Delivered by Dr Harlan Cloete and published by the FW de Klerk Foundation on 31/01/2025 

“The weight of the past, the pull of the future, the push of the present”

University of the Free State – Centre for Gender and Africa Studies

Introduction

The chairperson of the FW de Klerk Foundation, Elita de Klerk, CEO of the FW Foundation, Christo van der Rheede, Ambassador of the Federal republic of Germany, Andreas Peschke, Resident representative of the Konrad Adenhauer Stiftung, Gregor Jaecke, CEO of Sygnia, Magda Wierzycka, coach of the back-to-back world rugby champions, Johan Rassie Erasmus, brothers and sisters and fellow South Africans – Good afternoon, Goeie Middag, Molweni, Awe.

I consider this a great honour and a privilege to speak at this conference here this afternoon. I bring you greetings from the University of the Free State and the newly appointed rector, Professor Hester Klopper and my colleagues at the Center for Gender and Africa studies headed by Prof Stephanie Cawood.

I also bring you greetings from my hometown. The town that has gifted this nation with the most Springbok rugby players and officials – with fourteen rugby clubs with a collective history of more than 900 years. It is the rugby headquarters of South Africa and home to South Africa’s latest capped Springbok captain Salman Moerat. No other town in South Africa has more world cup winners than Paarl. Kurt Lee, Grant, Canon. And a week ago Paarl bowled their way into the cricket history books with a match winning twenty overs of spin bowling led by the Prince of Paarl Bjorn Fortuin – the home of the table topping Paarl Royals at the Boland Stadium. Paarl is also home of KC 107.7 the child of democracy formed in 1996 by the youth to tell and mirror the stories. This is the only town in South Africa where five churches came together in 1926 to form the Athlone Institute through blood, sweat and tears, built their own High School (Noorder Paarl) at a time when government refused to invest in the education of children not classified as white. The work of the institution continuous to this day and last year the bursary fund invested 900 000 in education. I am from Paarl, and I encourage you to visit Paarl, Mrs de Klerk you lived in Paarl and know what I am talking about.

But more importantly, it is from Paarl where South Africa’s first democratic president Nelson Mandela took his first steps to freedom after FW de Klerk announced his release from prison. What a joyous and momentous occasion this was. I was in the crowd that waited the entire day at the Grand Parade in Cape Town to witness this historic occasion that set South Africa on an entire new trajectory. Today we are here to reflect on the consequence of that speech.

But this afternoon, we are not here to talk so much about Paarl and sport, I leave that to Rassie who has captured the imagination of the world with his bold leadership, innovation, vision and foresight.

I am here to remind you that yes, we are the world rugby champs, but also the undisputed champions when it comes to inequality according to the World Bank, with rising levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality. This is something that we are confronted with every day and yet it would appear at times that our efforts are in vain or that we have become oblivious to the suffering of the those around us.

And so, this afternoon in the 20 minutes allocated to me I wish to by way of example examine South Africa’s position in the world today from a government administration and service delivery perspective through the Futures Triangle introduced by Pakistani Australian scholar Sohail Inayatullah (1997).

My title “The weight of the past, the pull of the future, the push of the present”.

I will focus on local government as this is my area of interest and my area of ongoing research. The global consensus on the seventeen sustainable development goals and how we glocalise development will serve as a canvass to our discussion.

You see we can debate about Zuma and Zille, Musi and Malema, what matters most is at the local government and local governance. It is at this sphere of government where you feel the pulse of the community and it is in the local sphere where people experience the love or indifference of the state. We live in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, chaotic and ambiguous) world and the challenge is to provide clarity amongst the chaos, that we do not loose sight and become despondent. So, this afternoon I wish to over a clear unambiguous proposition.

The weight of the past:

When we talk about the weight of the past, we are referring here to those factors that are preventing us from moving forward. Those stubborn facts that refuse to go away – The historic past. One my academic heroes is the late Professor Sampie Terreblanche wrote a book, South Africa – a History of inequality. He argued that we have a triangle in South Africa that looks like this.

1. A wealthy white elite rooted in historical privileges amassed before 1994 through a 100 year system of white affirmative action;
2. A black elite with “new money,” recently acquired;
3. Predominantly black majority living in abject poverty (When is say black i am referring here to all those not classified white), where research indicates that at least 53% of South Africans live below the poverty line, with 20% of children experiencing stunted growth due to malnutrition.

In this country people die of hunger. Sunday Times reported a couple of years back that some children eat sand in the Eastern Cape and reported of a mother who took her and her children’s lives due to hunger.

