Review: As subtle as a sjambok

07 July 2015 - 02:04 By Niren Tolsi

Reading RW Johnson's How Long Will South Africa Survive? is a bit like being cornered by an anthropologist at the 1884 Berlin Conference at which imperial Europe divvied up the African continent, cognisant only of territory and resources to be gained. You can almost smell the musty breath of those anthropologists on every page. Ruddy in complexion, with burst veins on the nose, expounding a reductive fascination with the "tribes" of Africa with their very peculiar behaviours or various states of savage - yet strangely titillating - undress. Johnson writes about ''baboons" in a 2010 London Review of Books essay on South Africa when describing this country's citizens and its African immigrants.This is the time warp that Johnson inhabits as he sets out his basic premise: South Africa, as with other post-colonies on the continent, is in crisis. The country is headed towards an International Monetary Fund bail-out if it continues to vote in an ANC government that is rapacious in its members' approach to the state, its resources and the tax base.Why are the ANC and South Africa headed in this direction? The answer, it would appear, is quite simple and reductive: the tribes - Zulu, Jewish, Xhosa, "Indian" etc - all have especially anti-democratic characteristics, which individuals from each demonstrate in their debasement of Western liberal democracy through their actions."Indians", for example, are by their nature ingratiating, "commercially apt" and wily opportunists in exploiting the nexus of politics and business for personal gain, Johnson suggests, seemingly oblivious to the pale males' continued domination of corporate South Africa."Once apartheid was removed, the social ascent of the Indian community continued quite smoothly, even as whites faltered," Johnson states with an alarming lack of nuance. Hence, "Indian" businessmen like Schabir Shaik and Vivian Reddy quickly sought to cosy up to President Jacob Zuma because of the access he provided to government tenders and political influence.Never mind capitalists of any other hue doing likewise in older democracies such as France or the US - this is the sort of activity peculiar only to greasy haired Indians in Africa.Tribalistic reflexes are also behind the increase in ANC membership and voting figures in KwaZulu-Natal, where the Zulus, the most homogeneous of South Africa's tribal groups, according to Johnson, have been able to consolidate political control of the country through the ruling party because that group is not divided.Zuma's ascent to the ANC presidency at Polokwane in 2007, and his subsequent elevation to the country's top office, through the KwaZulu-Natal voting bank has led to the criminalisation of the state in that province extending to the rest of the country.A valid point, especially when considering similar trends in Free State and Mpumalanga where Zuma's provincial overlords Ace Magashule and David Mabuza have created similar ANC pro-Zuma voting banks. Yet - like much of Johnson's analysis - this kind of myopic treatment of the subject loses relevance because of its lack of nuance outside of the "ethnic" lens. Johnson's Afro-pessimistic infatuation with tribalism excludes reflection on the more progressive and modern aspects of South African democracy. Examples include the role and impact of an independent-minded judiciary and the emergence of social movements and grassroots protests.Johnson ignores the nuance located in the writing of scholars like Gillian Hart, whose seminal work, Rethinking the South African Crisis, identifies the "local" as a site of contradiction and struggle in South Africa.Johnson makes some startling allegations, including that former president Thabo Mbeki trespassed on the separation of powers doctrine when he personally intervened to appoint Judge Hilary Squires to hear the corruption case against Shaik.According to Johnson's "personal information", Mbeki sent his own emissary, former ANC treasurer Mendi Msimang, to Durban. There, in a meeting with former KwaZulu-Natal judge president Vuka Tshabalala, Msimang pointed to Squires' name, and Tshabalala immediately agreed to appoint him.'How Long Will South Africa Survive?' by RW Johnson is published by Jonathan Ball, R220Tolsi is a freelance journalist and author of a coming book on Marikana...

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