South Africa: Why Tony Leon Appointment is Welcome
- ADVERTISEMENT -
Leon greets Mbeki Photo courtesy In August 2006, South Africa woke up to the
news that Adriaan Vlok, former Minister of Law and Order, had visited Rev.
Frank Chikane, the then Director-General in the Presidency, and washed the
Reverend’s feet to demonstrate how sorry he was for ordering the poisoning of
the Reverend in the late 1980s. The news received varied reaction from breath
and length of the country.
A few weeks later, former President Thabo Mbeki, in his capacity as President
of the ANC, wrote so lyrically about the incident. He said “Once again, what
happened on that day has imposed an obligation on all of us to ask ourselves
many questions that are important to the future of our country, centred on such
important questions as private imperatives and the public good, 'the RDP of the
soul', national reconciliation, nation building, a new patriotism, and so on.”
Mbeki further said, “But, centrally, I believe that this happening, especially
the legitimate and necessary debate it has provoked, has also made it necessary
for all of us as South Africans to pose the question whether we are indeed
listening to and hearing one another! Or is it the case that the chasms that
continue to fracture our society are so big and deep, that we are still unable
to hear one another?”
As it was the case in August 2006, South Africans have reacted with keen
interest to the appointment of Tony Leon, former leader of the Democratic
Alliance, as South Africa’s Ambassador-designate to Argentina. Some have
questioned Leon’s bona fides, his level of patriotism and a sense of belonging
to South Africa. Others have welcomed this development, citing its importance
in ensuring broader inclusion in running the affairs of the state as well as
nation building.
>From these diverse views, there are two critical issues that immediately come
>to mind. One is that of racialism and the other is the role of political
>opposition in constructing and shaping South Africa’s post-apartheid order.
>Those who question Leon’s bona fides, patriotism and a sense of belonging
>argue along racial lines on the one hand say that South Africa is rich with
>talent and capability among blacks from which the choice for the Ambassadorial
>post should have been made. On the other hand, it seems they do not feel
>comfortable with a member of an opposition party playing such a prominent role
>in South Africa’s post-apartheid political order. That Leon has often spoken
>openly and sometimes very strongly against the ANC does not sit well with
>them. They argue that his membership of a political opposition and generally
>his views do not qualify him as South Africa’s Ambassador. These views, once
>again, raise fundamental questions about the
future of our country, in particular with regard to common good, national
reconciliation, nation building and a new patriotism to which Mbeki referred.
Quite clearly as a country we still have to ‘deconstruct’ the apartheid residue
of colour-line. The question is for how long will the differences of race
remain the basis of denying others the right of sharing to their utmost ability
the opportunities and privileges of South Africa’s post-apartheid order? This
is not to argue against the very progressive policies of advancing the
previously disadvantaged. Rather, the issue is that South Africa cannot simply
wish away some talent and skills because they are possessed by non-Blacks. This
important factor, so it seems to me, must have crossed President Zuma’s mind
when making the decision about Leon.
It is equally important that we strive to reconstruct ourselves as a people and
define a new meaning for ourselves. Entrenching democracy within our country,
in my view, should be the ultimate common good. That we have had four free,
transparent and peaceful national general elections in the post-apartheid order
is one step towards that common good. That successive ANC governments have
since 1994 invited members of opposition to the Executive also bears testimony
to the pursuit of that common good. It is these things, however small, that
make South Africa a beacon of hope for the greater humanity.
Therefore, the imminent confirmation of Tony Leon as South Africa’s Ambassador
to Argentina should be a welcome development; for it adds further impetus to
the conscious efforts to unite the nation and symbolizes the maturity of our
young democracy. When President Zuma considered Tony Leon for the Ambassadorial
post he must have paid due regard to the country’s discriminatory past as well
as the imperative to heal the divisions created by that ugly past. President
Zuma must have also been aware that he himself is mandated by the Constitution
to be at the forefront of the conscious efforts to unite the nation for
development and prosperity. Section 83b of the Constitution provides that the
President ¬“must uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law
of the Republic”; and Section 83c says the President “promotes the unity of the
nation and that which will advance the Republic.”
Our Constitution provides for an inclusive and cohesive society and a
democratic state premised on human dignity, the achievement of equality and the
advancement of human rights and freedoms. The Preamble of our Constitution
says “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.” It
further says the adoption of the Constitution was meant to, among other things,
“improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each
person - build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful
place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.”
South Africa’s democracy has for the past decade-and-a-half been shaping up and
maturing. There are many examples that attest this, despite concerns that
sometimes our country displays tendencies of politico-constitutional paralysis.
