Welcome Note




Dear readers,

We would like to welcome you to the FIRST Roots Republic online newsletter.The purpose of this website (and the dry run newsletter to friends and family) is to introduce the concept of Roots Republic to an audience and gauge the interest level and accessibility of what we are trying to do.

Our aim with Roots Republic is to open up dialogue centred on South Africa. What has made, and will continue to make, the biggest difference in South Africa is ownership – realising that every citizen is a vital part of a system running on and for the power of its people. We want to encourage a habit of curiosity, questioning and open discussion - the format of our newsletter and blog was chosen because it allows for easy and immediate input from readers.

The idea is new and the website is young, making input from readers both greatly appreciated and necessary to help us create a website that is useful and accessible to people interested in South Africa.

Jess Farley & Toni Parsons

The Problem is apathy, not xenophobia
By: Toni Parsons

The events of May 2008 left a black mark on South Africa’s unfolding story. Residents will have been aware of the approaching situation, even if they didn’t acknowledge it. But the rest of the world appeared to view this as a sudden, inexplicable, series of unfortunate circumstances. There was nothing inexplicable about them.

Surveys and interviews conducted as far back as 1984 indicate that South Africans are almost inherently xenophobic. 1984 saw hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans flooding into South Africa to escape violence in their home country. Xenophobia and Apartheid worked as a team back then, ensuring that the aliens were kept within clearly defined borders, well away from the prospering whites.

The Human Rights Watch reported abuse of African immigrants in 1998 dating back to 1995. In 1996 the Southern African Migration Project was founded and a 2004 study by the project revealed that along with Namibians and Botswanians, South Africans hold by far the harshest views on immigrants. Precious few studies and institutions have come and gone, with those in place recording the same results and the same reports as others before them.

Lindela appears to be the only body set up in South Africa with the sole purpose of ‘repatriating’ immigrants. It was recently the centre of a media furore calling for it to be closed, after a reported extended period of running at a loss. Investigations leading to calls for its closure revealed that Lindela was little more than a deportation centre, with inhabitants left without blankets, undernourished and/or physically assaulted.

The Human Sciences Research Council released a report identifying three general causes for the most recent violence in South Africa. They were relative deprivation, specifically intense competition for jobs, commodities and housing; exclusive citizenship, or a form of nationalism that excludes others; and South African exceptionalism, or a feeling of superiority in relation to other Africans.

African immigrants tend to come from war torn or politically aggravated countries, rendering survival as an illegal immigrant in South Africa more attractive than as a legitimate resident in their home country. Immigrants are likely to have - or have had - a family in their home countries, as well as a community; friends, a local bar, a shop on the corner, a favourite weekend routine. They are not in South Africa to steal jobs or deprive South Africans of what is rightfully theirs.

Unfortunately, for all concerned, South Africa exists under an already straining economy and social system, making the inclusion of yet more people a perilous problem. South Africa’s majority live with electricity, water, housing, employment, healthcare and transport problems that will not conceivably abate in the short term. More people drawing on our resources means less for everyone, and in a country with shocking and ever increasing rates of poverty, there is no space for those without a legitimate claim to the resources.

This makes the addition of ‘outsiders’ or ‘Amakwerekwere’ a very unwelcome situation. Our ‘exclusive citizenship’ problem adds to this. South African immigration laws are hazy to say the least and sites dedicated to providing information on how to get citizenship in South Africa* are vague and unhelpful. .

With the world of broadband close at hand its near on impossible to find information, but Africans needing to get into South Africa will be lucky to have access to a telephone, never mind the big www. This increases the appeal of the quick ‘over the border and into the masses’ dash exponentially. Even when you can get information on how to get citizenship in South Africa, it is costly, time consuming and difficult. This ultimately results in an influx of illegal immigrants who are unable to work legally, and as such will take any work that pays, whether it is undercutting what South Africans are demanding as a wage or not.

The third problem is the one most likely to be resolved, because it rests directly with South Africans. For so long, we have walked around with a sense of ‘otherness’ regarding the rest of Africa, allowing us to view other Africans as ‘outsiders’. While this has its merits for morale at home, South Africa being the Rainbow Nation and ‘First-World of Africa’, it is not in keeping with what we should be aiming for as a country and it is opening up the space for xenophobia. We forget about countries that harboured exiles in the past, and may well need to harbour them in the future. We forget about countries currently harbouring South Africans who have left for political or economic reasons. And we forget about what it is that makes us strong as a nation – compassion, empathy and openness.

We now return to a long chanted ditty about underperformance and lack of response that has become a chief grievance in the new South Africa. In the face of the May xenophobic attacks, President Mbeki droned out a wooden, empty speech with no constructive outlines on action to be taken or on measures to be put in place to deal with the real problem.

