Affirmative Action is dead

The time of skills and abilities has arrived argues Sipho Ngcobo.

Affirmative Action - what affirmative action?

Its days are numbered. If things go the way they are going, in another four to eight years, it will exist only in name.

But the end is going to begin now, and it is going to start at local government level, with non-service delivery playing a big trigger- role.

So, if affirmative action ends, what happens to black economic empowerment? It also ends. After all, the two are the two sides of the same coin.

And this, is the practical reality of the South African transformation situation. What a pity!

But before you scream at me, let us look at the unsettling events of the past few months as well as the reaction they have triggered from the most unlikely quarters.

Black townships throughout the country have been hit by a violent wave of service delivery protests in the past few months.

Frightening still, is the fact that these protests have resembled the kind of strife that was waged against apartheid. They have taken the exact same form, except they are not anti-apartheid protests. They are a cry for the most basic of services.

And ironically, these widespread violent protest acts, are taking place in African National Congress (ANC) strong-holds, and the underlying cause is the lack of administrative skills to carry out proper governance and the delivery of service where it matters most.

Fact of the matter is, in many of the municipalities, particularly local municipalities services have totally collapsed while the authorities have absolutely no clue what to do about it.

The ANC, as well as government have been aware of this problem all along.

At a press conference this week, ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe was at pains to admit that councillors and administrators at local government have very little experience, adding that 67% of these officials were first time councillors.

"We do not have enough experience at local government level -  67% of councillors are first time councillors, 28% are second-term councillors whilst only 5% are third-term councillors," he said adding that the ANC was going to under-take a wide-ranging audit of municipalities.

Do you know what this means, though?

It simply means that the ANC will identify municipalities where there is no service delivery, remove the "comrades" who are unskilled and non-performing and place these municipalities under curatorship.

Some "comrades" will be sacrificed in favour of the skilled individuals who are performance oriented, irrespective of race. This is because service delivery is the single most important factor that will determine whether or not the ANC still runs the country after the 2014 elections.

Another reason is that the 2011 local government elections are around the corner, therefore work must start now - the cleaning must start now.

This is very urgent and there is a lot at stake.

So, it is going to be each according to their skills and abilities and not each according to ideological affiliation. Experience and skills right? Where do most of the skills reside?

Most of the skills reside with white males. Of course, this is a product of history, and not black people. But because of history, whites, particularly Afrikaaners are highly experienced at local government administration. They were deliberately trained and empowered for many years. So, it follows that they could be called on board to save these municipalities. This would not be because the ANC were happy about it.

Of all the liberation movements on the African continent, and most probably the globe, the ANC is known for its pragmatism. It has its many faults, but sees the big picture more than any other organisation I have ever known. Because of its pragmatism, it is able to compromise.

That is why affirmative action will be compromised in favour of service delivery at local government level. If it happens at local government level, what would stop it happening in the private sector?

Affirmative Action is dead. Long live AA.

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