Mlungisi Ncame
Political legitimacy can be described as acceptance of government authority when it is based on the will of the people.
In the context of the developments related to illegal immigration in SA however, I am more interested in the definition provided by US political scientist Robert A Dahl, who says legitimacy is like a reservoir, in which case everything will be fine as long as the water is at a certain threshold.
Problems arise as soon as it drops to unacceptable levels.
In that scenario, legitimacy of the state becomes tested and placed at great risk.
There is no doubt that the SA government enjoys unquestionable legitimacy which is derived inter alia, from regular and free democratic elections, a functional and credible justice system as well as security services which operate within the provisions of the constitution.
South Africans themselves have freely affirmed this concept of legitimacy by recognising elections as the only rightful method of effecting regime change.
The developments leading to and including the marches on June 30 compel us to examine once again whether water at the reservoir is still at an acceptable level and if not, what has caused it to drop to such consequential levels.
While the state itself remains legitimate and entrenched, its voice is certainly being systematically delegitimised.
The interventions announced by the president and various ministers on the immigration issue are being rejected outright by many South Africans across the social class spectrum.
They would rather identify with what Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and other leaders of their movement say to counter the government’s messages.
For me, this represents a dramatic escalation of the long-standing trust deficit between citizens and their government.
The government has responded to the threat of June 30 by rolling out a comprehensive security operation to prevent damage to property, injury and loss of life.
Experience has taught us, however, that while the security measures are essential, they are neither sustainable nor a remedy for the socioeconomic challenges the country is facing.
But then again, German philosopher Frederich Hegel did warn us that people and governments do not learn from history or act on principles deduced from it.
So how did we get here?
A mere 32 years since the dawn of democracy, vast inequalities in our economy, systematic corruption in the government and its failure to give true meaning to the provisions of its progressive constitution have pushed South Africans to the brink.
The people of SA are correct to point out that some of the foreigners are involved in heinous crimes such as drug peddling, running of brothels and general lawlessness.
They are also correct in their assertion that diplomats from African countries and other parts of the world have for too long conveniently left it to the SA government to deal with challenges brought about by illegal immigration.
Their scramble for interventions now is belated, insincere as it is hollow.
In my home town of Gqeberha, it is an open secret that youths [allegedly] sell stolen cellphones to “Pakistani and Somali” business owners in Durban Road, Korsten, in exchange for guns and ammunition.
These may be the guns that were used to kill two of my own nephews in the past two years and ANC councillor Sicelo Mleve who was buried on Friday.
If we, as members of the public, know this, the police and the entire state apparatus certainly know it too.
But there is no intervention.
In the same city, the once prestigious suburb of Central has been taken over by undocumented foreigners who have turned it into a den of filth, hijacked buildings and criminality.
The different municipal governments that have been changing seats at City Hall all do not seem to have a plan to arrest the situation and return Central to its former glorious state.
I have been to more than 20 countries on this beautiful continent and I have witnessed the gross underdevelopment which results from the combination of the effects of colonialism and greed of African leaders who have neglected their people.
This is morally inexcusable in a continent endowed with such richness of mineral resources.
It is primarily the failures of governments across the continent that have brought us here, and there are no visible signs that things are about to go improve, even as thousands of Africans are returning home.
The conversations about this topic are so polarising, with people being expected to choose sides.
But that would be a false choice.
It would be an attempt to find simplistic solutions to deeply complex challenges.
June 30 has come and passed with little or no incidents.
Organisers of the marches must be commended for that.
We know, however, that it is not where the matter ends.
There are still thousands of undocumented migrants in the country, more will still come to pursue the dream of a better life that SA promises.
Unemployment is still high, crime is unacceptably rife and service delivery challenges persist.
Perhaps more telling, leaders of the anti-illegal immigration movement are now emboldened by the demonstration of how much power they wield.
We must expect them to extend their demands and protest action beyond the issue of immigration.
The lasting solution to our challenges does not lie in harassment and scapegoating of foreigners.
It lies in an inclusive economy and a caring government which delivers diligently on its constitutional and moral mandate of serving the people competently.
As Dahl warns, if this does not happen the reservoir will run dry and the government will face a crisis of legitimacy.
South Africans have demonstrated through the marches of June 30 that they are peaceable, but their threshold for tolerating neglect and incompetence is not unlimited.
Heed their call!
Mlungisi Ncame
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