Zuma and the power of political theatre

September 30th, 2009

President Jacob Zuma seems fond of acts of political theatre. He arrives unannounced to check on a small town mayor. He sets up a hotline for people to complain direct to the presidency. He visits poor whites and helps them register for social grants.

Is there substance to these acts, or are they just empty, media-centric gestures? And what is the place of such political theatre in our politics?

President Thabo Mbeki disliked this kind of activity. He very seldom did things for the camera. The one time that he was photographed during an election campaign sitting on the floor of a small home, it challenged perceptions of him as an aloof intellectual who struggled to connect with ordinary people. But he was not the kind of man to do it again for the sake of changing public perceptions of himself. It was an aspect of leadership which he never quite got.

He took seriously his imbizos, when he went out to meet communities and hear their views. But his way of doing it was so controlled and so structured, that there was little communication of substance. These events only reinforced the view that he lived in a presidential bubble.

President Nelson Mandela used grand political theatre. He did not take tea with the Rivonia trail prosecutor, Percy Yutar, or Hendrik Verwoerd’s widow, Betsie Verwoerd, because he felt like an interesting chat. It was to make tangible and visible his commitment to reconciliation. We had to say to ourselves that if he could reconcile on such a grand scale, we can do so in the small scale of our everyday lives.

Zuma seems more like Mandela. He sees the value of these acts to drive home a point to his national audience. When he visited poor whites he was showing he was caring, but also that the grant system was race-blind. When he takes the time and trouble to pop into a small-town mayor’s office, he is making it clear that he knows the importance of local authorities to service delivery and he knows there is a problem there.

When Housing Minister Tokyo Sexwale spent a bitterly cold night in an informal settlement, there were some who smirked because he took along the media. That misses the point. It was not that Sexwale needed to find out how miserable it was to sleep in such cold and uncomfortable conditions. He wants to show us all that this is a more caring, engaged, open administration that wants to connect with people’s needs. He could not do that without the media. It would be like performing in an empty theatre.

These acts do not in themselves change anything except perceptions. If Zuma wants to change the behaviour of local officials, there is a whole lot he will need to change, including probably the law, to make mayors directly accountable. Sexwale will have to do a lot of work away from the media to show that he learnt something on that chilly night.

If these acts of political theatre are just one-off performances, not followed up with real and tangible behind-the-scenes changes, then they will backfire. If the grants are not delivered to those Zuma met, or if mayors continue to slack off with impunity, or if Sexwale’s hosts do not get a fair shot at a new house, then people will become increasingly cynical.

That is what worried me most about Zuma’s hotline. It seems likely that it will be impossible to cope with the volume of small queries and complaints received. His office did not define any parameters about who could call and with what sorts of complaints. It was very much an open line and invited a flood of responses, big and small.

I am reluctant to be negative about an idea that appears to be genuinely intended to promote an image of openness and accountability. But if people do not get effective responses, it will do more harm than good. It will become a symbol of political incompetence and lack of caring - exactly the opposite of what was intended.

And then the audience will boo these guys off the stage.

*This first appeared in Business Day, 30 Sept 09

Entry Filed under: Anton Harber, Journalism