This maturity is evident in the manner in which we conduct ourselves
politically. Quite recently, ahead of the 2009 April 22 national general
elections political parties embarked on heated campaigns to discredit one
another and sometimes exchanged slurs ostensibly to secure more votes for
themselves. But conspicuous throughout this period was the complete absence of
physical acts of violence. The elections came and passed and the ANC won a
resounding victory with 65.9 percent of the votes cast. Fascinating still was
the fact that various leaders of opposition parties made series of calls to the
President of the ANC, Mr Jacob Zuma, to congratulate him and his party on their
victory. The DA leader, Hellen Zille, told SAfm
one morning that she had tried to call Mr Zuma to congratulate him because she
truly was happy for him, and especially noting that the ANC had run a very
effective election campaign. But unfortunately she could not reach him as his
cell phone was apparently busy. Zille went further to say she felt the need to
congratulate Mr Zuma because after all they were just political opponents and
NOT enemies.
Zille’s remarks were very encouraging; particularly noting that just 15 years
ago South Africa emerged from a brutal system of apartheid during which a large
segment of the country’s population was totally excluded from country’s body
politic. Like the apartheid South Africa, some countries on the African
continent are embroiled in a dog-eat-dog competition for power precisely
because of the winner-takes-it all political practice that breeds total
exclusion. In Rwanda, decades of exclusion of one ethnic group from the body
politic and the economic benefits flowing there from resulted in a genocide in
1994. Other countries remain unstable precisely because of the exclusion one
ethnic or religious group from the mainstream politics. In our neighbour north
of Limpopo, Zimbabwe, there is political wrangle between the two major
political parties (Zanu-PF and MDC) over which party should fill in the
position of country’s Reserve Bank Governor and the
Attorney-General. This wrangle has the potential to frustrate the Unity
Government set up within the framework of the Global Political Agreement early
this year.
In South Africa we do things differently because we have learnt from our ugly
past. Although Mr Leon Leon has had lukewarm relations with the ANC government,
he cannot be summarily dismissed as the enemy of the South African people – the
majority of whom are obviously members of the ANC. On the contrary, he has said
very sensible things with which many South Africans of all races agreed. At
some point in 2005, Tony Leon said he saw a hopeful sign that South African
politics was maturing and, as he put it, “moving beyond race, patronage and
post-liberation nostalgia as the major themes of our democratic discourse.” He
said this was important so that the country could have what he called ‘real’
and ‘open’ debates about urgent issues such as economic reform and HIV/Aids,
among others.
The significance of Leon’s observations is that they denote a desire on his
part to engage in debates – something which again points to the maturity of the
country’s democracy. Truth be told, debates about the pressing challenges
facing the democratic South Africa should involve everybody, including the
opposition. This observation finds resonance with the view expressed by Former
President Nelson Mandela in November 1999 when he called for patriotic
opposition which he said should preoccupy itself with the interests of the
country first. Mandela said opposition (and he was particularly referring to
white opposition) should not think that their legitimate responsibility is to
oppose the majority party, the ANC. He said they should not “present
themselves as elements of a shadow government which has no responsibility both
for our past and for our present”. Recalling the importance of what Mandela
said, the relevant question then becomes: to
what extent do black and white South Africans and members of different
political parties see each other as true and loyal citizens of this country
deserving of human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of
human rights and freedoms?
Indeed, as Former President Mbeki appealed to South Africans after the Vlok’s
famous apology, “we are each products of our lived past and present.
Inevitably, what we say and do is refracted by that reality, all of which
impacts on others whose consciousness may be refracted by a different
historical and social experience. To weld ourselves into one humane society,
united in its diversity, surely, we must learn to listen to and hear one
another.” As Mbeki emphasized, “the first step we must take in this regard is
to learn that our respect for one another's humanity includes respect for the
reality that each one of us will take his or her unique or special and stony
feeder road to join the national march towards the achievement of the objective
of a ‘South Africa (that) belongs to all who live in it, united in our
diversity’, as our Constitution says. This demands that we must cultivate the
capacity to hear one another.”
South Africans must welcome President Zuma’s decision on Leon; for there is
nothing to suggest that Leon, by virtue of his skin colour or political
association, is less capable of promoting and defending South Africa’s
interests abroad. On the contrary, Leon is endowed with qualities and skills
which can help advance the interests of South Africa in Argentina. His clear
understanding of political and economic issues as well as his analytical mind
will make him a formidable diplomat he must be. His eloquence will certainly
come in handy in articulating South Africa’s interests. This view is supported
by Professor Sipho Seepe who in February 2007 said this of Leon: “Dignified,
eloquent, reflective ... perhaps in the fullness of time we may come to
appreciate Tony Leon’s contribution to deepening democracy.”
By Zamokwakhe Ludidi Somhlaba,
Deputy Director for African Affairs at the Department of Public Service and
Administration in Pretoria. He writes in his personal capacity.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You are subscribed. This footer can help you.
Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this
message.
You can visit the group WEB SITE at
http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options,
pages, files and membership.
To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You
don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put
anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this
address (repeat): [email protected] .
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
