Calls for an early election aimed at hurting Mbeki

THE statement by ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe that the organisation will not seek an early election, as demanded by the Youth League and the South African Communist Party, must be welcomed as the Independent Electoral Commission has indicated it would not be able to adjust the timetable for preparations for next year‘s poll without difficulty.

That would have included scrapping the second period for voter registration in February geared to ensure the election is as inclusive as it can be.

The motivation for an early election was decidedly suspect. It was based on the desire to remove President Thabo Mbeki and prevent him from outlining the party‘s agenda for the next year and, we suspect, to ensure Finance Minister Trevor Manuel would not present his Budget.

Given that Mbeki‘s programme of action will be that of the ANC – as it was at the start of this year – we find that motivation absurd and clearly based on loathing for the incumbent and a desire to humiliate him rather than anything else. That cannot be a justifiable reason for advancing the date of the election.

The situation with regard to the Budget is more problematic and reflects not Manuel‘s determination to set a course that is at odds with ANC policies as much as divisions in the Alliance as to fiscal and economic policy that have been expressed most recently in what was essentially an attack on ANC president Jacob Zuma. Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi criticised the constant reassuring of big business that there would be no change in economic and fiscal policy under Zuma.

Those divisions are something the Alliance will have to resolve.

What is disturbing about the calls for an early election is they indicate a willingness to ride roughshod over democratic processes just as there appears to be a decidedly cavalier approach to critically important institutions such as the judiciary. Even the Constitutional Court has not been immune from attacks from those obsessed with ensuring Zuma is the next head of state and convinced every action that does not promote this must be part of a conspiracy against him.

Those are warning signals that should not be ignored, and we hope the ANC leadership will recognise the dangers and act to rein in the hotheads who clearly have no appreciation or understanding of how they are undermining our democracy.

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Du Toit an example to us all

THE Beijing Olympics will be remembered on one level for the eight gold medals won by American swimmer Michael Phelps. On another, however, it will be remembered for the courage of South Africa‘s Natalie du Toit, who embodied quite exquisitely the philosophy of the founding father of the Games, Pierre de Coubertin: “The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete”. Having lost a leg in a scooter accident, Du Toit set about her dream of competing at the Olympics with a determination that stands as an example to all those who bemoan their misfortune, qualifying for the Games – an achievement that ranks with the feats of those who won medals or who set new world times. But it is not only her triumph in competing at the Games that must be heralded. Rather it is the manner in which she has demonstrated to South Africa and the world that it is possible to conquer adversity, that setbacks are that and nothing more, and that above all it is the spirit and determination to succeed that is the critical factor. In a country where winning has all too often become an obsession, with individuals and teams pilloried and mocked for losing, Du Toit has demonstrated that the ultimate test is not “whether you won or lost but how you played the game”.