tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/business-leadership-south-africa-33759/articlesBusiness Leadership South Africa – The Conversation2017-10-15T10:23:43Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/854062017-10-15T10:23:43Z2017-10-15T10:23:43ZCorruption in South Africa: business leader answers questions on how bad it is<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190147/original/file-20171013-11677-8cn7c1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Business Leadership South Africa new CEO, Bonang Mohale, is leading a brave fight against corruption. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied by BLSA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Business Leadership South Africa, the biggest business lobby group in the country, has become increasingly <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/bonang-mohale-becomes-blsa-ceo-what-does-it-mean/">vocal</a> about rising levels of corruption and mismanagement of public assets. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-patronage-and-state-capture-spell-trouble-for-south-africa-64704">Concerns</a> have been growing in the country that corrupt practices, particularly the looting of state assets, has become embedded in the way business is done. As the organisation – which represents large businesses and multinationals in South Africa – takes on a new political posture, Steven Friedman put questions to its CEO <a href="https://www.blsa.org.za/news-and-articles/media-statements/blsa-appoints-bonang-mohale-as-ceo/">Bonang Mohale</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>How representative is Business Leadership South Africa of the country’s private sector?</strong></p>
<p>The organisation represents around 75% of the largest businesses in South Africa. Clearly their interests are not identical to those of smaller businesses. Big business, for example, is able to adapt to onerous government edicts which drive up the cost of business much easier.</p>
<p>But what we have in common is much greater than what separates us – namely the desire to have growth-fostering economic policies under the rule of law. Right now business confidence in South Africa is at a 30-year low due to factors beyond our control but also due to actions that we can control, such as government bringing more policy certainty in areas such as mining for example– this is disastrous for large and small business alike.</p>
<p>BLSA has committed its members to changing practices which might impede economic growth and inclusion. </p>
<p><strong>Are your members buying the change agenda? How do you plan to ensure that they endorse it?</strong></p>
<p>Yes they are. Business Leadership South Africa has taken a much more active role over the last year in terms of getting the voice of business better heard, shaping government policy and speaking out against corruption. We have requested significant resources to achieve this and our members have backed us. </p>
<p>They understand the critical importance of the issues we are dealing with – achieving a policy backdrop that will allow us to grow the economy, create jobs and deliver transformation. </p>
<p>In terms of endorsement, we have set out our vision in a <a href="https://www.blsa.org.za/business-believes/our-contract-with-south-africa/">Contract with South Africa</a>, and our <a href="https://www.blsa.org.za/business-believes/integrity-pledge/">integrity pledge</a>, which establishes our business values. We expect our members to honour these. If they are in breach, they cannot be members. We showcased our commitment to the contract and the pledge through the <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/blsa-suspends-eskom-and-transnet-membership-it-needs-to-be-consistent/">suspension</a> of three major corporations KPMG, Eskom and Transnet. </p>
<p><strong>You’ve suspended Eskom and Transnet due to what you say is behaviour at odds with the organisation’s values. What do you mean by this?</strong></p>
<p>The integrity pledge makes clear that we have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption. There is a lot of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2017/06/01/the-new-gupta-emails-are-a-lot-heres-what-they-say-in-5-quick_a_22120706/">prima facie evidence</a> that both of these organisations have been involved in corrupt conduct. They were not able to satisfy us that they recognised the seriousness of the charges and were determined to address them. So the suspension of their membership was appropriate.</p>
<p><strong>There is a view that Business Leadership South Africa is tougher on public sector corruption and lenient where the private sector is concerned. What’s your view?</strong></p>
<p>This is not true. Where there have been instances of bad behaviour in the private sector, accountability has followed. For example, construction industry executives involved in rigging bids around the World Cup are no longer in office. More recently there’s been the case of KPMG. The executives responsible for the decisions that landed the firm in trouble have <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/09/15/kpmg-sa-ceo-chair-and-6-top-staff-resign-over-gupta-scandal">left</a>. And it’s been <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-09-22-blsa-hits-out-at-kpmg">suspended</a> from BLSA. </p>