My high school English teacher Mr Abu Solomons sent me this message earlier in the week, reflecting on the tragic incident at the Stilfontein Mines that really moved me, he wrote

…Who are the masterminds in the background profiting from illegal mining? That’s the question that should be answered… Illegal miners, criminals, whatever one wants to call them, do it because, as one miner said as he emerged from the shaft… ‘I did it because I want to eat’.  It’s the same when I see my fellow South Africans on a Monday morning raiding the bins in our streets in search for something to eat. It breaks my heart.

That my friends is the weight of the past. Anton Rupert said if they don’t eat, we don’t sleep.

The National Development Plan is the consensus plan adopted by that South Africans. Most if not all the nine weights have a direct bearing at local government (2012).

1. Too few people work (Local Government)
2. The standard of education for most black learners is of poor quality – I can take you to my former school where I taught – Charleston Hill High School (a run down asbestos building)  AND compare that to the infrastructure at Paarl Boys or Paarl Gymnasium – an abundance of everything (Local government as resource mobiliser and advocate)
3. Infrastructure is poorly located, under-maintained and insufficient to foster higher growth (Local Government)
4. Spatial patterns exclude the poor from the fruits of development (local government and town planning)
5. The economy is overly and unsustainably resource intensive (Local government)
6. A widespread disease burden is compounded by a failing public health system (local government as resource mobiliser and advocate)
7. Public services are uneven and often of poor quality (local government)
8. Corruption is widespread (local government)
9. South Africa remains a divided society (4 nation 90-minute nation)

At the same time of the publication of this NDP, Prof Sampie Terreblanche published another book in 2012, Lost in Transformation and translated in Afrikaans – Verdeelde land. I believe that this book must be compulsory reading for every South African, together with his testimony in 1997 at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where he advocated for a wealth tax – the idea of course rejected by the ANC and the business community as absurd.

He examined what went wrong with our transformation and concluded that. 

1. We failed in properly addressing the Apartheid legacy – Cape Town Airport
2. Immoral and inhumane system of Apartheid not replaced by a moral and humane system in its place.
3. The new black elite is guilty of an extravagant get-rich-quick mentality
4. Only a tiny minority have been economically empowered
5. We failed in creating the “people-centred society”
6. The perpetuation of unequal power relations between the non-racial elite and the lumpen proletariat.
7. Lack of social solidarity and proud South Africanism
8. The politico-economic system that was in place during the apartheid continues
9. Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality problem have become much more severe
10. Elite compromise/conspiracy (GNU)

Governments honest assessment in its 30-year review of local government report notes that South Africa’s local government employed about 270,000 people, but most municipalities face significant capacity constraints. These challenges vary widely across municipalities due to economic, political, spatial and institutional disparities, affecting their ability to deliver services. High vacancy rates for municipal managers and CFOs, averaging nearly 25%, contribute to administrative instability, as frequent leadership changes disrupt continuity and lower staff productivity. This instability, compounded by premature departures of key officials, undermines service delivery and municipal functionality, with many municipalities struggling with governance, financial and infrastructural issues. A third of municipalities were nearing operational collapse, highlighting systemic dysfunction rooted in governance failures and limited capacity.

Our research/partnership at the UFS with the Local Government Seta over the last three years confirms this. The state fails if local government fails.

This is the context that I remind you of Public Administration and Service delivery. Can we forget about the weight of the past? Can we ignore this?

The Second angle in the futures triangle is the pull of the future.

The pull of the future. 

The pull of the future is the type of society and community that we imagine and have to reimagine. The place where everybody feels a sense of belonging and can become all they were created to become. The Better Life for all. Many moons ago, when we started out in Paarl with the community radio we stumbled on this poem by John Schaar… The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating, the paths are not be found but made and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.

China is very clear where they wish to be in 2050 and they work their way there – To remove the weights. If we ignore the weights of the past, we ignore the future. Remember we had a goal to half poverty by 2014 and failed. We have the 2030 NDP plan that was reviewed and government review of the plan admitted failure. Unless we behave differently and get away from short term thinking – nothing ever will change.

The pull of the future is an ethical, developmental and capable state with active citizens participating in shaping that society. In its review of the NDP government concludes that academia, government, business community should and must collaborate to get us through this governance mess.

The Pull of the future is

1. Equal access to health care and education: Education is a pathway out of poverty. South African actress Elzabé Zietsman says she is so sick and tired of all the moaning and makes an impassionate plea for South Africans to assist in building South Africa by supporting the education of a child, do something with your privilege, is what she advocates.