Immigrants were placed in temporary shelter, and then moved into camps with a deadline of July 2008 for deportation or repatriation. Deportation or repatriation were the solutions provided for the problem. Just as xenophobia is not the root of the problem, deportation is unlikely to be the solution

Information on whether the repatriation or deportation has actually been enforced doesn’t seem to exist. Of paramount importance however, is the fact that a reported 3000 Zimbabweans are flowing over the border daily. That equates to more people than live in Soweto in a year. That’s just Zimbabweans, some arriving with just the clothes on their backs.

And yet until as recently as last week, our government has reserved comment on other African countries and on the problem of immigrants coming into South Africa. Denying the problem seems to be the school of thought that will make it go away.

Apathy from the government is proving to be a slowly imploding catastrophe for South Africa. Denial of the problems facing the majority of South Africans, and a lack of action at the root of the problem leave the results to fester, leading to an explosion like that in May, with more and increasingly violent outbursts likely to repeat themselves.

Unfortunately, to the rest of the world, we are once again tarred with the racist brush, marked as a violent and aggressive nation. The finer details of the picture and detailed contours of the problem are not seen from afar. It is time that the fundamental and long overdue changes are made, allowing South Africa to fulfil its promise of a country with a better life for all.

* For more information, click on the following links:
· http://www.southafrica.info/travel/documents/immigration.htm
· http://www.ritztrade.com/downloads/Immigration-Laws-SA-July-2005.pdf

Farewell Mama Afrika … she went out singing!
By: Jessica Farley

Miriam Makeba sang a song to the hearts of Africans the world over. The queen of afrobeat, she encompassed elements of the diva, the mother, the ambassador and the mortal. Not perfect, but every inch the ambition of self, Makeba loved through several marriages, sparred with politics, fought cancer, and survived her only daughter. She was Mama Afrika and her story is a million moments, some publicised, most, probably not. Who she was, and what she achieved, now celluloid moments, left an indelible and personal mark on every person who loved her music.

On 29 November 2008, South African’s abroad were given their chance to mourn Makeba at South Africa house in central London. The farewell was beautifully poignant with the spirit and tenacity unique to South Africans permeating the three hour ceremony. Stories of her life from township child to world-wide phenomenon came from an over-whelming variety of well-known figures and the cream of South Africa’s singing talent celebrated, once again, the legacy of her music. To every person there, the story of Makeba and the impact she had was inimitable. For me, her influence can be summarised down to three definitive concerts.

On February 14 1987, Miriam Makeba stood up alongside Paul Simon in Harare, Zimbabwe as part of the ‘Graceland’ album tour. The album, which was recorded primarily in South Africa with the aid of South African artists, went against the UN cultural sanction that she had helped implement. In performing at that concert she was herself disregarding the sanction and seemingly going against her own political ideals. Those are the facts of the story – the truth is somewhat different. The recordings of that concert are now older, grainier, and the clothes on display are different. The unmistakeable Harare sun beats down, innocent to the trials that would soon come and Makeba performs to an ecstatic crowd. She sings for just 15 minutes, as much a part of the song as she is a part of the sky and the sand and the people.

‘I am so happy to be back home, I can’t tell you,’ she says ‘I am happy to be able to play with these young people, these very young talented people, from home after 27 years. But I hope and wish that someday, we will be able to invite Paul Simon to Johannesburg … in a free South Africa!’ [Cue the crowd going wild] She, perhaps, blurred the lines of politics and choice, but she did it well and she kept the spirit of freedom alive. The sanctions have now been lifted, after serving their purpose, and to some they are nearly forgotten, but Makeba’s rendition of Masakela’s Soweto Blues on that stage, in front of those people, at that time, is still a poignant and beautiful piece of music.

The second concert, more personal in its relevance, took place on the Great Field at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Traditionally the scene of wild university tournaments, that day the Great Field held a perfect moment just for us. Makeba, in Grahamstown to receive an honorary doctorate, opened the Rhodes 100 years of excellence centenary celebrations on 21 February, 2004. Selfish and self-righteous as only young adults can be, the afternoon before her performance was riddled with drama and angsty conversations. We waited in anticipation for her to come on stage, but it was an anticipation borne of canned excitement (we were really just pretending to be cultured) …then she came on stage. My goodness, it seems so clichéd in hindsight, but the sun was setting, and it was still warm at the end of summer. She sang a song about the birth of Africa, which made me tingle. The field was silent save for a nightingale voice and a million moments of possibility. Right then, I realised a lasting love of live music, of a diva and of a country worth fighting for.

Finally - the region of Campania in Italy on November 2008. A concert organised in support of writer Roberto Saviano in his campaign against the mafia-esque Camorra. A drug deal in the wrong place at the wrong time had led to the execution-style killing of six immigrants of African descent in the region in September 2008, sparking violent riots. Makeba, strong in her actions and steady in her convictions, supported the campaign in aid of her kinsmen and performed a set, ending with possibly her most famous song Pata Pat,a before exiting, for the last time, to rapturous applause.

