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To understand South Africa’s new sociopolitical phase and the unique opportunities it presents, it is necessary to first understand the nature and functions of historical political and economic structures in the country.
If one compares these structures in South Africa with those in the US, it is striking that while both trace their origins to the mid-17th century, they have since then taken significantly different paths.
While the US has succeeded in its anti-colonial struggle to become the world’s leading sovereign country, South Africa is still struggling with the colonial characteristics of its political and economic structure.
It is this structure that must be changed if the country is to fulfil its potential.
At least eight colonial characteristics of South Africa’s political and economic structure have remained more or less the same under the British (1795-1910), the National Party (1948-1994) and the ANC (1994 to present). These are:
1. South Africa’s model of excellence is always sought outside the country and this changes in accordance with the preferences of the governing elite of the moment.
For the British, it was London; for the National Party, it was western Europa and north America; and for the ANC, it is China.
2. Since unification in 1910 until the present, South Africa has been ruled by a self-serving minority in the name of the majority, whose power and wealth largely depend on serving the interests of foreign clients.
The British served London’s financial interests, the National Party that of western Europa and the US, and the ANC that of China and India.
3. Since 1910, a large part of the South African economy has rested on the extraction and export of unrefined minerals.
Much of the capital accumulated thus is taken out of South Africa, contributing to the country’s heavy dependence on foreign investment and undermining South Africa’s sovereignty.
4. Since 1910, state power has been centralised and the real decisions are not made in Parliament.
5. Since 1910, whenever the governing elite is challenged by internal resistance, it deploys the classical colonial strategy of divide and rule.
Different sectors of society are played off against each other so that new alliances based on a shared experience of discontent are hindered.
6. Since 1910, one language is privileged above South Africa’s other languages. Indigenous languages are not allowed to develop, so only those who speak the elite’s language can advance.
7. Since the late 19th century, most South Africans’ places of work and residence have been separated.
This puts huge pressure on family structures and remains a source of social instability.
8. Since the late 19th century, networks of transport and communication mostly serve corporate and industrial interests instead of all the citizens of the country.
It is by now clear that a mere change in the governing party is not enough.
If these colonial characteristics are not changed, whoever governs only ends up maintaining the old colonial patterns.
Judging by the high protest rates, the recent local election results and ballooning public expenses, the colonial state and economy has run its course. New alliances are needed to bring about the necessary change.
Such new alliances need to consider South Africa’s unique social structure, consisting of five sections.
The economic elite controlling capital and land own productive assets and control skilled management, but they don’t control government, and they are dependent on the state for energy and transport.
The political elite control the state and its revenues, but they depend on the votes of the underclass – the mostly poor, rural people who recently again voted for them. This elite do not own productive assets and they have doubtful management skills.
The third group consists of the blue-collar workers, who own labour power and control independent but weakening trade unions.
They are threatened by the growing number of unemployed. The fourth group is the underclass and unemployed.
Their main strength is in their large numbers and voting power, but they lack artisanal skills and depend on government grants to survive.
The last group is that of independent professionals, not-for-profit organisations and new entrepreneurs.
Their main strength is in the influence they have through their networks, but they are a fragmented group, also partly dependent on foreign donors.
In our view, the new alliance that South Africa needs is one between capitalists, landowners and the underclass.
Agriculture is the sector where these various interest groups come together. Hence we propose that organised agriculture should form an alliance with capitalists to lift the rural underclass out of poverty and change South Africa for the better.
The following initiatives can be considered:
. First, organised agriculture should establish a private fund with capitalists to buy farms. The private sector is sitting on more than R500 billion of uninvested funds and there are more than 19 000 farms for sale at the moment.
If such farms are bought by a private fund, farmers who have lost or may lose their farms due to natural disasters or the upscaling of farming may be kept on the land to manage these farms and start a huge rural employment programme.
. Second, and in conjunction with the above, organised agriculture, together with private education companies, should establish functional and affordable rural schools.
These schools should apply the model pioneered by Neville Alexander and other South African linguists of mother tongue-based bilingual education.
In this model, children study in their first language for the first seven years, and then add English as the medium of instruction, thus ensuring better outcomes.
. The third initiative to be undertaken would be the establishment of a non-partisan agricultural party.
Similar to ratepayers’ associations in municipalities, such a party should focus purely on taking over rural municipalities to ensure that they provide the necessary services to rural communities.
This is a better strategy than the current one, where farmers are paying a double local tax – first to the municipality and, second, by fixing potholes and providing other services that corrupt municipalities are supposed to, but don’t.
Such a party will also ensure rural service delivery and bring rural communities together.
Such a new alliance between capital, landowners and the rural underclass could create the necessary upward pressure on the state and the economy to become less colonial, and truly sovereign and democratic.
Mbeki is a political analyst and deputy chairperson of the SA Institute of International Affairs. Rossouw teaches in the department of philosophy at the University of the Free State. This is an edited version of a presentation they made to the conference of Free State Agriculture
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