Through the voices of the peoples of Africa and the global South, Pambazuka Press and Pambazuka News disseminate analysis and debate on the struggle for freedom and justice.
Comment & analysis
Democracy in my Experience
Philani Zungu
2007-09-05, Issue 318
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/43157
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Democracy has many different meanings. To Philani Zungu, a shackdweller in Durban, democracy means “accepting the unacceptable”.
People have different definitions of democracy. Some people say that democracy means freeing everyone to do whatever they want, regardless of rule or controls, with no instructions or boundaries, no importance to whether what is done is wrong or right.
Some people say democracy is the power of the state to decide things, acting in the interests of those who hold state power, its behaviour designed to suit their demands. In this vision, society is always in a position of compliance with orders from the state.
Some people say democracy is about rights. After the Freedom Charter was created, people came to know about their particular rights. The more they understood their rights, the freer they became. We never expected to be disappointed in turning these rights into reality. But we were.
Some people say democracy is for all of us - as society. They say it is a reason to improve and protect our lives. It is equality, whereby all should participate in building a better society and achieving a better life for all.
Let me share my experience of democracy since 1994 as a shackdweller in Durban.
I stayed with my mother, step- father and my younger brother in a small house, four by four meters. We were tightly squeezed up. The eThekwini Department of Housing decided that we could no longer build or extend shack structures. We had no choice. If we built, they would come and demolish the same day, or soon after.
I also felt the shame of women giving birth in the shacks. This they did after not attending clinic for a long time, because nurses shout at them, and when they are admitted, are not being attended to in good faith.
New to unemployment, my parents had no finance to support us; so I had to come from school and look for work, such as car washing and gardening.
I had to stop school at grade 9. When I was 20 years old, I needed to be independent, so I tried to build a house. It was demolished, and inside it was everything I owned. I was was assaulted by the land invasion unit, and had to be admitted to Addington Hospital. I was denied a right to housing.
This happened purely because it was already decided for me, in advance,without any redress or consultation, how I could live.
I was arrested for demonstrating against the lack of delivery, and lack of of consultation in 2005.
In 2006, I was arrested again. This time, I was being searched by a police officer on the way to a radio interview. I asked why I was being searched. It was a relevant question to ask, in case I might have some information to assist on a particular case. But the policeman replied that a black man is always a suspect. And then they arrested me. This time I was arrested for asking why I could not be treated like a human being, with rights, in a democracy. Once again I was assaulted, this time in the Sydenham Police station.
In 2007 I was arrested for not agreeing to be treated like an animal by the police. The police had come to my home and demanded to search me after I had built myself a new home so that I and my wife and child could move out of my mothers' house where I had lived for 16 years. I had nothing to hide. I had written a letter to the Land Invasions Unit and the Housing Department telling them that I was going to build my own house and why. I just asked the police why they wanted to search me and their response was arrest. Formal warnings were issued by the Sydenham police Station.
I can see that in the future, I'm expected to accept the unacceptable. That is the reality of democracy of the state and democracy of human rights in my experience. My only remaining hope for an acceptable future is hope in the democracy of society.
* Philani Zungu is Deputy President of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the shack dwellers' movement with members in almost 40 settlements in South Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Readers' Comments
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“Democracy in my experience”….. describes in eloquent but painful terms what is happening the world over with the many people who –after years of struggle against one or other form of suppression- finally had their vote….and nothing more. Live went on as nothing had ever happened.
On a different platform, we see many well fed individuals speaking on behalf of the poor. They experience a different democracy. The democracy of the well paid job, the 4x4, the posh house and being able to say what they want on any platform they can find. I refer to the various articles and speeches. They show clearly that many discrepancies exists in the various reports and politically motivated “statements” uttered by a variety of individuals, suggesting that they speak on behalf of the poor. Reports cover sensitive issues such as racial spread in jobs (BEE), gender related statistics, (un)employment percentages and skills shortages to name a few. The numbers seem to be different depending on the platform from which they are quoted, the person on the platform and the audience in front of the platform.
Democracy -as we know it- is bankrupt!
One of the problems seems to be that these politicians or prominent speakers do not seem capable to differentiate between the reports with regard to their authenticity, accuracy or scientific base as long as it suits their agenda of the day.
Many politicians the world over seem brain-dead and follow the party line without thinking. Big guys such as Bush and Blair have set the pace i.e. with their Iraq agenda. Our own SA political crowd does not do much better. In fact, our ruling party demands such brainless discipline from their members or else…..
The global “foot and mouth” disease is killing democracy as it was meant to be. Proof is in the low turnout for many elections in the recent months in African and other countries in the world.
A new democratic system?
Society has to start thinking about a serious overhaul of the system of elected representatives through general elections. In the current system we leave it to political parties to push people into responsible positions while the credentials of the candidates seem hardly ever publicly checked.
How can we improve on this? I suggest the following rules to be introduced for all political and high ranking officials in government departments:
1. Nobody will be appointed; all jobs have to be applied for. This would prevent the current farce around the presidential succession with the famous saying: “if the party calls me………”
2. All applicants will be publicly interviewed and questioned on their past and present while their future plans for the job they applied for will be discussed.
3. All submitted plans will be documented and form the job description and Critical Success Factors (CSF) for which the individual will be responsible during tenure.
4. Panels of “wise elders” will conduct the interviews. The panel will be proposed by the general public and appointed in community forums with an interest in the particular portfolio.
5. The so appointed officials will be held to their documented plans by regular scorings in the same way as the press currently scores individuals. The public scoring against the plans will be more accurate than the current thumb sucks of the press.
6. Failure to deliver will result in dismissal without benefits.
What about the party line? What about it? We all want and deserve a government that delivers. The process of finding and appointing “wise elders” by community centres will replace elections and promote the general wishes of society.
For the critics: this is just a draft proposal and needs to be refined with further checks and balances. Don’t shoot it down without offering an alternative. The matter is too serious. Democracy in its current form is bankrupt!
Benzo