Looters as coup plotters a misdiagnosis
FORMER president Thabo Mbeki once warned a problem must be correctly diagnosed and understood for any effective solution to be found and implemented.
“Let us understand what is happening to the South African capitalist economy so we can intervene to do the right thing. If we misdiagnose the problem, the cure is going to be wrong,” Mbeki said in 2017 at the height of political infighting within the ANC over the country's economic trajectory.
His warning found more substance during the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The unrest evolved into violence, deaths and a looting spree as protesters raised broader concerns about poverty, unemployment and inequality.
As if the failure of our overwhelmed law enforcement agencies to deal with damage to public infrastructure was not bad enough, senior ANC leaders and Cabinet members seemingly misdiagnosed the problem and started contradicting one another on the characterisation of the unrest.
Some, like President Cyril Ramaphosa, said the unrest amounted to insurrection and or an attempted coup. They also characterised the protests as ethnic mobilisation before backtracking. Others, like Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Kwazulu-Natal ANC secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli insisted there was no evidence of insurrection and coup. If anything, what happened were “counter-revolutionary” activities. “If it is an insurrection or coup, it must have a face. Our view is that we are seeing signs of counter-revolution, which is creeping up in the form of hooliganism and thuggery,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
Ntuli added that characterising the unrest as insurrection was an exaggeration. Adding to the public confusion was the fact some media houses reported the insurrection and attempted coup characterisation as facts.
What followed, as a response by our authorities, was an approach which focused more on maintaining law and order and threatening residents with arrests as opposed to social relief programmes, job creation and making the economy inclusive. Of course, it's not either or. But if testimony by the looters is anything to go by, most of them were simply hungry and poor.
President Ramaphosa and his government would do well to heed Mbeki's warning, implement correct solutions and put the country on a more sustainable and peaceful footing.