Mashupye Kgaphola and Sipho Seepe
CROSSFIRE
Allan Bloom interpreted the theme of Plato’s Republic as being that the central challenge for the city is that “the perfect regime will only occur when kings themselves become philosophers, or when philosophers become kings”. But seeing that either of these scenarios is a rarity at best, the pragmatic position seems to be one of accommodation between kings and philosophers. In Bloom’s terms, kings, by inclination, clamour for uncritical endorsement by philosophers, while the latter in turn are captivated by the power wielded by the rulers.
In order to generate a dialogue around critical issues in South Africa, we raised a number of thorny issues through the media. We criticised the slow pace of land reform, noting that land ownership was central to the anti-colonial struggle, and that land dispossession can be directly linked to the persistent problems of poverty, lack of housing, unemployment, poor health and environmental damage.
We suggested that claims of the success of South Africa’s reconciliation project be held at bay until the land question is resolved.
Secondly, we contributed to the debate on educational transformation, advocating an Africa-focused curriculum at a time when our policy-makers appeared obsessed with Western-based models.
Thirdly, while crediting the president for rekindling the debate on the “African renaissance”, we dismissed as sycophantic suggestions that President Thabo Mbeki is “the father of African renaissance” and challenged the notion that Africa’s problems are purely African-inspired. We noted the role of neo-colonial regimes and super powers in fomenting conflicts in Africa.
We suggested that Mbeki’s new conceptualisation of who is African, while seductive, is not consistent with the historical description of identities.
We noted that identities are not formed by mere declarations and that one’s geographical location should not be collapsed and confused with one’s cultural orientation. We concur with the sociologist Kwesi Prah that “if everyone is an African, then nobody is an African”.
Fourthly, while mindful of the ruling party’s desire to consolidate power as part of its agenda to transform the apartheid state, we cautioned that this might not result in the consolidation of democracy. We remain unconvinced by the African National Congress’s rationale for the de-linking of the premiership and provincial chair positions. We suggested that such a decision gave Mbeki and his successors inordinate power and control of all levers of government.
Lastly, we are still awaiting a compelling argument as to why AZT is being withheld from pregnant mothers. Reference has been made to an unspecified article that supports the government’s position on the matter. One article is inadequate to remove a mountain of evidence that suggests otherwise. The government’s position would have been stronger had it argued that its position is supported by a number of medical institutes, medical councils and associations. In fact, AZT has been endorsed by the World Health Organisation, by industrial countries with strict safety regulations and by our own Medicines Control Council.
At the same time, we credited Mbeki with instilling a sense of urgency in the delivery of services. We noted the government’s and Parliament’s commitment to effecting transformation by passing an avalanche of new legislation and establishing institutions of democracy as stipulated in the Constitution.
The president and his ruling party are understandably irritated by the frequency with which we have raised concerns. However, they are unlikely to disappear until they are addressed.
While limitless power has often been granted to the fathers of revolution in Africa and elsewhere, the political system has dramatically failed to uphold its duty of keeping a check on those it has entrusted with such power.
One of the greatest challenges of political transition is the ability and willingness to affirm the human element in our leaders. And there is no instrument for such affirmation better than an open intellectual engagement.
Our public submissions have been aimed at promoting the culture of democratic debate which gives material expression to freedoms of thought and opinion.
We see this as constituting a civic responsibility and, in part, responding to Mbeki’s invitation for black intellectuals to participate in the public discussions going on in our country.
Our understanding of this responsibility does not include singing sycophantic praises to the new regime, but neither does it exclude giving credit where credit is due.
We see this task as one of asking probing questions on a whole range of issues and fostering critical engagement. In discharging this responsibility we have exposed ourselves to some virulent personal attacks. Suggestions have been advanced that our engagement is counter- revolutionary and typical of the post-1994 revolutionaries who have suddenly “sprung from nowhere”.
The personal attacks ought to concern those among our leaders who truly dream of the masses partaking in the rebirth of Africa. No such rebirth will happen without first unleashing the intellectual energy of the African majority. The very nature of these personal atacks go against the spirit of the call made by Mbeki for black intellectuals to get into the arena of public discourse.
How can South Africa engender a culture of true intellectual discourse if we are told that those with political power have already decided what subjects shall not be on the menu?
We have had aspersions cast on our educational competence for merely raising questions about political developments within the ANC. It has been asked, “What kind of knowledge are we imparting to our students?” Such insinuation implies that there is perhaps only one truthful body of knowledge.
Great minds in history – Socrates, Galileo, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Steve Biko, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Ch Guevara, for example – knew intuitively that human advancement is only possible when the mind is freed from the shackles of dogma. Can we in South Africa learn anything from the experiences of these great pioneers?
Mashupye Kgaphola is professor in the centre for academic development at the University of Venda and Sipho Seepe is campus principal at the Sebokeng campus of Vista University