LUCKY MATHEBULA | The shift we need

The world is redefining the role of politics, and society is increasingly shifting into the digital realm.

The practice of politics is exponentially scaling to meet the demands of interests. This can only mean that governments and the private sector need a culture shift if they want to stay relevant. It is time to advance the type of politics that reflect the best of human nature. For South Africa, inaction is a response this country cannot afford. 

Politics is ubiquitous in almost all aspects of being South African. Our tormented past has made it easy for all of our dysfunction to be rationalised as its outcome. As we evolve as a democratic order, somewhat characterised by a reluctance to see ourselves as one sovereign nation, many of us are justifiably concerned about how the profound effects of our tormented past could have on our future. 

As a society, we must establish clear priorities for directing and curating the promise of liberation, its use in shaping our nation, by reflecting on two key questions:

• What do we value most as a society, and what do we want to protect?
• What should being South African value most, despite overlooking it?

Over the past three decades, we have been able to share moments of national pride that defy description in words. If those moments are not a few of the most valuable things about being South African, what could be?

Clarifying our consensus about what constitutes the injustices of a past we have all agreed we must recognise, and our uniquely South African call to heal the divisions of the past, is of vital importance in any imagination of ourselves beyond where we are. We must be distinguished by how we live our nation's founding values of human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms, as well as non-racialism and non-sexism, and a belief in the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law. 

Sovereign nationhood, amid other functions, like a mirror, shows the world our true face and nature, and not what is ideal. Our artificial nationhood, as represented by rituals such as a national anthem, flag, animal, flower and so on, might, if not well managed, be used to pursue a non-unified nation agenda.

To build a South Africa for the future requires humility and cognitive flexibility. This is because if we fill our nationhood with hate and our public squares with dishonesty, if we live in anger and violence, if we demonise difference and attack truth, we can all imagine what kind of future generations we would have bred.

If our competence to be different, often disguised as being diverse, as a nation grows or is institutionalised, it is important to reflect on the ends of our obsession with difference, more than what commonly defines us. Responding well to a common nationhood and all its positive narratives requires flexibility and nimbleness, while harnessing its potential necessitates an optimistic, change-oriented and future-defining mindset.

By developing practical solutions and fostering cross-sector collaboration, the dialogue will promote the values of justice, fairness and human rights

As our reluctance to engage in a national dialogue is choking the decision to convene one, it might be prudent to reflect on whether the dialogue can benefit South Africa:

• First, we must reaffirm our purpose with the National Dialogue. In the context of the government of national unity and the reality of being in coalitions for a foreseeable period, we need to reaffirm whether our post-May 2024 frame as a nation still requires the dialogue we envisioned before the new political power reconfigurations.
• Second, we must assess the readiness of the core political parties, civil society movements, the business community, and the government, as the most active agencies of the nation-state, to embrace the spirit of the dialogue. It is the full implications of starting the conversation that must be assessed, as the outcome might redefine how we ultimately see ourselves as a nation. 
• Third, we must view the uncertainty that accompanies the true agenda of the national dialogue as a virtue. The nation must adopt a mindset of change. 
• Fourth, we must consider statewide readiness. The process should determine whether national institutions of leadership possess the necessary skills, knowledge, and attributional base, as well as the personnel required to work towards the desired outcomes of the national dialogue.

Though these are not absolute, they are sufficient to generate better scenarios with which we can expand into other areas of ideation.

At its core, the national dialogue is committed to revitalising the vision of the South African constitution by encouraging democratic engagement, transparency and accountability across society. It aims to empower citizens, promote national unity and ensure that every South African, regardless of their background, can participate equally in shaping the nation’s future. By developing practical solutions and fostering cross-sector collaboration, the dialogue will promote the values of justice, fairness and human rights.

South Africa's national dialogue is billed to be an initiative designed to address the country's socio-economic and political challenges by creating a citizen-led platform for democratic renewal and national cohesion. It seeks to address systemic issues, including service-delivery dysfunctions, economic and social justice, inequality and a growing deficit in government-citizen trust. It will foster a shared vision for South Africa’s future, grounded in the values of the constitution and driven by the collective aspirations of its people.

The constitution and how we embrace it as a nation will constitute the core of several shifts we need as a society to reconfigure ourselves to be a competitive nation and economy.

• Dr FM Lucky Mathebula is Head of Faculty, People Management and founder of The Thinc Foundation, a think-tank based at the Da Vinci Institute.

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