<p>By contrast, in government and state owned enterprises there is no accountability. Executives behave with impunity. And while corruption is wrong wherever it occurs, we must resist the spurious symmetry of discussing public and private sector corruption as though South Africa is facing a problem of equal gravity in both. Unfortunately, we now have a government that is corrupt from top to bottom. By contrast we have a private sector that is overwhelmingly law abiding. That is a very significant difference.</p>
<p><strong>How far are you prepared to take your anti-corruption mission? Some of your members have been found guilty of abusing vulnerable consumers. Will you act against them?</strong></p>
<p>Business Leadership South Africa will act against any member whose behaviour is against its own values and damages the reputation of business. These values are encapsulated in the organisation’s integrity pledge and the contract with South Africa. Taken together, these outline a zero tolerance attitude to corruption, a belief that business should behave with courage, integrity and consistency, and a strong belief that business can be a force for good.</p>
<p>Sometimes business will make mistakes and that can be accepted provided the organisation takes suitable action to address the problem.</p>
<p><strong>Do you accept that business itself needs to change its ways of doing business if it’s going to win public confidence in its mission against corruption?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, we do. There is clearly a large “trust gap” between parts of the public and business. Some of this is down to ignorance. Some of it can be explained by the deliberate misinformation as seen in the toxic <a href="https://theconversation.com/white-monopoly-capital-an-excuse-to-avoid-south-africas-real-problems-75143">White Monopoly Capital</a> campaign. As we now know this was a highly racialist narrative that sought to blame everything that’s gone wrong in South Africa on an imaginary lily white private sector. We believe this particular line of attack is being used to detract attention away from the real issue - which is increasing corruption.</p>
<p>And some of the mistrust is rooted in <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media%5C1997%5C9711/s971110b.htm">history</a>, with business still regarded by many as having collaborated with the apartheid system and furthering its legacies. </p>
<p>But some of it is also attributable to business’s own behaviour including <a href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/construction-majors-fined-r146bn-for-collusion-2013-06-24">collusive conduct</a> in certain industries and <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/pages/human-capital/articles/executive-compensation-report.html">inflated executive compensation</a>. </p>
<p>But business is a national asset, not the problem. So it is in everybody’s interest that the South African public improves its understanding of business, and its overall reputation. </p>
<p>Business needs to explain and demonstrate that it is part of society and does not stand apart. That it shares the same vision and goals, notably of combating the scourges of unemployment, inequality and poverty.</p>
<p>Business also needs to help society understand that the major problems the country is facing don’t just lie at its doorstep. Certainly, there are things business can do better, but the much larger problem is the havoc being wreaked by <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-patronage-and-state-capture-spell-trouble-for-south-africa-64704">state capture</a> and poor policy development and execution. </p>
<p><em>This is part of a series called Face-to-face that The Conversation Africa is running in which leading academics interview prominent individuals in the public, private and not for profit sectors.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Friedman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Business Leadership South Africa has in the recent past assumed a stinging position against public sector corruption. Bonang Mohale explains the stance taken by the lobby group.Steven Friedman, Professor of Political Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811122017-07-27T03:03:36Z2017-07-27T03:03:36ZPolitical irrationality is ruining South Africa, but can still be stopped<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179020/original/file-20170720-23992-83iazg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Jacob Zuma was slammed as being irrational for the recent cabinet reshuffle.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GCIS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In popular conceptions of what it means to be human is the universal notion that our species - <em>homo sapiens</em> - is essentially rational. It’s commonly believed that as rational beings, our thoughts and actions are informed by reason and logic that precludes the influence of emotions. On the other hand, irrationality is associated with defective reasoning, perverse thinking, being excessively emotional, or at worst, crazy.</p>
<p>Democracy, and by extension good governance, presupposes the capacity of political leadership to engage in reasoned debate, informed decision making and measured judgements. In the South African context, it’s assumed that this will all happen within the framework of the <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996">Constitution</a>.</p>
