Beware narrow nationalism – analyst on uproar over De Ruyter appointment

South Africa is in danger of being engulfed by narrow nationalism and a Trump-like economic nationalism.

This could see the country become a more racially polarised society, with jobs reserved for blacks only, contrary to the aspirations of the Freedom Charter and the constitution.

This was the view of political economy analyst Zamikhaya Maseti, who was reacting to the concern of President Cyril Ramaphosa about the recent criticism levelled at the government over the appointment of Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter.

De Ruyter’s appointment was met with criticism within and outside the governing ANC, prompting Ramaphosa to call for true non-racialism.

“It is our mission to appoint people who are capable, qualified, ethical and who embody the values of public service, whether they are black or white, men or women. I call upon South Africans to embrace each other as equals, and look beyond their preconceptions of someone merely by looking at their skin colour,” Ramaphosa said, in his latest online weekly newsletter, From the Desk of the President.

He said nonracialism was not the product of a negotiated compromise, but was a fundamental pillar of the new society and it was only through advancing nonracialism that the country would be able to reconstruct the fabric of its society.

“We know too well what happened when race was used to exclude the majority of South Africans and we must actively guard against the return of attitudes that presume the colour of one’s skin should confer either privilege or disadvantage. This is not to say that race can and should be ignored. Our constitution affirms that we are a nation of diverse cultures, faiths and languages – and protects the right to self-expression and self-identification,” he said.

Despite 1994, there continued to be occasional expressions of racial and ethnic chauvinism.

“Whether it was reflected in the internal dynamics of political parties, in the workplace, or outwardly expressed on the letter pages of newspapers, one finds a reluctance on the part of some to accept that Africans, whites, Indians and coloureds all have an equal right to a seat at the table of our society,” Ramaphosa said.

“We should not allow ourselves to be led down this dark path.

“We have witnessed elsewhere in the world the consequences of narrow forms of nationalism based on race or ethnicity. It is not the society we want for ourselves.”

Maseti said Ramaphosa had a point and with his statement, he was reminding South Africans, particularly those in the ANC and its allies, about what the party strived for – a nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous society where all belonged and were equal.

“It goes back to the spirit of rainbowism – after 1994 we were supposed to commit ourselves to a nonracial, nonsexist and democratic society, where people are not defined on the basis of their colour differences. Ramaphosa is reminding us that SA belongs to all who live in it and that we should build it together,” Maseti said.

He said the debate around De Ruyter’s appointment was underpinned by the belief by some that South Africa should be for blacks only – one of the characteristics of a narrow nationalism.

“These are tendencies of narrow nationalism where issues are reduced to race. This is what is happening with Trumpism or economic nationalism that [US President] Donald Trump is pursuing as part of his ‘America first’ narrative,” Maseti said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.