to take up with government officials, and cabinet ministers if necessary, specific issues and problems being experienced by particular communities and individuals
- Pressurizing the executive to provide for the inclusion of a specific area need in the annual budget
- Holding public report back meetings after every parliamentary session
This is hard work but is the essence of making a democratic system function. It contributes significantly to making communities feel they are included in the country’s deliberations. Support for an MP at grass roots level is also fundamental to that MP feeling confident enough to hold a member of the executive to account – Cabinet Ministers should not feel they can ignore parliamentary committees with impunity.
The large number of increasingly violent protests in South Africa is a clear indication that the people feel excluded by the political processes. How often do communities complain that they only see politicians at election time?
Some may argue that the large political gatherings at stadiums counter this view and indicate significant inclusion. While these meetings have their place in the system, they contribute very little to the democratic process. They are in fact more like spectators attending an annual derby soccer match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. They are spectators and their contribution is limited to booing and cheering.
The problem is compounded by the political parties who insist on finalising their ‘lists’ in secretive procedures. Being a committed part loyalist is more important than the ability to generate electorate support for the party’s policies and performance.
Our political system has not ensured accountability and openness. It has to be questioned whether it is in fact democratic? The will of the people has been replaced with the will of power elites who may or may not have the interests of the people at heart.
Another road has to be found that results in a growing involvement of citizens in democratic processes.
