Letter to the editor: PARYS VIOLENCE A NEGATION OF DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES

Ecclesiastes 3, in the Bible, teaches us something of cardinal importance, that there is “a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”. Of particular importance and relevance in the midst of this latest violence in Parys, is the teachings that tells us that there is “a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, and a time to tear and a time to mend”. In 1994 we entered into a contract, not only with ourselves, but with God in particular, that the time now is to build, to gather stones, to embrace each other, to mend and to heal. That is what our Democracy is about. That is what underpins our Constitution. In that vein we committed to respect and protect our individual and collective rights. We committed not to burn the property on another citizen. In our case as the citizens of Parys, not to burn the family house of the Mayor. We abandoned the obligation which the constitution imposes on us, that we not only have rights or freedoms, but we have responsibilities too. The right of dissent cannot be exercised without due regard to its impact on the rights of other citizens.

On 17 January 2023, the family house of the Mayor went up in flames. We learn from those who organized and participated in the protest, that at the heart of the protest is the constant lack of water supply to the residents of Parys and ever present electricity problems, caused not only by the municipality, but by Eskom too. No one in all honesty can deny that citizens of our municipality of Ngwathe have problems with both water and electricity supply. This is not unique to our municipality. It is something that needs to be fixed urgently, because the two services in particular are central to service delivery. But none of the residents, in our municipality is exempted from the adverse effects of the lack of supply, of the two service items. This would include every single one in this municipality, young and old, ordinary residents and business, government instances, rich and poor and white and black. This also means the Mayor, her family in its extension, councilors, cannot escape the effects of the lack of the continuous supply of this service items.

Why then did we burn the family house of the Mayor? Why did we create through our protest action conditions that led to the closure of businesses and supermarkets? Why should our protest action cause teachers and children not to attend newly opened schools? Why should we exacerbate the deterioration of our already bad roads? What is our role as concerned residents trying to ensure the continuous supply of these items of services?

I want to go back to the subject of Democracy which should circumscribe our actions in agitating for our right to water and electricity. Our democratic contract of 1994 says as citizens we have a right to dissent and criticize government. This is your constitutional right, those who participated in the protest action. But the constitution also draws our attention as citizens to the subject of participation, civility and patience. To exercise our rights as individuals and as social organizations within the law, rules and regulations. The constitution says we should not infringe on the rights of others. What about the right of some people to work? What about the right of other people to conduct business? What about the right of children to get an education to prepare for their future? What about the right of ordinary people to use the road when it is barricaded. What about ordinary people engaged in their social dictates?

Our type of democracy is participatory democracy. As residents we need continuous engagement with the government of the day. After all we as citizens chose the government. Our task is to ensure that together with the government of the day we bring water and electricity to our households. Creating space for continuous dialogue on the services due to us as residents. Try to understand what inhibits the continuous supply of quality services to us as residents. Propose to our local government solutions to problems.

The tragedy of not engaging as residents is that when others put stones to barricade the road, others remove them. When some burn tyres on the roads some extinguish them and sweep them from the road. What does these approaches tell us? That there is a discord and lack of communication amongst us. We have a common problem. Supply of water and electricity. Those who extinguish the tyres and remove the stones which barricade the road are not supplied differently with water and electricity. They also need water and electricity, perhaps even more than some of us. But what I will not dispute is our social reality, that some might be cushioned from the deeply penetrating rough edges, brought about by the lack of supply of these service items, hence their preparedness to negate, in action, the form of protest that happened. But there are a number of other factors which might dissuade them from following the method of engagement used by yesterday’s protesters. The violence possible in that type of protest, the lack of consultation resulting in inadequate information, possible transgressions of the law, rules and regulations, the need to protect the rights of others, the impact of the protest march on their personal pursuits.

What does this teach us? When we have common problems, and we need to make a significant impact in agitating for our service delivery imperatives, we need to dialogue more broadly. Allow the process of seeking a solution to be significantly inclusive. As residents we need to understand that participatory democracy means co-governing with the government in place, creating mechanisms and platforms that will ensure that our communication is not incidental or a coincidence. We need an element of civility and patience in the conduct of our social affairs. Destroying some hard earned properties of our people, destroying and raiding people’s businesses, destroying the properties and assets of government, interfering with the education of our future generations is something we cannot afford to take lightly, closure of economic activity in an already limping economy, is not in the interest or benefit of any of us.

Lastly i want to say that i saw both black and white people removing the burning tyres and stones from the roads. I was also witness to the hostility with which this actions were viewed by participants in the march. The spectacle does not help to engender social cohesion, a necessary condition, for the ever illusive unity and reconciliation, needed to propel our country forward. This assignment given echoed by our first president of a Democratic South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, should be our fundamental pursuit if we are to honor the architects of our constitution. We owe the family of the Mayor an apology. Not because she is a Mayor, but because we have just plunged herself and her family in deep distress, inflicted a loss and pain she will take time to recover from. Time for superficial militancy that creates anarchic conditions for people, has been replaced by the rule of law. Violence is an affront to the peace loving people of our municipality and the people of this country in general. I pause.

* Casca Mokitlane served as a member of the National Assembly of South Africa from 1994 to 1995. He then served as a member of the Executive Council for the Free State Province, holding various portfolios between 1999 and 2009. He was the deputy CEO of the Free State Development Corporation in 1997 and held the position of the chief whip for the ANC in the Free State Legislature between 2004 and 2005. In 2009, he became High Commissioner to Singapore, where he served for four years before retiring in Parys. He was born in Vredefort.