The “processing” of the Immigration Bill has been an unmitigated disaster, both for Parliament and for efforts to redress South Africa’s crippling skilled labour shortage. It beggars belief that eight years of policy-making should culminate in a frenzy of law-making in which the Bill was subject to almost daily changes of a fundamental kind.
The sorry sequence of events is as follows. After months of inertia, the African National Congress in Parliament wakes up to the danger that it will miss a Constitutional Court deadline for the enactment of sections of the Bill. Panic. The incompetent head of the home affairs committee is fired, and the committee finally gets down to scrutinising the legislation drafted by Minister of Home Affairs Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s department. With three weeks to deadline, it alters the Bill beyond recognition, replacing the proposed market-driven recruitment of skilled foreigners with a quota system. Enter the National Council of Provinces, which hears evidence from the Department of Trade and Industry (which must set the quotas) that the Bill is unworkable. The quota proposal is hastily pulled. But then the Bill will have to go back to the National Assembly and we won’t meet the deadline. Oh dear. Quotas are hastily restored — with a plea that home affairs quickly draft amendments. In other words, legislation is being solemnly enacted in the knowledge that it is hopelessly flawed and must be changed.
As argued by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa’s Richard Calland in this edition, the incapacity of the home affairs committee has been a large factor in this gemors. Although Buthelezi’s broad approach was on record for years, the ANC did not formulate a position. When it did, it predictably favoured the central state bureaucracy over the market. The belief in the shining virtues of state power, when the South African state is in reality so weak, is a persistent delusion of the ruling party. It took the Department of Trade and Industry to point out that government simply does not have the ability to decide industry’s skilled labour needs.
But it is equally clear that suspicion of Inkatha Freedom Party leader Buthelezi and his adviser, Mario Ambrosini, has been influential. The ANC was determined they would get no credit for the Bill, and was hell-bent on hijacking it.
Whatever one’s view of Buthelezi, there is no point in having him in the Cabinet if he is to be constantly subjected to distrust and obstruction. It leads to bad law, bad administration (witness his ongoing battle with his ANC-linked director general) and bad blood. As it currently operates, the “government of national unity” is less a force for reconciliation than for sectarian strife and division.
Patriotism and realism
Every four years a sporting fever grips most of the world — and when the soccer World Cup kicks off in Korea and Japan next Friday South Africa will be an enthusiastic part of this madness again. Bafana Bafana will join 31 other nations in competing for the most sought-after trophy in world sport.
For a nation that rejoined the international footballing family just 10 years ago, reaching a second successive tournament is an enormous achievement. To put it in context, China, a country of more than a billion people, is going to its first World Cup this year. The Dutch — who reached the semifinals at France 98 — will be spectators this time around.
But although South Africa’s participation is rightly a source of national pride, our chances of glory should be put in perspective.
Firstly, Africa has five berths in the finals but no African nation has yet gone beyond the quarterfinals. South American countries — which fight for four automatic places — have won eight of the 16 past tournaments. Cruelly put, qualifying from a group that included Equatorial Guinea, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe does not inspire optimism about beating the Argentinas of this world.
Secondly, since qualification the South African Football Association has again indulged in its favourite pastime: shooting itself in the foot just before a big tournament. Carlos Queiroz, the coach who was charged with and achieved qualification, has been unceremoniously dumped and replaced by Jomo Sono. Results since he took over have not been spectacular, though there are signs that the team is gelling at the correct time. Bafana Bafana prepare to step on to the world stage with the whole nation behind them.
But the South African public is a fickle mistress, as the Proteas found out to their cost this season, and unrealistic expectations could threaten the national goodwill engendered by Bafana Bafana’s Korean odyssey.
South Africa is not going to win the World Cup this year. This is a realistic assessment, not an unpatriotic one. In fact, progress to the second round is probably more than we can hope for.
The danger is that having been led to believe Bafana Bafana are world-beaters, the “fans” will turn on the players and revile them should the adventure end after three matches.
Let’s just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. By being at the World Cup, we’ve already proved we’re among the best.