<p>In this way democratic governance is premised on rationality. It appears to be unthinkable without it. But is this true?</p>
<p>No. And certainly not in South Africa now. Irrationality is the term frequently used to describe the country’s political landscape. This is clear from the coverage of the embattled government of President Jacob Zuma, and its leadership. </p>
<p>The growing anxiety and uncertainty in the country is aptly articulated by the <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2017-04-02-power-and-principle-has-zuma-checked-reason-and-rationality-at-the-door/">news headline</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Has Zuma checked reason and rationality at the door? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the unfolding drama of the far-reaching political scandal that threatens South Africa’s nascent democracy, known as “<a href="http://www.enca.com/south-africa/anc-calls-on-government-to-probe-gupta-email-allegations">Guptagate</a>”, political leadership has been repeatedly called out for its irrational behaviour. In response to Zuma’s most <a href="https://theconversation.com/stakes-for-south-africas-democracy-are-high-as-zuma-plunges-the-knife-75550">recent cabinet reshuffle</a> where he replaced finance minister Pravin Gordhan, Bonang Mohale, deputy chairperson of Business Leadership South Africa, <a href="http://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/251139/zuma-responsible-for-turmoil-recklessness-and-irrationality-blsa">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We have the President [Zuma] to thank for all this turmoil, irrationality and absolute recklessness… </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For its part, the opposition Democratic Alliance went to court to have the president’s decision set aside on the grounds that it was <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/06/02/zuma-granted-leave-to-appeal-ruling-to-hand-over-cabinet-reshuffle-records">irrational and unconstitutional</a>. </p>
<p>More recently the South African Reserve Bank, known for its conservative stance, openly accused the Public Protector of being reckless and irrational in her attempts to <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-06-27-reserve-bank-challenges-public-protector-report-in-court/">amend the Constitution</a>. Her recommendations in a <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-07-06-hands-off-sarb-public-protector-meddling-a-great-threat-to-an-economy-crippled-by-serious-problems/">report</a> on a bank bailout, has been widely viewed as beyond the mandate of her office and a threat to the stability of the economy.</p>
<p>The use of the word “irrational” in South Africa’s political debates begs interrogation. Increasing accounts of political irrationality naturally raise concerns about the effectiveness of democratic governance – and its legitimacy.</p>
<h2>Dispelling the ‘myth’ of rationality</h2>
<p>Irrationality as a ubiquitous descriptor of political machinations is not peculiar to South Africa. It is well documented across climes and cultures. US President Donald Trump immediately comes to mind. As a world leader he has elicited both censure and derision as grossly irresponsible and fundamentally <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-donald-trump-hate-media-immigrants-20170501-story.html">irrational</a>.</p>
<p>The fact is humans are not rational by default. The <a href="http://danariely.com/2009/04/20/irrationality-is-the-real-invisible-hand/">“invisible hand”</a> that drives human behaviour is in fact, irrationality. Nobel laureate, psychologist <a href="http://bigthink.com/videos/daniel-kahneman-on-controling-irrational-tendencies">Daniel Kahneman</a> together with Amos Tversky and others have pioneered research in this field. </p>
<p>Wired by evolution, cognitive limits restrict how we select, compute, store and adapt to information. Research shows that we employ a range of heuristics (mental shortcuts) that lead to cognitive biases and distorted perceptions. Most of these we’re not even aware of. As behavioural economist <a href="https://www.amazon.de/Predictably-Irrational-Hidden-Forces-Decisions-ebook/dp/B002RI9QJE">Dan Ariely</a>, author of “Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions” asserts:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our irrational behaviours are neither random nor senseless – they are systematic.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For example, humans have the tendency to select information (selection bias) that confirms preexisting beliefs (confirmation bias) while avoiding contradictory information that disturbs their preferred worldview. This <a href="https://theconversation.com/confirmation-bias-a-psychological-phenomenon-that-helps-explain-why-pundits-got-it-wrong-68781">well-researched bias</a> is at work when politicians choose to present skewed, biased evidence that makes them look credible with the public to achieve desired outcomes.</p>