It is not a movie, it is not scripted and Makeba’s death will sit heavy in our hearts for a long while to come. But,,I like to think, if she could have scripted it to the end, hopefully a beautiful song, a delighted audience and an altruistic act would have all been part of the plan. She ended as she started, passionate, stubborn and vocal in her beliefs.

Her opinions on equality and conviction of spirit, housed in a head prone to histrionics and theatrics, didn’t age with her body. A diva, a politician, an ambassador, an African child, a servant, a queen and a mother of a nation: Makeba sang in over six languages, including Portuguese, Yiddish and isiXhosa. She was the first African artist to win a Grammy, the mouthpiece of South African music to the world and an unbelievable artist.

On 9 November 2008, Miriam Makeba suffered a heart attack, moments after completing her performance in support of Robert Saviano in Italy. She was rushed to the hospital, but later died. She was 76.

Helen Zille: Champion or charlatan?
By : Tracy Hammond

Zille has been a force in South African politics since the 1970s when, as a political correspondent for the Rand Daily Mail, she authored an expose on the death of Steve Biko. Her membership to societies such as the Open Society Foundation, Independent Media Diversity Trust and Black Sash ‘End Conscription’ campaign clearly illustrate her commitment to a successful and free democracy in South Africa. This commitment culminated with her election as Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town in 2006 and leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2007.

Many South Africans have been searching for a party that truly represents them. In this time of legislation building and democracy shaping, is Zille the light at the end of this tunnel? The answer, it seems, is yes and no, and that’s not just dependent on whom you ask, but rather which role you are evaluating: Mayor Zille or DA leader Zille.

Mayor Zille was recently voted the world’s best mayor, and while the selection procedure has been deemed non-representative or inclusive by some (this writer included), the fact that she is the first African mayor ever to receive this award cannot be ignored.

Her first act as Mayor was to reduce her support staff from 27 to 12, saving the Council R6000 000 a year. She pioneered the first phase of the Bus Rapid Transport system for Cape Town, made measurable improvements in the rate of delivery of housing, focused and enhanced anti-drug campaigns, increased resources available for drug rehabilitation and implemented a dedicated Environmental Resource management Department which formulates and implements policies aimed at improving environmental sustainability - a first for South Africa. Over and above this, perhaps her greatest achievement has been the negotiation of the multi-party government that manages Cape Town, another first for South Africa. This system has required constant and skilful maintenance from Zille, in the face of numerous challenges from the ANC, and illustrated that co-operation is not only possible but the most effective means of goal achievement.

As leader of the DA, Zille has been praised for her strong anti-corruption stance, something her predecessor was seen as lacking. Beyond this, unfortunately, few other changes in the style of opposition have been seen since Zille took the reins and the ANC don’t seem to be taking note of what transformations have been made.

The dominance of a single party can be counteractive to a healthy democracy. As such, a strong opposition is required; one that not only creates a system of checks and balances, but contains state power within legislative boundaries and create conditions conducive to accountability at all levels of government. Political theory tells us there are two strategies for opposition parties in any democratic system: opposing robustly or opposing constructively.

Robust opposition is about opposing ‘because the ruling party said so’ – there is little consideration of the issue at hand or where the opposition stands on the particular issue – if the ruling party said it, resistance will be offered. This strategy ensures the opposition party is involved in all issues but can also creates conflicted dynamics between parties and turn the opposition party into Aesop’s fabled boy who cried wolf one too many times, and is ignored when it really counts.

Constructive opposition emphasises representation of a specific group and as such supports or opposes the government accordingly. This strategy seeks out co-operation rather than conflict but cannot be secured by the actions of the opposition party alone, as positive actions from the ruling party are also required.

The DA have, to date, followed an exclusively robust opposition strategy and this has negatively impacted on inter-party dynamics, making current or future attempts at co-operation much more difficult to achieve. Ironic, since Zille’s leadership of the multi-party government in Cape Town has been anything but! .Zille may have plans to change this character of the DA, improving inter-party relations and increasing the opportunities for cross party collaboration, but to date no actions to this end have been taken.

Perhaps Zille has her fingers in too many pies, perhaps it is unfair to judge her impact on the DA and its opposition style in the time that has elapsed since she took office, or perhaps her views are just too different or even liberal for the DA. What is clear is that, as perfectly summarised by Brendan Boyle, “Without the millstone of the DA’s political agenda, Zille would certainly be the best mayor Cape Town has had in decades. She is focussed, committed, fiercely bright and incredibly hard-working”.

