Speakers at the Moses Kotane lecture at the North West University in Potchefstroom on Friday evening said it will take time to rebuild South African politics. They compared the current infighting of the ruling party to something Kotane experienced in the 1930s when he joined the Communist party.
The first annual lecture was on how to reset South Africa’s journey to recovery and rebuilding. Analysts said even those at the highest levels of government and politics often have no idea who runs the show or holds the most influential positions inside the African National Congress (ANC).
Political analyst and senior political lecturer at the University of South Africa, professor Dirk Kotze, said Kotane experienced what the party is going through. “The political problems, ideological infighting, and ideological disunity that we are talking about today is not necessarily new, and this was the situation that Moses Kotane confronted,” he said.
He said the country must think in terms of innovative ideas, think in line with what confronted Kotane to the current issue facing the country. Kotze said the relationship between political leaders and public officials must be revisited.
“Politicians become involved in the work of public officials, and because of that, it opens up all possibilities for corruption and fraud and unethical types of conduct,” he said.
Director of School Governance at the North West University, Kedibone Phage, said the country’s politics and service delivery had reached a crisis point. “We’re continuing to hear of untold levels of poverty; our public schools, roads, and infrastructure are dehumanising our communities. Moses Kotane’s values have been violated in a significant way by our government, municipalities, and public service.
“We need to ask ourselves if we are proud to bring Moses Kotane’s remains back to South Africa so that we can embarrass him,” he said. Public service commission chairperson Professor Somadoda Fikeni said for the country to bring to life the spirit of Moses Kotane, it must begin to take that journey of change.
“The journey of change will not come from a leader somewhere; Ethics is about taking a stand on what is wrong or right,” he said. Fikeni argued that the biggest problem facing South Africa was that people who wanted to see the country’s recovery, renewal, and rebuilding were too disorganised or too mild, while those involved in the status quo were focused and well-organised.
