A new era in South African politics?

I made my way to Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday to attend the South African National Convention. We arrived in Sandton at around 12.00, and getting access was a bit of a problem as you needed to have registered a few days in advance so I missed the first part. I decided to go to lunch with the guys I was with so we decided to hang-out at one of the restaurants on Nelson Mandela Square (ain't it ironic) since there were no visible boerewors stands outside.

At around 1 o'clock there was a break and some of delegates came to the restaurant where we were hanging out, I asked them how it was inside, how the mood was like etc.. Their feeling was that positive and exitement. They applauded the speeches that were earlier made by Terror and Shilowa. They also informed me that other political parties which were invited were in full support of the convention. I also learned that Helen Zille had likened the convention to the formation of the UDF in the 80s.

After lunch we made our way back to the convention center for the second session and as luck would have it, we met a delegate who was old enough to be our mom and asked her if she would be able to let us in. She alluded to the fact that it would be difficult but she said we could tag along, we got to the entrance and it was no biggie, she told them were her children and viola... we were granted access and were very proud to be part of a potentially historic moment in South African politics.

The convention was chaired by Charlotte Lobe, and shortly after our arrival inside the auditorium, Andile Mazwai spoke, representing business. Another young lady whose name I forgot also spoke represnting the youth. The young lady gave a brilliant speech where she raised issues around the importance of education to the youth, issues of HIV/AIDS, respect for the elderly etc... Many delegates could not stop clapping and kept on shouting out the name 'Julius Malema'. A former ANC MP who recently resigned whose name I also unfortunately forgot spoke, representing women. There was also a representative of the disabled who also gave a speech. Then the most controversial and surprising representative on behalf of civil society: Mlungise Hlongwane.

Hlongane also gave a fairly good speech where he highlighted the importance of civil society and said that SANCO was fully behind the convention. I was quite surprised and I am sure that he might get a boot from SANCO pretty soon. After Hlongane, heads of all the provincial delegations gave speeches obviously also in support of the convention. I was impressed by the bravery on the guy who was the head of the Kwazulu-Natal provincial delegation. I left just after the speeches of provincial delegations.

The central themes of the convention to me was:

1. Respect for the rule of law and the constitution.
2. To hell with the Malema and Zwelinzima Vavi rhetoric.
3. Do away with corruption, fight crime, etc.
4. Electoral reform, i.e. people should be able to elect their mayors all the way up to their own president.
5. The emphasis on the importance of intellectualism in the politics.
6. Political tolerance
   

All in all, I think the convention was a success. The attendance was way better than expected. I think the new party will be a hot material for the black middle class and those unhappy with the current ANC leadership and those who believe that the ANC's majority needs to be reduced but cannot bring themselves to vote for the DA for historical reasons. I also think it will attract many young people who have recently been interested in current affairs and/or politics based on what has been happening in the political scene for the last couple of months. It still remains to be seen how the new party will change the political landscape but it is certainly gaining momentum.

Oh, one last thing which I wonder if was covered by the media: After every speech, the delegates would burst into song for about a minute or so before the chairwoman would interrupt them so that the proceedings could continue timeously. During the second session, someone sang a song with lyrics "Thabo uyenzenjani", i.e. "What did Thabo Mbeki do?" The crowd went crazy! People sang their hearts out with emotion. Charlotte Lobe could not contain the crowds and the song went on for just over ten minutes. I also climbed on a chair and sang! What I found symbolic about that though is that there is still a general discontent over the removal of Mbeki from office a few months before he could complete his term.

A very interesting period in South African politics.

Solidarity.