<p>There’s also a self-interested bias where people are prone to distorted thinking because it benefits them in some way. <a href="http://rintintin.colorado.edu/%7Evancecd/phil3600/Huemer1.pdf">Rational irrationality</a> explains how:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(people) choose - rationally - to adopt irrational beliefs because the costs of rational beliefs exceed their benefit. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This goes some way in explaining the reckless actions of politicians like Zuma and Trump who devise irresponsible strategies in the interests of their “rational” endgame.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cep.ucsb.edu/McDermott/papers/rationality2004.pdf">Neuroscience</a> shows that when it comes to decision making, humans are wired to favour emotions over intellect. This means emotions have an impact on our decisions in various ways. For example, in the face of deep uncertainty – a persistent feature of our age – unconscious emotions and perceptions render us prone to cognitive biases and errors.</p>
<p>This refutes the ideal of the stoic “rational man”, a description that persistently devalues women and castes them as the “weaker” sex. This stereotype – of women as emotionally volatile and incapable of rational thought – has served to exclude them from the corridors of power. </p>
<h2>Political irrationality has dire consequences</h2>
<p>Because irrationality is inherently human, it’s been a persistent part of politics throughout history. There’s substantial evidence that entrenched and unchecked irrationality has devastating consequences. This has happened when political leaders eschew reason and logic. In South Africa’s case this is clear from the country’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/south-africa-credit-rating-junk-status-sends-rand-tumbling">crippled economy</a> and rising <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-05-23-op-ed-the-descent-of-jacob-zuma-in-31-steps-and-counting/">discontent</a>. </p>
<p>But this doesn’t mean that irrationality has to prevail. South African civil society and democratic institutions have come to the party. They are increasingly challenging the irrational, unconstitutional actions of the ANC-led government and its leadership. What’s patently evident is that a free, independent press, the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution and an independent judiciary are the bulwarks of a democracy under assault.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyn Snodgrass does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Democracy and good governance require politicians to engage in reasoned debate, informed decision making and measured judgements. This presupposes rationality. Is this always true?Lyn Snodgrass, Associate Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/782652017-05-29T13:59:17Z2017-05-29T13:59:17ZToxic leaders affect companies, and governments. How to deal with them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170939/original/file-20170525-23267-16v1yuh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/ICT-12-2013-0086">Toxic leadership</a> is characterised by a number of familiar traits: unwillingness to take feedback, lying or inconsistency, cliquishness, autocracy, manipulation, intimidation, bullying, and narcissism. The toxic leader can - if allowed to run rampant for long enough – destroy organisational structures over time and bring down an entire organisation. This applies to countries too.</p>
<p>There are a number of reasons for this. The most obvious is that a toxic leader can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Leaders-When-Organizations-Bad/dp/0899309984">influence organisational culture</a> through aversive action. This can include flouting organisational processes, rewarding loyalty over competence, normalising socially unacceptable behaviours like infighting, and by breaking down trust and eroding clear lines of authority.</p>
<p>A toxic leader’s other, more insidious, influence is through what they do to the relationships between people around them. </p>
<p>Psychologists, Paul Babiak and Robert Hare, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061147890/snakes-in-suits">describe</a> how two factions typically develop in an organisation once the deviant leader’s ascent has begun. One faction consists of supporters, pawns and patrons. The other is made out of people who remain true to their principles, realising they have been used and abused, or that the organisation whose ultimate goals they still support is in danger.</p>
<p>If it sounds familiar it’s because South Africans are spectators to exactly this kind of factionalism. In recent months pro and anti President Jacob Zuma factions have been involved in increasingly energetic <a href="https://theconversation.com/zuma-lives-to-fight-another-day-but-fallout-from-latest-revolt-will-live-on-69587">mudslinging matches</a>. </p>
<p>For many, Zuma represents the quintessential toxic leader. Whether one is for or against the president, it remains that he’s at very least a controversial figure, and criticism of him has been known to lead to <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/05/24/anc-stalwarts-receive-threats-over-zuma-criticism">reprisals</a>. </p>
<p>The good news is that toxic leadership can be overcome. When it’s understood and challenged, it can be dismantled or reformed.</p>
<h2>The toxic environment</h2>
