It’s a quarter of a century since democracy and another election is upon us. As we enter the polling booths again, it’s hard to avoid the sense that South Africans have once more not answered the two crucial questions elections are meant to pose: What is government there for? And, what is a government not there for?
The root premise of all three main political parties is the notion that government will be everything and do everything for all people at all times. There is nothing outside its capacity unless it has “capacity problems”. The root philosophy is of government as primary caregiver, as benefactor-in-chief.Ferial Haffajee points out
The EFF is in the fortunate position of knowing it will never have to implement this promise, but the ANC, rather than roundly mocking this claim, offers it own undeliverable promises, mainly in the form of a practically instantaneous national health system. The National Health Insurance system in which all South Africans should be covered will happen, it says, in 2025six years from now. And the DA? As one tweeter commented wryly, the DA is really just the ANC with better accountants.
And this time, it’s especially grating. It’s more grating because I suspect the electorate is more energised this time. It feels like there is more at stake. The arguments are sharper and the questions more penetrating. Yet, reading the ANC manifesto is really an exercise in the willful suspension of disbelief. It’s long and rambling and talks about everything, everywhere. A colleague of mine berated me for even trying, saying “nobody believes that”. The cynicism was cutting, but it’s true.
tim_cohen ‘Arguing against those who insisted that the government should “leave industry to itself,” he insisted that deliberate government encouragement was needed to ensure that American manufacturers continued to thrive.’