The DA and the ANC should resist the temptation of getting into bed with smaller parties to govern, which in any case is nothing but short-term political expediency, writes Harlan Cloete.
My octogenarian aunt Caroline Cloete Piedt (83 years young) is the Elsies River Congregational Church minister and a former school principal in the same area.
Her entire life, she has been living out her Christian faith through service to the community. She lives life to the fullest and has voted in every election since 1994. She knows very well the good and bad old days of bygone times and the disappointment of the 1994 dream deferred like me and millions of others.
She heard my commentary on television last month on the outcome of the 2021 local government elections and the possibility of an increase in local coalition governments if no single party managed to win 51% of the seats to enable them to govern the municipality for the next five years. I suggested that the best solution would be for the two biggest losers (in this case the ANC and DA) to put aside their perceived ideological or personality differences and work together with the community to find the best way forward to fight poverty, unemployment, inequality and corruption.
Egocentricity is a stumbling block
In other words, where neither the DA nor the ANC is victorious (as the election results have now shown) they should read into this the desire of voters for them to collaborate. This is how my aunt responded in a WhatsApp message to me after the broadcast, "Egocentricity will be the stumbling block to a coalition between the DA and the ANC. There needs to be a shift from their political ideals to one of meeting the needs of the masses; conflicting ideals need to be buried". Her razor-sharp observation did not disappoint.
This is what the ANC and the DA must do. My argument that they should collaborate is based on the unstable, destructive coalitions that we witnessed in the past, such as in Nelson Mandela Bay, Oudtshoorn and Tswane to name but a few. They were not very helpful, and quite frankly, simply a waste of time. And in the end, the very communities that were supposed to benefit ended up being short-changed by politicians who are more interested in data and dollars than in bringing to the table bold, innovative approaches to ensure economic empowerment of the masses.
The DA and the ANC should resist the temptation to get into bed with smaller parties to govern, which in any case is nothing but short-term political expediency. It simply does not work. And smaller parties who in many instances are new to the intricacies and complexities of governance often make unreasonable demands that simply are not sustainable. They gloat that they are now the kingmakers and will determine who holds the key local government positions. So you could end up with a situation where a politician from a one-seat party becomes a Mayor or a Speaker. According to the former mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality Clarence Johnson, this is simply immoral and does not express the people's will.
Rivals, but not enemies
One of the best books I have read on the subject is Collaborating with the Enemy (2017) by Adam Kahane. He writes that we must resist enemyfying, the tendency to see others that differ from us as enemies. Yes, we may have been rivals during elections, but certainly not enemies. Kahane argues that coalitions (collaborations) in this case are both necessary and challenging as we need to work with people we don't agree with, like or trust.
And this is the mandate from the electorate. For the ANC and the DA to show their commitment and maturity and restore local government hope. For them to come together with a common purpose and to leave their egos at the door. The African proverb, "When the elephants fight, the grass gets trampled", remains true and relevant in this regard. Find the best solutions forward and focus on the community through bold implementation. The biggest losers should collaborate.
They should determine a common framework or a set of non-negotiables, of which there could be many, but let me offer just one: Employ competent and ethical professional public servants who are loyal to the Constitution to manage local government affairs. Hiring incompetent staff is tantamount to treason and frankly embarrassing. We have had enough of this.
Hopefully, President Cyril Ramaphosa and John Steenhuisen will prove my aunt Caroline wrong. They have the intellectual capital and institutional knowledge between their parties to restore hope in local governance and to make South Africa great. As they prepare for fierce coalition talks with smaller parties, the ANC and the DA should make sure they take the lead. They shouldn't let the tail wag the dog.
- Dr Harlan Cloete is an extraordinary lecturer at the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University. His main research interest is exploring evidence based HRD governance systems in the public sector with a keen interest in local government. He is the founder of Great Governance ZA Podcast.
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