<p>Where there is toxic leadership, the ethics of the working environment are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Leaders-When-Organizations-Bad/dp/0899309984">compromised</a>. Typical behaviours are abuse of privileges, theft, violence and verbal abuse. Any number of these can be recognised from news reports around South African politics.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-risks-behind-south-africas-social-grant-payment-crisis-73224">Scandals over the awarding of government tenders</a>, the mismanagement of taxpayer funds and the maintenance of <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/state-of-capture-public-protectors-report/">corrupt relationships</a> are now an all too familiar reality in South Africa. </p>
<p>But a toxic leader does not absolve employees who choose to engage in deviant conduct. Ministers and private sector supporters who choose personal gain or corrupt relationships remain responsible for their own choices. Of course, it’s much easier to make the wrong decision if it’s the dominant way of doing things in a particular environment. </p>
<p>Such behaviour may be <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.599.654&rep=rep1&type=pdf">rooted</a> in financial gain, or lie within the culture of an organisation. The motivation to achieve results may spark greater numbers of people to either actively harm, or passively ignore, the welfare of others to achieve their desired end. </p>
<p>This is why the removal of a psychopathic leader doesn’t guarantee the eradication of toxicity as it’s likely to be entrenched at lower levels of organisational leadership by the leader’s sycophants.</p>
<h2>Fighting from the bottom up</h2>
<p>The responsibility to move against toxic leadership doesn’t lie with an individual, but <a href="https://works.bepress.com/marcotavanti/32/">concerns</a> the organisation as a whole. </p>
<p>In the public sphere, this responsibility extends to society as a whole. </p>
<p>Crucial to overcoming the toxic leader’s negative impact is for other members of the organisation to remain firm and loyal to their principles, and to take a united stand. </p>
<p>If people are able to stand together against toxic leadership, the leader may leave of their own accord. Once this happens individuals in the rest of the organisation need to cleanse the organisation by distancing themselves from the leader’s negative actions.</p>
<p>Another way of tackling toxic leadership is to find out who they answer to, if it’s not immediately apparent, and appeal to this authority. Bullies are not always swayed by open dialogue or whistleblowing, but may answer to a higher law if this is done formally and armed with the facts. In the case of an errant public servant, this may be achieved through, for example, the judiciary and institutions like the Public Protector.</p>
<p>If all these fail, there are ways to manage the situation with the toxic leader in position. It’s necessary to understand the leader’s history to analyse how they got to this point. Share this with key decision makers. This is vital because a core aspect of the solution is to establish a coalition of like-minded individuals who understand the leader’s negative impact. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://works.bepress.com/marcotavanti/32/">coalition</a> should not take a punitive, antagonistic approach, but rather a supportive one, using appropriate benchmarks and timelines that reflect the goals of all key stakeholders.</p>
<p>Much of what’s observed in the corporate world applies to leadership in the public sector. With proper interventions, a valuable level of accountability can be brought into the workplace and to service delivery. </p>
<p>The accountability of leaders can be increased through forums like townhall meetings to force them to think deeply about their behaviour and decisions. Where politics is concerned, visible performance management like this can do wonders for the well-being of citizens.</p>
<p>It’s also critical to establish mechanisms to protect people speaking up against leaders – the whistleblowers – as their actions should be free of fear, such as loss of income. </p>
<p>With protection mechanisms in place, employees and citizens alike should be able to freely raise issues and protect both themselves and their ideals, whether their concerns relate to a private company or a government department.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Ronnie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Organisational psychopathy, generally known as toxic leadership, is common in the private sector. It’s emerging more often in the public space too.Linda Ronnie, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and People Management, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/695172016-11-29T09:48:26Z2016-11-29T09:48:26ZA new centre of power through mass mobilisation is needed in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147900/original/image-20161129-10975-ppguyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demands to recall South African President Jacob Zuma reached a climax at the governing ANC's national executive meeting.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s governing African National Congress <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/">(ANC)</a> has long argued that the elected president of the party should also be the executive head of the country to avoid creating <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2007-06-27-anc-debates-two-centres-of-power">two centres of power</a>. Otherwise the centre of power in the party would inevitably be at odds with that of the president of the country. </p>
