ANALYSIS: How SA’s leaders can avoid being held hostage by strong lobby groups TC_Africa
Increasingly, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa’s addresses updating the nation on the fight against COVID-19 reveal enervation. The pandemic’s surging spread, which has placed South Africa among the five countries with the highest infections, has increased anxiety. The fear is discernible.
In taking charge of the situation, including establishing and chairing a National Command Council to coordinate the emergency response, Ramaphosa acted swiftly to secure cross-party solidarity. The unanimity of the parties was a change from the political showmanship South Africans have become accustomed to.
But the solidarity that state leadership had forged with various interest-driven groupings in society, including opposition parties, is coming apart at the seams.There were always murmurs against the national lockdown. They grew into public discontent when the lockdown was extended and the regulations adjusted.
This set off a round of intense lobbying. For example, the restaurant industry is not happy with regulations on opening hours or a ban on the sale of alcohol. It continues to exert pressure on government for relaxations.For its part, the minibus taxi industry extracted concessions, including its demand to be able to ferry passengers at full capacity.
This begs the question of whether the focus is still on containing the spread of the pathogen or satisfying sectoral interests. The opposition parties are exploiting this for partisan interests.Of course. Sectoral and partisan interests may be part of public interest. But they don’t make up its entirety. Just because they are sometimes at variance with public policy doesn’t mean they should be allowed to ride roughshod over public interest.
Engaging beyond established power-holders to optimise decision-making and jolt citizens’ conscience and consciousness should be the pillar of the state’s strategy of “going public” in fighting the pandemic. This isn’t happening, which might explain citizens’ disobedience of safety protocols.
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