March 20 to 26 2009

Politics of polyvalence

I was intrigued by the articles published in the Mail & Guardian (March 6) that sought to describe the Zuma phenomenon as a ‘personality cult”. But I was a bit disappointed by the paucity of the analysis they offered — the articles still leave us wondering: what exactly is it that undergirds this man’s immense and unflagging popularity? I believe that the Zuma movement is best explained as the product of his polyvalence as a political symbol.

First, coming from the traditionally Marxist-Leninist faction of the ANC, Zuma has been able to gather the support of party members disaffected with the elitist, neoliberal style that Mbeki unfortunately embodied. In this manner Zuma stands as a beacon of hope for South Africa’s class-conscious workers and the growing number of impoverished and unemployed urban citizens marginalised by free-market capitalism and disillusioned with Gear-style economic policy.

Second, his populist flair — epitomised by his ease with song and dance — captures the immediate allegiance of rural voters nationwide.

With a fifth-grade education, a poor rural upbringing and an affable, down-to-earth attitude, Zuma comes across as a man of the people, a politician refreshingly familiar with the concerns of South Africa’s rural majority. For the first time in post-apartheid history this constituency can claim a leader who doesn’t look down on them as mere ‘backwards” plebs.

Third, and most significantly, Zuma’s explicitly drummed-up Zuluness has garnered immense support from the nation’s largest ethnic group, which constitutes a quarter of the total population. In fact, his presence in the ANC has begun to revolutionise politics in KwaZulu-Natal, home to the majority of Zulus. In the past Zulu politics were split along cultural lines, with most educated, urbanised Zulus supporting the modernist, nationalist, liberal-democratic approach of the ANC, whereas rural Zulus of more ‘traditionalist” values backed the IFP’s Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

But now, because of Zuma, IFP voters are suddenly shifting en masse to the ANC, excited that its new president embraces Zulu ethnic identity and appreciates the roles that cattle, ritual, chiefship and patriarchy play in their cultural milieu. Rural Zulus see in Zuma a chance for representation in the nation’s highest office, which with Buthelezi has never been a feasible goal.

In sum, Zuma encapsulates — almost accidentally — the conjuncture of multiple structures in South Africa’s political landscape: Marxists, nationalists, rural citizens and traditionalist Zulus. At this point it seems certain that he will ride this wave of popular support all the way to the presidency.

What seems less sure, however, is what will happen thereafter — how long the aforementioned voting blocs will be able to stick together. That the members of these blocs operate with sometimes radically divergent interests is obscured, at least for the moment, by the one thing they have in common: Jacob Zuma. — Jason Hickel, doctoral candidate in anthropology, University of Virginia; department of anthropology, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Posters are pure manipulation

Ivor Powell’s analysis of election posters (Friday, March 13) was interesting, but somehow I couldn’t agree with it. Perhaps we differ on what politics is all about.

His argument that the Congress of the People (Cope) has failed to distinguish itself from the ANC because it uses mustard-yellow posters much like the ANC’s seems to miss the point completely. After all, Cope’s name is derived from the ANC, and its four-spoked wheel logo is derived from the ANC’s eight-spoked wheel. Cope is obviously identifying with the ANC, so why should it seem to distinguish itself from that party?

My view of the ANC’s posters seems diametrically opposed to Powell’s. The poster ‘My future — my ANC” seems to me to be extremely thin. It appeals only to people who are already members of the ANC. It is like an advertisement for a bank — why choose that bank over any other bank? This is similar to the poster ‘Defend the ANC” — it is unlikely to attract anyone new. But it mobilises the notion that the ANC is under attack, promoting brand loyalty. This is, of course, not politics — it is advertising.

Powell does not like the slogan ‘Working together we can do more”. It seems to me that this is much more of a political slogan. ‘Working together” invites people to join with the ANC to help accomplish something. ‘We can do more” is, of course, an invitation to join and act, as well as a non-specific hint that not enough was done in the past (though something has). It is thus implicitly a criticism of the ANC of the past and a suggestion that the new one is different.

The presence of Jacob Zuma’s face on so many ANC advertisements surely also has political significance. It means that if you vote for the ANC you are voting for Zuma. Hence, it invites complicity with Zuma, and announces Zuma’s ownership of the party. Although it may slightly reduce the number of votes, it thus increases Zuma’s authority — which is politically significant, and what he wants.

The contrast with the DA’s slogans and posters could hardly be clearer. Firstly, I am not sure that the DA would be wiser to make more use of Zille’s face. She is not so widely admired outside the conservative white community — she is seen as a blustering bully, not immensely superior to her predecessor. Anyway, the slogan ‘One Nation — One Future” seems to me rather silly. If it means that the DA has finally caught up with the ANC’s nation-building project of the early 1990s, this suggests a detachment from reality.