<p>But the idea that by taking this route it would avoid conflict has come to nought. Jacob Zuma is president of the party as well as the country. But the ANC and the government, the executive in particular, <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-11-27-zuma-to-launch-fight-back-as-anc-nec-present-motion-for-the-president-to-step-down">are at war</a>. </p>
<p>Senior members of the national executive committee of the ANC tabled a motion for Zuma <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/motion-for-zuma-to-step-down-tabled-at-anc-nec-meeting-reports">to step down</a>, echoing similar calls by <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/11/anc-icons-demand-jacob-zuma-resignation-vote-161109132942397.html">party stalwarts</a>. It is now evident that South Africa has two centres of political power. </p>
<p>One can speculate as to who holds the reins within the ANC and is increasingly at odds with the presidency. What is clear is that all is not well in the party structures. </p>
<p>Because of this my contention is that South Africa needs a third centre of power. The country needs a mass democratic movement to confront the mismanagement that will otherwise beset it. </p>
<p>To an extent South Africa has been down this road before, to great effect. In the 1980s leaders such as <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/cheryl-carolus">Cheryl Carolus</a> and Reverend <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/reverend-allan-aubrey-boesak">Allan Boasak</a> were instrumental in creating the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/organisations/united-democratic-front-udf">United Democratic Front</a> which rallied diverse people around a single purpose: co-ordinated mass action to oppose the apartheid regime. This time such a movement will need to focus on enhancing good governance to ensure socio-economic development. </p>
<p>This should draw together a host of players ranging from not-for-profit organisations to religious bodies and active citizens who want to save the country.</p>
<h2>Business is powerful, but not organised</h2>
<p>The business community has held a significant amount of sway over the direction the country has taken since democracy <a href="http://www.rdm.co.za/business/2016/11/15/government-and-business---where-did-it-all-go-wrong">in 1994</a>. At its core, the policy regime of the last two decades has been a <em>de facto</em> settlement by way of compromise between political elites and big capital.</p>
<p>Organised labour, through the guise of its <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/kids/tripartite-alliance">alliance partnership</a> with the ANC and the South African Communist Party, has served to cement this corporatist pact between the <a href="http://unbc.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/unbc%3A6679/datastream/PDF/view">private and public sectors</a>. So while the business sector remains an influential actor on the national scene, the lack of unity and coordinated effort by business has neutralised its capacity to steer the state.</p>
<p>The country’s business sector is led by two main bodies; <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/busa-warns-eskom-on-nuclear-plans-2093258">Business Unity South Africa</a> and <a href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/blsa-appoints-mabuza-as-chair-as-it-unveils-new-leaders-2016-10-21/rep_id:4136">Business Leadership South Africa</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://cajnewsafrica.com/2016/11/25/exclusive-council-fears-lack-of-sa-transformation-could-spark-turmoil/">Contending voices</a> such as those of the Black Business Council and upstart Progressive Professionals Forum are eroding <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2016/11/05/some-relief-for-eskom-as-2-organisations-show-it-support">the voice of business</a>. The latter groupings are breakaway factions of <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2011-09-12-black-business-council-wrong-step-in-the-right-direction/">organised business</a> who favour a more aggressive <a href="http://www.thenewage.co.za/bbc-calls-for-radical-economic-transformation/">transformation</a> agenda and stronger alignment with President Zuma’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKaIvMZqKg">administration</a>. </p>
<p>This erosion is laid bare by the fact that business only mobilised and <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/banks-showed-zuma-his-limits-1960890">reacted</a> once international markets had punished the president and the country after <a href="http://nenegate.biznews.com">Nenegate</a>. This was the scandalous expulsion of finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in December 2015. Zuma’s appointment of a new finance minister has historically been handled with due care for the management of business confidence and <a href="http://www.financialmail.co.za/features/2015/12/10/zuma-fires-finance-minister-nene-rand-crashes-to-record-r1538us">perceptions</a>, but BLSA and BUSA groupings were caught entirely unaware of the <a href="http://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00040315.html">impending change</a>. </p>
