2009 Opening of Parliament with Red Carpet Guests
Parliament opened for the year on Friday, and interim president Kgalema Motlanthe delivered the State of the Nation address inside the stately white building, safely tucked away behind rows of security and press and thick iron gates. The day was very hot, and the once-constant summer winds were mysteriously absent as we walked up Plein Street towards the Parliament building around 10AM. During the past two weeks I have been interning at the Black Sash, a long-established organization that uses advocacy, rights education, and advice-giving to empower marginalized communities and individuals to improve their socioeconomic circumstances. Black Sash has traditionally been one of the more prominent civil service organizations in South Africa, and therefore releases official responses to major political statements, including Friday’s presidential address.
Amidst many other projects underway at the Black Sash national office in Cape Town, the staff has spent the last two weeks preparing for their post-address press blurbs and “roundtable discussion”. My fellow intern, Cassidy, and I have had the chance to sit in on some of the planning. We’ve also been involved in certain long-term projects for the organization, through which we’ve studied the State of the Nation addresses from the last several years and analyzed the trends in political themes, challenges, and social security objectives. It has been very enlightening research, but until Friday, we had been unable to ground the political discourse in any substantial observations or experiences. Our involvement – however peripheral – in Friday’s opening of Parliament gave us the chance to contextualize the research we’ve been doing, as well as observe the striking external differences between national political events here and in America.
Despite the turmoil over the realignment of political parties and claims of corruption, President Mlotlanthe opened his address with a description of the commendable progress that’s been made in South Africa since the “birth of democracy” fifteen years ago. He acknowledged the country’s economic gains, the steady growth of democracy within the united, multicultural society, and the national successes in the health and social sectors. Yet he was also forced to undercut some of this rhetoric by recognizing the problems that still plague much of the population, especially those still affected by relocation and redistribution of resources during Apartheid.
He noted the struggles ahead in this period of faltering global economy and declining exports (upon which the South African economy is highly dependent), and addressed how many of the social programs aimed at alleviating poverty and unemployment have not met their target goals. As corruption continues to plague the nation’s most prominent elected officials (it was announced on Saturday that ANC leader Jacob Zuma’s trial will be postponed until August) the government has failed to deliver on the socioeconomic improvements that are desperately needed. It is no wonder that so many people have expressed apathy towards the election season that is fast approaching.
As we continue to learn about the shift to democracy at the end of Apartheid, it is becoming clearer that party loyalty is very entrenched in citizens’ political consciousness. The African National Congress (ANC), which currently holds more than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament, is the party that was responsible for leading the anti-Apartheid movement for over thirty years. When the ANC won the 1994 election, and Nelson Mandela – who’d epitomized the struggle for political and social equality under the Apartheid system – became president, the ANC became an indomitable fixture in the South African government. Even after former president Mbeki stepped down last year and Zuma was accused of rape and corruption, a solid portion of the population will undoubtedly vote ANC in April. To many, the ANC is a symbol of freedom and democracy, regardless of the shameful blunders committed by the individuals who’ve come to lead it.
Chelsea, Nyembezi, Cassidy at Parliament
On Friday afternoon, as Cassidy and I stood at the front gates of Parliament surrounded by police and photographers, we watched the stream of diplomats and dignitaries shuffle past in their splendid African dress. For every man or woman in a Western-style business suit, there was another in an orange or purple patterned shawl and a billowing, decorated hat. The most disorienting aspect of the afternoon was trying to make sense of the unusual blend of the familiar/modern with the traditional customs of many of the ceremony’s guests. For example, regardless of their Western or African attire, nearly everyone emerged from the gates with their cell phones in hand.
But these observations of the unique integration of such diverse cultures, it seems, is a testament to the unified, democratic nation South Africa has become in the last fifteen years. And surely, even in difficult times like these, that continues to give hope for its political future.
