THOZAMILE BOTHA: Why we should all dive in to help create a new social compact

This article was triggered by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call on South Africans of all political, economic, social and cultural persuasions to join his initiative for a “new social compact consensus”. It is encouraging that Pierre du Toit, writing from the Afrikaner community’s perspective, positively identified the Afrikaner establishment with this call (“A hundred days towards a new consensus”, March 17). 

In his response, Prof Du Toit confidently indicated to the president that Afrikaners “are standing in the pit lane ... ready to join the social compact as soon as the green light is given”. As a  citizen concerned about the state of fragmentation and the downward spiral of the SA economy, inclusive of the political and sociocultural spheres, I believe the call is long overdue.

The quick response by the Afrikaners and their unprecedented state of readiness to engage in an all-inclusive social compact signals that corporate SA is impatiently looking for leadership and guidance to save the country from the brink of collapse. There is a lot of speculation doing the rounds on this question: is SA at risk of becoming a failed state? 

The enthusiasm of Afrikaner organisations to join the consensus-seeking initiative signals their wish not to be left behind when the vision of a democratic, nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous SA is being redesigned and developed. Du Toit is essentially calling on Afrikaners and corporate SA to seize the opportunity by heeding the call for a new social compact. This is an opportunity for all South Africans, black and white, to forge a new form of national identity — a form of nationalism that moves away from a race base and embraces our unity in diversity while respecting our ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences.

The quick positive response from organised Afrikaners should not be missed. The governing ANC has an opportunity to harness this positive momentum and build on its own internal and external renewal as an organisation.

Furthermore, it must demonstrate its willingness and capability to mobilise, unite and build the multiracial, multicultural and multilingual SA our constitution envisioned. For South Africans in general, it is not enough just to be part of a social compact — if it does not deliver positive results, it will not be worth the paper it is written on.

Similarly, for black and white South Africans, this is an opportunity to table their aspirations of a united and prosperous nation. However, a consensus presupposes that none of the parties to the social compact are likely to come out with everything they wish for. Each party is likely to come out with a package sufficient to advance their cause.

For the new social compact to have meaning, it has to transcend party political, racial and ethnic boundaries and embrace the principle of a rainbow nation and diverse civil society network. It must be a consensus seeking an identity that encourages the principle of live and let live. It must promote, nurture and take advantage of the potential civil society institutions offer in the form of skills, experience, intellectual capital and finance, to advance our communities. The social compact should not be about only winning votes, it should be about improving the quality of life of all South Africans.

On the ground

The consensus South Africans need is the one Centre for the Study of Democracy director Steven Friedman referred to in a recent article, one that takes people out of their comfort zones in the lush suburbs of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and encourages them to dirty their hands in the poor working-class informal settlements and rural areas, to create decent living conditions and food security for all South Africans. This new social compact must encourage communities to move away from waiting for handouts and adopt a “vuk’ uzenzele” attitude (“stand up and do it yourself”).   

There must be a clear set of objectives. Consensus building should not be a slogan, it should be a programme of action with measurable outcomes. It has to be developed around clear political, social, economic and cultural themes with binding ethical value systems. Consensus is not an abstract theoretical concept; it must be purposeful, with specific milestones.

SA Institute of International Affairs deputy chair Moeletsi Mbeki, a political economist, has warned the ANC that if it does not change its strategy of only looking inwardly for solutions to the country’s economic and political problems, the 2024 election will see the end of the party. This doomsday forecast can be avoided only if the ANC leadership can revise its outlook, refocus its optic lenses, and consider itself a servant of the SA people, not their masters. It must embrace those who extend hands of help.

This is a wake-up call. Those who want to save the country will have to start to think out of the box. The notion of renewal and consensus seeking should be inward looking. The Afrikaners are among the best, if not the best, farmers in Africa. There are many emerging black farmers who need assistance to access markets locally and internationally. The new consensus should be for the state to create the environment and institutions to enable pairing these emerging farmers with well-established and experienced Afrikaner farmers.

There are also large Afrikaner-controlled financial institutions that can mentor black entrepreneurs on how to build their businesses on a sustainable basis. The state must facilitate access to funding to enable these emerging businesses to enter sustainable partnerships, which can be structured to promote sharing of management skills, financial planning and professionalism in the running of business.

Black businesspeople must not only be engaged in big business to do marketing; they should also acquire administrative and management skills. They must be assisted to run businesses efficiently and effectively in this age of high tech. There is no African time in business. If time is money, African time makes running a black business more costly than running a white-owned business. This culture must change.

The new social compact should address issues of work ethics and the culture of developing successful and sustainable businesses in SA. Business ethics must be benchmarked with international best practice and not with failed ventures.

Afrikaners should stop the negativity of seeing every initiative that seeks to redress past injustices as being anti-Afrikaner. Afrikaner nationalism and black African nationalism are a reality of SA society. Can they take hands and relegate existing stereotypes to the graveyard of this country's racial history?

• Dr Botha, a member of the ANC’s Stalwarts & Veterans Group, is a researcher on cultural and linguistic autonomy. This article was written in support of the Afrikaner Africa Initiative, a partnership between the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and Afrikaner organisations working to promote reconciliation and social cohesion.