Are we too stupid and unsophisticated to understand the complexities of public policy or to weigh the consequences of changing the laws or the constitution?
If not, why is it that we the electorate have watched from the sidelines, apparently powerless to intervene, as political imbroglios like those involving Supra Mahumapelo and Patricia de Lille unfolded before us?
How long are we going to remain hapless bystanders? The only satisfactory way to find out what the electorate wants, on a party level and beyond, is to hold referendums.
For nearly 25 years, our constitution has enshrined our values and given legal expression to our vision as a country and has been a fundamental source of guidance for elected officials.
But our constitution is showing signs of wear and tear. Our democracy is becoming irrelevant.Why do we need referendums? To counter South Africans' growing cynicism — which is fuelled by intraparty factional fighting and the politics of the belly — and their dissatisfaction with parties and the government, particularly the way party loyalists are deployed to top government posts.
All South Africa's political parties need to acknowledge the demands of the masses, and their own members, that they be more transparent and democratic.
We need a referendum, for example, on whether it is time to amend the constitution, and the electoral system it outlines. Is our proportional representation system still relevant?
A referendum would test whether our constitution still embodied the bedrock values of our democracy, including effective participation, transparency, responsiveness, inclusiveness and accountability.
According to one of the best books on the subject, Referendums Around the World: The Continued Growth of Direct Democracy, more than 900 such plebiscites have been held since they were introduced in the cantons that now form Switzerland in the 17th century. That country still places great store in the system, and has been responsible for about half of those 900-odd.
Referendums allow citizens the right to propose legislation or constitutional amendments that are put to a popular vote and implemented by the government if passed.Frustrated voters in Italy and New Zealand have in recent years used referendums to force radical changes to voting systems and other political institutions.
In the US, along with casting their ballots for president, Congress members and local representatives, voters regularly have a series of state-based referendum questions to consider.
These referendums, or "ballot initiatives", have forced many of the US states to canvass voter views on such issues as gun control, the death penalty, legalisation of marijuana, the minimum wage and euthanasia.
Referendum questions must be neutral, clear and concise, preferably requiring a simple yes/no answer.
They should not try to collapse too many issues into one question or they risk producing misleading or ambiguous results that would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement. This would undermine the validity and credibility of the referendum process itself.
While referendum questions should be carefully thought through by researchers, policy analysts and constitutional experts, here are some of the questions I believe we need to consider:
• Do you prefer that the president of the country should be elected to office directly by voters?
• Do you prefer that the president should be elected by their political party?
• Should mayors and premiers be elected directly by voters?
• Should all MPs, or a proportion of them, be elected through the mechanism of a party list?
• Should South Africa continue to have nine provinces, or fewer?So what are the benefits of a referendum?
It's the purest form of democracy because it involves voters directly in government decision-making. By putting specific issues directly to voters, it gives them confidence that their wishes matter and will be implemented.
Of course, no country is governed entirely by referendums. In every instance, a referendum supplements, rather than supplants, institutions of representative democracy by consulting voters irrespective of party affiliation.
I can only hope that our leaders are not too afraid to stop hiding behind their parties and give us a referendum to gauge our views and preferences directly.
• Mkhondo runs The Media &Writers Firm, a reputation management and content management hub..