As my 747 descended towards Johannesburg airport, it hit a short, violent patch of turbulence. The South African on my left turned to the South African on my right and remarked: ‘In South Africa we even have potholes in the sky!’ Potholes, as I was soon to discover, are a big feature of South African life.
This amazing country has successfully negotiated many potholes, some more like abysses, in its turbulent, fascinating, painful history. The democratic election of 1994 gave hope not only to South Africa but to the whole world. Sixteen years on, in 2010, that hope is wearing thin. Challenges, which in the euphoria of 1994 seemed surmountable, now appear overwhelming. Yet, as one observer pointed out, the new democratic South Africa is a very young nation. After all, where had the USA got to 16 years after independence? We should give the country time.
I was visiting for the third time, part of the team accompanying Rajmohan and Usha Gandhi on a Voyage of dialogue and discovery to several countries. In a busy first week we came face to face with the country’s pain and promise.
Average life expectancy has dropped from 63 in 1990 to just 51 in 2006, partly if not largely due to the scourge of HIV/AIDs. Almost half of young people in their late teens and early twenties are unemployed. Over half the population receive state support.
As Prof. Gandhi said, ‘what makes the most impact is the large number of young deaths. What gives the most hope is the thoughtfulness and search of many we have met.’
That was certainly true of the group gathered on our second day in a lovely old Johannesburg home, many of them heroes of the liberation struggle and now close to the levers of power. Rick Mennell, one of the convenors of the Dinokeng Scenarios, gave us a sober summary of possible future paths for South Africa. Scenario One, ‘Walk Apart’, would see the country gradually disintegrate as government became less efficient, and ordinary citizens less and less engaged. Scenario Two, ‘Walk Behind’, would involve strong central government but with limited hope of success because of limited popular involvement. The third scenario, ‘Walk Together’, was the most difficult but also the one most desired by the group of 35 who had spent four long weekends together at Dinokeng reflecting on what South Africa might look like in 2020.
Mennell’s summary led to thoughtful input from others in the room, many wrestling with the dilemmas of leadership. How do you balance a vision with realism? How do you keep your feet firmly on the ground when you know that we all need to fly if things are really to change? How, democracy having been achieved, do you articulate a vision strong enough to inspire people in the way the liberation struggle did?
In the schools and townships we visited one felt the disengagement, the feeling of powerless people struggling for survival. Two children clung to the Mexican in our team, saying how much they wanted to go to her country. It turned out to be not so much a wish to visit Mexico as a desire to leave South Africa.
Whenever he spoke – at schools, universities, public meetings and in private conversation – Gandhi encouraged those in leadership to connect with the grassroots, and those at the grassroots to believe that they had a special contribution to make. His constant theme was ‘Connectivity’, with and between people, and with the inner voice of conscience which can provide unexpected and fruitful guidance.
Getting South Africa on the right road clearly requires an alliance between leaders and led, a partnership between the powerful and the powerlessness. That will require humility and unselfishness in those tempted to use position and money only for themselves. And courage and determination in those tempted to think there is nothing they can do.
Seeing the recent film Invictus, I was most of all struck by Nelson Mandela’s insistence that a new South Africa required every one of its citizens to be the best they can be. The challenges were too large to be surmountable without the unique contribution each person has to offer.
Half way through our visit, one already senses that the future depends on leadership – at all levels of society – able to bring the best out of others.
NOTE: Individuals of many cultures, nationalities, religions, and beliefs are actively involved with Initiatives of Change. These commentaries represent the views of the writer and not necessarily those of Initiatives of Change as a whole.
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