On the other hand, the slogan ‘Vote to Win” is truly pathetic. Vote to win what? It is like an advertisement for a casino. ‘Stem en Wen” is still worse — exactly like ‘Win ‘n Spin”. There is nothing at all political about such slogans — they are pure manipulation, sheer advertising. This will not improve people’s enthusiasm for political activity, nor does it say why anyone should want to vote for the party. In fact, it helps to explain why the DA seems to be in decline at the moment — a fact which I don’t think is in dispute.– Mathew Blatchford, University of Fort Hare

Moi, a complex man

I would like to correct some historical and factual errors and perceptions in Prince Mashele’s article ‘The world according to ‘Nyayo’” (March 13).

Prince asserts that former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi introduced the Nyayo philosophy to project himself as ‘a pathfinder and the rest of society as followers”. This is a misinterpretation of Moi’s philosophy and political tactics. If Prince reads Kenyan history he will notice that the philosophy was launched by Moi on assuming the presidency after the death of the first president, Jomo Kenyatta. Before then, Kenyatta had been the dominant figure and the imperial president of the country. He came from the numerous Kikuyu ethnic group. Kenyatta ruled from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978.

Moi, on the other hand, comes from a small ethnic group and, as Kenyatta’s deputy and successor, he was beholden to his legacy and political system. Moi therefore projected himself as following Kenyatta’s footsteps in terms of anti-communism and the retention of the status quo. Thus, for instance, Marxism was abolished from university curricula during Moi’s rule.

The aim of Moi’s philosophy and political project were to maintain an appearance of continuity with the Kenyatta political and economic status quo to placate those who were against Moi assuming the presidency. Opponents included government ministers and a group of wealthy, highly educated and university-trained tea- and coffee-plantation landowners, most of whom came from Kiambu. They had benefited immensely from Kenyatta’s rather plutocratic rule. That was the essence of Nyayo.

Then at midnight on August 1 1982, a private airforce officer named Hezekiah Ochuka led a rebellion against Moi, occupying the Voice of Kenya in a coup attempt that was crushed six hours later. Ochuka fled to Tanzania, was extradited, tried and executed with 12 others in 1987. The whole Kenyan airforce, with more than 2 000 officers, was disbanded; 900 other people were jailed. The attempted coup resulted in the death of about 150 people. Some of those accused of sympathising with the coup plot were the current Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his late father, the socialist-inclined Oginga Odinga.

Thus many historians believe that the genesis of Moi’s latter-day ‘dictatorial” practices could be traced to the failed coup plot and his complexes against the Kikuyu-based Kiambu mafia group that had controlled Kenya from 1963 until he assumed the top office.

To avoid unintended misinterpretation, Prince should, among other things, refer to Moi’s book Kenya African Nationalism: Nyayo Philosophy and Principles, published in 1986. — Sam Phiri, Wits

Are taxpayers footing the campaign bill?

I thought that I was the only one affected by the acting president’s enormous cavalcade of black Hummers, police cars and motorbikes, but others have complained too.

There was I driving home to Ballito after a week’s work in a happy frame of mind with a weekend ahead of me. Soon after the Umvoti tollgate I spotted in my ­mirror what looked like a storm coming my way. It took its time to catch me up at 100kph and it was an awesome sight to behold. Then the three motorbikes eased the traffic off both lanes of the N2 into the yellow line. As a motorist, I saw no reason for them to take over the N2 in such an aggressive and selfish manner. A pity, because they drove slowly and quietly.

We are in the middle of an election and the visit was an electoral trip rather than an official one. The cost therefore should be borne by the political party concerned and not the taxpayers. How can this sort of behaviour lead to the Independent Electoral Committee declaring it a free and fair election? — Frank du Toit, Ballito

In brief

A cricket team was recently withdrawn from playing in Pakistan after a so-called terrorist attack and now a whole tournament has been transferred to South Africa for the same reason. This strikes me as rather odd, because there are 51 murders a day in South Africa and anything up to 500 000 people have been murdered since 1994 — yet we are considered safer than Pakistan. — Patrick R Tidman, Durban

Jacob Zuma is saddened that so many South Africans are not convinced Schabir Shaik is at death’s door. But those of us who have hypertension and diabetes, taking myriad pills and insulin injections a day and get on with the business of living, are disgusted at the idea that Shaik might have got away with pretending to be at death’s door. His alleged friend Sipho Khumalo died of a terminal disease in Westville Prison. He should have been paroled to go home to his family to die. — Cilla Webster, Scottburgh

Clever Maya Fisher-French, in her ‘Property example” (March 13), to get a mortgage without any deposit in these tricky economic times. Has her property investment adviser taken this into account? — Patrick Chapman, Hermanus