Many in Cape Town are seeing the light after too many years of power shortages, load-shedding and other infrastructural short-comings, but it seems the rest of the country is still waiting for that light to shine their way.

COPING WITH DEMOCRACY
By: Ross Farley

It has been a tough year for South Africans. One barely had the opportunity to make 2008’s first cup of coffee, before the trouble started. Early in the year evidence of Eskom’s grandiose ineptitude befell the country, followed quickly by the widespread and deeply tragic xenophobic violence against migrant Zimbabweans. Finally, after a semblance of peace had been restored, the financial crisis hit, which has drastically shortened shopping lists around the world.

However, it was another unnerving event in the severe 2008 calendar that sparked one of the most exciting developments in South Africa’s recent history. On 19 September, Thabo Mbeki was recalled by the ANC as South Africa’s president following Judge Chris Nicholsen’s pulsing political-conspiracy judgment implicating Mbeki in a plot to selectively prosecute Jacob Zuma.

The recall prompted the establishment of a breakaway party known as the Congress of the People (COPE). The party, launching officially on December 16, was formed by Mbhazima “Sam” Shilowa and Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota, previously the Gauteng Premier and Minister of Defence respectively. The party was born out of a conference held on 1 November 2008, in which guests and attendees discussed the current climate in South African politics. A fundamental dissatisfaction with the ANC and its policies served as a glaring premise. The party is seen as rightist breakaway faction, perhaps defined by the snazzy lunch-boxes prepared for all the attendees containing a roll, Melrose cheese slab, and a pink wafer. Its rightist organs were also displayed by the party’s supporters toyi-toying outside the conference and singing a variety of struggle songs in an unmistakable Sandton twang.

COPE has conducted an aggressive recruitment drive, boasting upwards of 180 000 members in the Northern and Eastern Cape, as well as Kwazulu-Natal - impressive in itself considering that Natal is Jacob Zuma’s birth place. The party is also taking a leaf out of the Barack Obama “How to be a president” guide for dummies and has gone tech by using SMS and establishing a ‘social network’ through online sites like Facebook. Alas, Mbhazima’s photograph gallery doesn’t feature any pictures of him knocking back Jager bombs with his tie around his head dancing it up at Manhattan night club. I’m still undecided as to whether I should nail my political colours to the world-wide mast and befriend the party. I did throw a sheep at them though (in the world of Facebook that represents the height of group interaction).

COPE has indicated that it will contest the election and has even gone as far as stating that it will win. While it is certain that the dissatisfaction with the ANC is greater than anyone anticipated, it is doubtful that COPE will attain sufficient support to earn it a saunter into the Union Buildings. However, it is very possible that COPE could take control of a couple of Provinces, most notably Gauteng and the Northern Cape. Should the Democratic Alliance retain the Western Cape, this would lead to a dramatic shake up of South African politics. Not only would the ANC lose it majority in Parliament, the possibility of a wholesale loss of power at the 2013 election would necessitate the ANC having to pull some serious finger.

COPE has yet to come out with a firm policy document and one would imagine that their manifesto will be released at the party’s official launch in December. In the absence of long, detailed, great bed time reading policy manifestos, COPE has made a clear point of satisfying South Africans’ insatiable lust for populism. It has jumped on some of the ANC’s actions that, frankly, have left large portions of the South African public with a foul, cheap white wine hangover taste in their mouths. The unjustifiable and ludicrous dismantling of the Scorpions sucked any post ’94 idealism of voting for the ANC out of this writer. COPE have declared to any newspaper worth reading that, should they be elected, they would re-establish the Scorpions. In addition to this, they would reform other specialised units like the Child Protection Unit, which were fragmented and deployed to various satellite stations. The result of that move lead to the skilled crime fighters of South Africa taking car accident statements and contributing to local vetkoek consumption.

Presently, one can’t say for certain whether COPE will proceed to establish a serious challenge to the ANC, or whether they will be relegated to begging for political scraps from the tables of the coalition party guild. However, there is definitely a feeling of excitement about COPE. Not only are they recruiting some fine business and academic personalities to the party, but their threat is manifestly evident in the ANC’s tantrum like overreaction. The ANC’s threat to hold early elections (as well as supposedly low key chaos in the ANC’s establishment of election lists in the climate of defection) are beautifully indicative of a threatened organisation. It’s also an unfamiliar threat to the ANC and it comes at a time when many Mbeki supporters in the ANC feel they are no longer welcome. Remember, Mbeki still received around 40% of the vote at Polokwane. The COPE leaders are familiar with the establishment of broad-based local and provincial structures and, importantly, they seem to be a well funded party. Mbeki was great for business. The names Makozoma and Khumalo suddenly come to mind.

South Africa is witnessing the closest thing it’s seen to true democracy in its history. While it’s nowhere near perfect it’s certainly a minor victory we can all relish.