Mzansi fo sho!

There have been 3 great trends in South African politics in the last 200 years. Firstly there was colonial rule, mainly by the British, mainly through force, mainly promoting English interests. Then there was Afrikaner rule for about 40 years, mainly promoting Afrikaner interests. Now, for the last 14 years, there has been African rule, mainly promoting African interests. One can only assume that the Coloureds and Indians and Chinese are all eagerly awaiting their turn.

Despite claims to the contrary, we have never had South African rule, promoting the interests of all South Africans, independent of colour, conviction and creed. The Afrikaners and Africans have successfully hijacked the helm of the country through their powerful appeal to their own special interest groups - many people were willing to live and die for the advancement of THEIR race and culture. Fierce nationalist pride is fine in a homogenous country like France, but in a melting pot of competing cultures like South Africa it keeps us constantly on the edge of civil war.

For South Africa to achieve its full potential in the global market, we must stop fighting each other for the last remnants of the colonial pie, and start cooperating to claim more of the huge global opportunities that await. As a country we need a whole new mindset, an instant divorce from the baggage of our past, a common will to reclaim our future. But how do we go about achieving this?

First off, I think we need a new name. Our current label - South Africa - is simply a location reference, a spot on the map, a memory-jogger for the geographically challenged. It says where we are, not who we are. The name "South Africa" certainly has a history, but does it have a future? Only 7 other countries out of 245 include a point of the compass in their name, and generally that is to distinguish themselves from the other half of the country whom they hate (North and South Korea, East Timor, Northern Cyprus, Western Sahara). I suggest that the new, united, non-racial South Africa should be called Mzansi - a name with which we are already familiar, but which has no baggage that I am aware of. I suggest that people from Mzansi should be called the Mzaan - the special ones.

To be an Mzaan you must satisfy certain criteria:-

• If you are an Mzaan, you are no longer an African, or an Afrikaner, or an Englishman, or an Indian. When asked on official documents for your race, you fill in MZAAN.
  
  
• If you are an Mzaan, you do not ask for nor expect special treatment from your fellow Mzaan by virtue of your former status, however exalted or disadvantaged. Mzaan are neither beggars nor kings.
  
  
• If you are an Mzaan, you do not have more or fewer rights because you are employed or unemployed, male or female, young or old, gay or straight, black or white, rich or poor. All Mzaan have the same rights., like it says in the constitution.
  
  
• If you are an Mzaan, you do not let your fellow Mzaan starve, or freeze, or die without care. Mzaan look after each other.
  
  
• If you are an Mzaan, you do not rob or rape or murder your fellow Mzaan. If a fellow Mzaan is attacked or in need, you come to his or her aid. You help capture the criminals who are destroying Mzansi. If you are convicted of a crime, you are no longer an Mzaan until you have repaid your debt.
  
  
• If you are an Mzaan, you stand up for your fellow Mzaan. You fight together against the tyranny of politicians, powerful interest groups, bureaucratic structures, that seek to surround the Mzaan with laws and taxes and tariffs for their own benefit.

Let it be said of the Mzaan, as it was said of the early Christians, “Look how much they love one another”.

Secondly, I think we need a new political party - The Mzansi Party. The current political parties are identified with and represent the interests of their specific group. All claim to be broadly South African, to garner votes from the gullible, but quickly implement policies which favour their chosen group. The Mzansi party will draw its membership from all who believe in individual freedom and common brotherhood. It will exclude those who believe in special privilege by virtue of race or history or wealth. It will encourage prosperity for all, by rewarding energy and competence and skill, instead of just envying it. It will seek to raise up the poor, to give them work and pride and income, as respected fellow Mzaan, rather than simply throwing money at them like beggars.

Thirdly, I think we need a new leadership, and a new system for selecting leaders. We need leaders who do not want the job, who take on the role with regret, and are pleased to pass the burden of leadership onwards as soon as possible. We need men like Thomas Jefferson, who gave up his leadership role when he had accomplished his purpose. As South Africans, we have been immensely lucky to have had men like F W de Klerk, who knowingly planned his own demise, like Nelson Mandela, who perhaps relinquished the role of leader too soon, and like Desmond Tutu, who has never aspired to political leadership, but has been the questioning conscience of our democracy.
Two thousand years ago the Romans understood the problems of selecting worthy leaders. The consuls who ruled Rome were elected for a period of one year only. There were always 2 consuls, and they had to reach consensus before any new law could be submitted to the senate. This system served the Romans well for many hundred years, failing only when the ego of Julius Caesar overcame the wisdom of the republic. Perhaps Mzansi should also aspire to have more leaders for less time and with less power.

Our great democratic experiment is in serious danger of imploding. We could so easily become just another African tragedy, a bunch of warring cultures imprisoned together by the coincidences of history and geography. Or we could truly become one nation, an Mzansi fo sho.