2. Martin Luther King said, of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane – I would like to add to that access to education opportunities. Prof Linda Human once said, that there is a direct link between quality of life and education. That children of blue-collar workers are trapped in the poverty cycle and unless this is addressed, all else fails.
3. Economic reconciliation: We have to make our economy more inclusive. Friends there is enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.
4. Coalition governance maturity: There will be more local government coalitions and one hopes that through our commitment to evidence based policy making, will result in better governance outcomes.
5. Active citizens: We need leadership at all levels of society and simply cannot leave all the thinking to the politicians. That means asking questions, unpopular questions, but you must lead from wherever you are.
6. Digital Public Management and AI: I teach with the University of Kehl on the Public Management in International Cooperation (PMIC) one of the German colleagues. They introduced a Bachlers program called Digital Public Management in order to prepare the public servants for the future. The possibilities of AI to enhance service delivery just blows my mind.

We have the best brains in this country. We can do this.

The push of the present – what must be done

From good to great. Why settle for good. Great governance not good governance is what we should be aiming at. My podcast that we started in Covid called Great Governance is a platform to change the negative narrative of local government. I have discovered some amazing examples. How do we articulate the push of the present? On the citizen level and then also from the side of government.

We need to reclaim the future. John Maxwell said, “If there is no faith in the future there is no power in the present. I was amazed the other day when I heard an economist advise… stay in SA, but move your money out. I am not an economist but that does not sound right to me. So lets have open discussions about sharing wealth.

1. Wales is the first country in the world to create an independent office called, The Future Generations Commissioner. It is a unique position that provides advice and support on sustainable development, encourages government and public bodies to take a longer-term view on policy decisions and protect and promote the needs of future generations.
2. Ask difficult questions locally even if it makes angry… some people see things as they are and say why… We dream things that never were and say why not ! Why not.

Based on our research and international examples, we propose the Governance 5IQ is adapted from Michael Barber, Tony Blair Minister of Delivery. Our model or frame offers local government with an institutional evidenced based readiness framework to enhance the capability of local government to deliver a professional service and sustain the change efforts. Capacitated individuals trapped in organisations that are not capable.

Governance 5iQ – Macro 

1. Why we do what we do? (purpose)

2. How do we do what we do? – we need a clear game plan to win.

3. How will we know we are on track? We need real time data.

4. If we are not on track what is being done about it? Consequence management. The Bitou Municipality appointed Allen Paulse as Manager Governance and consequence management to ensure that there is consequence for delinquent behaviour.

5. How do we lead and learn? We need a clear plan on how we lead and learn, and how we navigate from “baaskap to servant leadership”.

These frameworks are not static but opens up dynamic conversations about the nature of governance. The push of the present demands a pragmatic approach away from ideology to pragmatism. Like Singapore, does not matter if it is a white cat or a black cat, if it can catch mice, it is a good cat. If it is a white CEO or a black CEO just keep the lights on. Be ethical and accountable.

You see you don’t know what you don’t know. We cannot and should not wait for government, as civil society we must raise the bar and this is hard work, extremely hard focussed work that demands 100 percent focus and attention.

The South African problem… On your marks get set… Conference… On your marks get set… Imbizo. Lets stop the talking and implement.

Conclusion

In the 2022/23 fiscal year alone, the Gauteng health department underspent R1.6 billion of its district health services budget, while the Eastern Cape health department lost conditional grant funding due to similar inefficiencies. These failures have left our people vulnerable at a time when they need support the most. We believe that the Futures Triangle together with the Governance 5iQ and accompanying 5PGovernace Culture have the potential to unlock deep purposeful discussions.

The University of the Free State is a proud knowledge partner to local government. We do not wish to be academic tourist instead we are determined to not just produce knowledge for understanding, but for action that liberate people. We are not interested in research for the sake of research. We keep pointing out to decision makers, what must be done. Once you know you cannot unknow. Once you know better, as Maya Angelo said, you must do better.

Like a good lawyer in court, I put it to you… The attention of the world is on us – We have history of inequality, this is not unique, what is unique is the continuation of the patters of inequality.

Finally colleagues, unless we address the weights of our society that may today look like a mountain, starts with difficult local conversations, we are going nowhere slowly. This requires the moral courage and backbone to speak truth to power to challenge existing mental models. We co create, we are not spectators, we develop the game plan and government should be a partner. We need to be fearless and faithful, a do and dare people that can show the world how we tackle our problems. We need new solutions, the old no longer works.