GNU must act in widest possible interest
- William Gumede
Too often, a ruling party assumes — wrongly — that what’s good for it must also be good for the nation.
It is wrongly assumed that a governing party, a country’s leader, or the largest ethnic community’s interests are the same as the public or the national interests.
This is rarely true. Similarly, one dominant group, ethnic community, political party, or colour's interests are also different from the public or the national interests. The interests of dominant parties, communities, and colour are in many cases different from the collective interests of a nation or a country.
Yet, for a country to prosper, governing parties and leaders must govern in the widest public and country interests', not in their parties', leaders', ideological, ethnic groups, or colour interest. Inclusive growth is certainly not possible without governing parties and leaders making decisions, policies, and appointments in the widest public and country interests.
The challenge for serious governing parties and leaders is how to genuinely prioritise the best interests of the country and nation, and not the narrow interests of self, party, dominant community, colour, or religion. Failing African and developing countries most of the time confused dominant party, leader, favoured ideology, largest community interests with that of their nation or country – when those are vastly opposite.
African liberation and independence movements – and splinters thereof, and leaders are particularly prone in conflating their party, ideological and leaders’ interests with that of the national or country interests. The culture of viewing dominant parties, leaders, group, and ideology interests as the national interests of all, are often imbibed by many opposition parties who come to power, after taking over from liberation and independence governments.
Members and supporters of dominant parties and leaders often wrongly embrace their parties and leaders interests to be the national or country interests. In diverse societies, with histories of conflict and parties based largely on past divisions, the national and country interests should never be assumed to be that of the leader or the governing party. This is a recipe for the contested of dominant party and leader decisions, policies, and programs.
The ANC’s failure the past 30 years is to belief that the party’s or the leader’s interests – especially in the case of former President Jacob Zuma, are the same as that of the national interests. Many ANC government decisions, policies and programs the past 30 years therefore were mostly partisan party, leaders’ and ideological interests which harmed South Africa’s national interests. One reason for state failure the past 30 years, has been the ANC conflation of party, leader, and ideological interests with the national interests.
This has led to the rejection or lack of implementation of many policies, decisions and programs which have been perceived by non-ANC constituencies as patently in the ANC, leadership, or dominant constituency interests, not in the national interests. Successful implementation of policies hinges on an ecosystem of collaboration between the governing party and state on the one hand, and opposition parties and non-state stakeholders on the other hand – business, civil society, communities, and citizens.
In public discourse, narrow, partisan ideologies, decisions and policies of the dominant party, leader, ethnic community, are often seen wrongly by many citizens as in the national interests. Individuals with views that are genuinely in the national interests, but go against the partisan views of dominant party, leader, and ethnic community, are often rejected, depriving society of game-changing views, ideas, and policies.
Successful implementation of government programs, especially in diverse societies, demand policies to be decided in the best national interests, not as party or leadership or ideologically partisan. Only when countries and leaders actively pursue the widest national interests, and not leader, party, or dominant interests, can countries secure sustainable development, long periods of high economic growth rates, industrialisation and social peace.
Not surprisingly, countries that emerges from conflict, which introduces governing mechanisms that will force decisions, policies and programs to be in the national interests, such as coalitions, national social pacts and government of national unity structures – whether post-World War 2 Japan or Germany, or post-economic crisis-Ireland or post-colonial Mauritius, have been more successful in delivering inclusive development, economic growth and social peace.
At the same time, most African countries in the post-colonial period has taken majority-based, rather than consensus-based decisions – whether based on liberation majority group, ethnic group, military, or ideological majority. The result has been devastating failure. Majority rule in Africa, since Liberia became the first independent country on 26 July 1847, has led to failed states, civil wars, and mass poverty in Africa.
It is critical that South Africa's new Government of National Unity genuinely make all decisions because of what is in the best for the country, not what is best for party, leader, ideology, colour, or dominant community. The GNU has adopted consensus, rather than majority-based decision-making, as it’s model.
Consensus-based decision is more likely to produce outcomes that are in the widest interests of all of society, rather than dominant groups. Furthermore, consensus decisions, if genuinely taken in the widest national interest, will produce better-quality policies, wider societal embrace of decisions and policies and therefore more successful implementation.
William Gumede is Associate Professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg). The article was first pubilshed in the Sunday Times.