<h2>Two centres, no progress</h2>
<p>The implication of a split in the political centre of power is that South Africa’s national development project will be <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-can-expect-zero-growth-its-problems-are-largely-homemade-62943">gridlocked</a>. Except for a handful of localised multi-stakeholder projects, such as those driven by Premier David Makhura’s <a href="http://www.southafrica.info/about/government/mega-projects-080415.htm#.WDwuxncy9E5">Gauteng government on a local level</a>, very little will be achieved between the social partners of government, business and labour under these conditions. </p>
<p>It also means that these two centres will drive different agendas. The party will be steering towards immediate political imperatives such as securing votes in the 2019 national and provincial elections. On the other hand, the increasingly isolated, defensive and desperate executive is likely to close ranks and attempt to <a href="http://www.rdm.co.za/politics/2016/11/20/how-zuma-s-securocrats-are-closing-down-the-public-space">use the security cluster</a> with increasing vigour as a weapon against its opponents.</p>
<h2>New centre of power</h2>
<p>What remains to be done by those who continue to hold a vision of a democratic, progressive and increasingly equitable society?</p>
<p>Their task is to construct from civil society a <a href="http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/politics/2016/11/24/zuma-rattled-save-south-africa-campaigns-potential-says-section27s-heywood/">new centre of power</a> – people power, citizen power, built on the power of just claims, energised by the power of righteous indignation. After all, the power of a society rests in its people and only then in its <a href="http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_democSocPwrAnal.html">institutions</a>.</p>
<p>South Africa again needs a mass democratic movement. The main actors in such a force for common good will inevitably have to include <a href="https://theconversation.com/dangerous-echoes-of-the-past-as-church-and-state-move-closer-in-south-africa-65985">churches, mosques and temples</a>. These civil society groups enjoy a shared representation of the vast majority of citizens, with around 81% of the population self-identifying as Christians, many of whom regularly participate in faith community practices. This force will also have to include trade unions and community organisations, NGOs and rights activists. </p>
<p>There are early signs of the emergence of just such a <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-06-05-i-am-the-third-force/">third force for good</a> in the likes of the <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-10-25-save-south-africa-whose-protest-is-it-anyway">SaveSA movement</a>, the Socio-Economic Future of South Africa convened by the <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-02-18-a-return-to-civil-action-clergy-to-spearhead-new-movement-to-tackle-crises-in-south-africa/">Archbishop of Cape Town</a>, and the public call to prayer for a change in national leadership by <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/opinion-prayer-a-weapon-to-fight-injustice-2087156">Reverend Moss Ntlha</a>. </p>
<p>For a project of mass mobilisation to succeed, South Africans who have been deeply loyal to their liberation movement masters will have to take back their agency and right of refusal. ANC membership would need to become a choice and not a <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2016/06/10/anc-has-been-reduced-to-a-shady-network-of-patronage-and-corruption-maimane">birthmark for privilege</a>. Liberation credentials will again have to be hard earned. But this time liberation will mean holding one’s friends in high office and those in the boardrooms to account.</p>
<p>South Africa now has two centres of power. It needs a third if it is to navigate the polar risks of <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2016/11/25/zuma-turns-to-high-court-to-review-state-capture-report">state capture</a> and <a href="http://www.mistra.org.za/Library/ConferencePaper/Documents/South%20Africa's%20Developmental%20Capacity.pdf">state incapacity</a> and forge a path to inclusive prosperity. Is the country’s labour movement awake to this reality? If the clergy have come to this conviction, can the men, women and young people who do not benefit from the country’s system of patronage be mobilised to shoulder this task?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69517/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marius Oosthuizen has previously received funding from faith-based Foundations such as the Maclellan Foundation, agencies such as the British High Commission and a variety of research grants. He is affiliated with SEFSA, the Socio-Economic Future of South Africa, a civil society dialogue initiative to secure the future of South Africa.
</span></em></p>There are early signs of the emergence of a third force for good in South Africa in the likes of the Save SA movement and Socio-Economic Future of South Africa convened by the Archbishop of Cape Town.Marius Oosthuizen, Full time faculty, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.