THE WESTERN CAPE UKRAINE POSTURE. IT MIGHT BE A NEW NORMAL, SULK IT SOUTH AFRICA.

     There is no debate that the voter posture and patterns of subnational government voting represent the first phase of a broader strategy by the core of its support base to seek an arrangement where they are not governed by non-white and in particular Africans. Whilst on paper the Western Cape's governing party, the DA, policies represent the most liberal of all South African Political parties, its blend of liberalism is decisively drifting rightward of the centre, with an interesting occupation of the centre by the ANC. 

We also know that South Africa is not only in institutional and persons-in-front leadership disarray, and battles to consolidate its Constitutional democracy to be a fulcrum around which one nation could be built out of the apartheid rubble we currently are. In-party factionalism, societal sectarianism, general discontent with how the country is governed, a collapsing public infrastructure with energy security towering them all, glaring economic failure with youth unemployment as a persistent indicator, corruption suspected judicial overreach into the other arms of the state, and a collapsing African National Congress which is arguably the historical nexus of South Africa's politics, are manifestations of a deeper crisis, not causes. 

The weakness, and in some cases collapse, of the country's central executive authority to reign on the developing rogue attitude of sub-national governments that have the opposition complex as governing coalitions or parties, is fast becoming an added source of our new political order and might mutate into a disorder unless a beyond sectarian and party selfish interests leadership guided by a consensus of what is in the national interest emerges. The leadership and political direction vacuum that the country is facing at the level of national interest consensus build and social compacting is inviting mavericks and anarchy including sub-national repugnancy as attention-seeking activities with which the sovereignty of the country could be undermined from within its borders.

The almost bordering on self hate attitude of the national governing party on administrations governed by its deloyees as manifest in section 100 and 139 statistics in South Africa since 1994, has liquidated its authority to legitimately act according to the Constitution where it should. The management of intergovernmental relations, which was mainly driven through a family members only prerogative posture has over the years created an impression in non-ANC sub-national jurisdictions that they are untouchable and can thus engage in policy gimmicks that are repugnant to what the nation is in pursuit of. In fact, the intergovernmental relations framework enactment was a result of an IFP led KwaZulu Natal court challenge of the 'interference of national', and since then only poor ANC governed provinces were whipped. 

The announcement therefore by the DA to review its relationship with the Russian Embassy in lieu of the Ukrainian crisis is not only a diplomatic and an intergovernmental relations event but a clear indication of how far has the authority of the national executive been self-liquidated to have an effect on jurisdictions they don't govern. If a national sphere is able to put under administration a newly mandated administration and there is no objection or challenge by anyone, what stops a sub-national jurisdiction that knows it enjoys the endearment of liberal justiciary to act in a manner that is repugnant to a national policy like the Western Cape did. With the reality of coalitions in our politics, and the looming reconfigurations of power in provinces beyond 2024, the fluidity of the policy space will increasingly attract both legitimate and political arrogance inspired repugnance from sub-national jurisdictions. 

What the Western Cape did on an international relations matter, the competence of the national sphere of government is an indicator of how disoriented our intergovernmental relations system is as an activity limited to organs of state. Provincial and Municipal governments have international relations units. The extent to which these operate on the basis of an intergovernmental national compact or regulatory framework is what the actions by the Wester Cape are calling for.

In its recently launched working paper series on 'Making intergovernmental relations work' the Thinc Foundation, a think tank based in Pretoria, a submission is made that, 

the framework for intergovernmental relations and their accompanying hierarchic order should be defined in constitutions and legislation, inter- sphere/tier/level agreements and contracts, assigned mandates, sub-national cross-border agreements, and other legally binding instruments (Mathebula, 2004: 20).

In the same rendition, the author identifies the following as the objects of intergovernmental relations 

1. To reconcile policy differences and tensions amongst spheres of government
2. To promote coordination and co-operation of organs of state in multi-jurisdictionally shared areas
3. To improve the quality of intergovernmental information and the analysis thereof
4. To facilitate the achievement of national objectives in multi- jurisdictionally shared areas
5. To institutionalize cooperative government.
6. To promote the management of the public sector and public service

Conventional response in South Africa, and generally because our media and information outlets, including the political analyst complexes, are not root cause guided in dealing with public policy and public affairs of the country, the Western Cape action, which in diplomatic terms is not the first, will either be dismissed as news or reasoned away from what it is when reported. A similar and non-related event occurred in the Eastern Cape where a District Municipality has taken the Provincial Government to court for interference in its jurisdictional affairs, and the Province is arguing intergovernmental intervention. 

South Africa is federalism in the making, its unitary state status can only be rescued by a national government that understands its role to keep it as one sovereign unit. This will require an overhaul of how the political is structured. The Constitution can't breathe in a context where governing parties have a normative context that is centralist in posture and operating upon a Constitution that is at best decentralist in posture and at worst federalist in outlook. 

So the Western Cape's behaviour is expected and it should not surprise us. The nomenclature and language of power in the Western Cape has for a while been preparing to run a parallel state in South Africa. They were the first to promulgate a provincial Constitution, their MECs are called Ministers, their Premier acts according to their Constitutional Court Certified Constitution, he has primary powers derived from that Constitution.

If you ask me, this is ideationally fascinating. CUT!!!

🤷🏿‍♂️A ndzo tivulavulela

🤷🏿‍♂️Vuka muNtu vuka