Koert Meyer
CAPE TOWN - The Codesa talks in 1993 had to be done in such a hurry after the callous assassination of Chris Hani by two right wingers, that a second follow-up one was never envisaged should things go horribly wrong as they have unfortunately.
There was never a sound foundation laid for the new South Africa. Some of the political parties sitting round those tables did so in bad faith, never sincere nor honest, let alone of sound integrity and moral conviction.
Our white brothers and sisters were never going to support anything and were rather intent on yearning and working feverishly for the fleshpots of apartheid, irrespective of its consequences, led by firstly the evaporating National Party and then the Democratic Alliance, aided by the Freedom Front and quislings.
A lot of the decisions had to be sealed with compromises, some insisting on checks and balances for minorities, built into the constitution.
Federalism for especially the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal was defeated. Nine provinces instead of carving up the country into fifty more manageable canton-like entities like modern democracies, examples India and Nigeria, thereby doing away with unwieldy provinces and thus avoiding provincialism, centralism and threatening secession as the road the Western Cape was always going to take.
Were any of the following discussed and decided: What should be done in the event of some parties being unhappy with the way things were going: coalitions, referendums, government of national unity, too many parties making a mockery of democracy, our courts made the scapegoats for many of the wrong things, our porous borders, more frequent or just one election instead of two, ethnic groups together with some parties sowing even more destructive division by ganging-up instead of nation-building, sinking us into a failed state, the land, language and wealth tax questions, more and more people and parties calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty, etc.
The others can be grouped as socio-economic problems that have been rearing their ugly heads soon after the dawn of our democracy and fanned by dishonest parties hell-bent on unseating the existing government as their patience is running out with our seventh general election looming in 2024.
These are: escalating crime and our police and courts unable to deal with it, corruption, racism, poverty, unemployment, foreigners streaming to our country, inequality, rising road deaths, a too-small tax base with many emigrating, destruction and vandalism of infrastructure, violent protests, homelessness, human rights abuses, our education system not yielding desired results, lawlessness, mushrooming informal settlements, unsatisfactory disaster and emergency management, threats of violence by political leaders, climate change, the inability to let all citizens benefit from our dwindling mineral wealth in the form of a basis income grant, our country's ballooning debt, overcrowded prisons, gangsterism, terrorism and ultimately civil war, rebellion with armed groups fighting from the bush.
Many of us could add even more to the lists. The only way to save our country is for all political parties to take hands especially the big ones to show us all that it's best to work together and we are stronger together. United we stand, divided we fall.
It's a disgusting disgrace that all these small parties led by their big boss will eventually take our country to its dismal downfall, never to rise from it. Should unstoppable violence break out after our next election it will be the end of not only their pipe dream, but also our country as a whole. The good will of our people all on their own is not enough.
For the sake of our country, they should dig a hole for their pride instead of one for the governing party. Everything, including lives, will be lost not only of those who caused this mayhem, but every one of us. Which country will accept us as refugees?
We must go back to the drawing-board. Forewarned is forearmed.
* Koert Meyer is an anti-death penalty and anti-apartheid activist, former history educator and scholar.
Cape Times