On Protests and Religion in South Africa and Donor Funds in Uganda

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week The CIHA Blog provides important perspectives on recent events from South Africa and a perspective on aid from Uganda. In South Africa, the Marikana strike and massacre and the creation of a new political party to challenge the ANC have each reconfigured the political landscape, with possible repercussions for how democracy and justice are carried out and poverty and aid are addressed. Dr. Simangaliso Kumalo looks at the contradictory implications of new technologies on justice and democracy in the aftermath of the Marikana massacre, while Albert Bangirana challenges the churches to speak up regarding the goals and shortcomings of the government as well as other political parties in the country. Tumusiime Kabwende Deo, writing from Kampala, looks at the percentage of aid making up the recent government budget and critiques donor expenditures that do not go directly to economic empowerment.

“Bishop Haunted by a Call from the Dead”: A South African Experience of Mobile Phone Technology and Popular Culture in the Development of Democracy

by Prof. R. Simangaliso Kumalo, Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies, School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal

The Anglican Bishop of Pretoria Joe Seoka appeared before the Marikana Commission of Inquiry to testify about what he saw and heard during the massacre of the 35 striking miners by the police at Marikana in August 2012. He told a story of how, on 16 August, in his capacity as president of the South African Council of Churches, he went with the Secretary-General to intervene in the deadlock between the miners and the management. When he arrived, the police and the marchers were at a stalemate. He spoke to the workers, who were armed with traditional weapons, and they asked him to discuss reopening dialogue with the management about the workers’ demands. The police, who were also armed to the teeth, wanted the miners to disperse, but Bishop Seoka begged the police not to prevent the miners from striking. Neither the management of the mine nor the police listened to him, and he left frustrated. Fifteen minutes later on his way home, a call came through and the voice of one of the mine leaders simply said, “Bishop, where are you? The police are killing us here.” Those were the last words he heard from the caller. While on the phone he could hear gunshots and screams in the background. Later he saw the body of the caller in the newspapers as one of the dead. Miners are usually not educated and so could not necessarily have been able to write a long report on the massacre, but armed with a cell phone, the strikers reported the massacre to the world. Some video-taped it and sent pictures around which have strengthened evidence against the police and the government.

Two years ago a community embarked on a service-delivery protest in a small town called Ficksburg. The police came to restore order and started beating people up. One of the leaders of the march, Andries Tatane, tried to stop this and was beaten and shot by the police. People recorded this through their cell phones. He was shot in full view of the marchers and the journalists. As he fell down in front of the police, the cell phones and TV cameras captured it and showed it to the world. This evidence has led to the conviction of the perpetrator.

Corruption is also being discussed by young people through Facebook, Twitter and other forms of media and technology. The hope is that gone are the days where those in power could commit crimes and brutalize the people into silence with impunity. People are now using the media to express themselves and to strengthen their democracy. Social movements are being built using technology, meetings are organised, subversive information recorded and people’s agency expressed through these gadgets.

Recently there has been the rise of riots, strikes and new forms of resistance in Africa. In South Africa researchers have observed that for the last five years there have been around 500 service delivery protests which have involved not less than 2 million people. The bone of contention has been around jobs, electricity, water and other basic needs that people have been fighting for.

Limitations of mobile phone technology in the democratic process

As much as we welcome these developments, there is also a sense that if not kept under check, technology can become a threat to the development of democracy in Africa. This is because even those who are enemies of democracy use it to undermine the rule of law and order. A case in a point is that some of the so-called service-delivery riots in South Africa were discovered to have been fuelled by internal political wrangles within the ruling party. Mobile phones were used to foster power struggles and jostling for positions within the ruling party, and these political maneuvers were disguised as service-delivery protests. The question is, how do we make sure that the useful tool of liberation and democracy building does not end up being used to undermine democracy?
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Mamphela’s ‘Agang’ Party: Will the South African Churches Add a Brick?

by Albert Bangirana, Ph.D. Student, University of KwaZulu-Natal

The 65-year-old Dr Mamphela Ramphele’s new ‘Agang’ party (translated as ‘Let us build’) was welcomed with optimism in some circles of South African society, though the majority were observably sceptical. Hinging on the pronounced gaps of unfulfilled promises by the bull in the kraal – aka the ANC – Mamphela presented her new kid on the block as unrivalled and visionary. She went further to resist the mockery of popular television comedians and the ANC’s critical rhetoric. The legendary academic and activist stood ground with commensurate informed creativity praised within the country’s political platform.

Amidst the heightened war of words supposedly informed by feelings of betrayal, the moral players within the political space have still raised no word on this matter. The Churches have systematically distanced themselves from directly commenting on this new unfolding. The political history of South Africa evidences the unrivalled leadership of the Churches in giving objective commentary and advice on both political and other pertinent issues affecting the country. Surprising, then, their current choice of silence. Conditioned by fear and an allegiance to the ruling party are some of the arguments surrounding this rather uncommon recourse. Buying time or just keeping a blind eye could similarly prove unpopular in such a sensitive environment. A choice of any of these routes could also mean a huge compromise to the prophetic responsibility.

Nevertheless, considering the government’s unsympathetic approach to the critical voices within the political space at the moment, the Churches’ choice to lie low could be argued but not justified. As for the majority of South Africans, unless the Churches see vision in Mamphela’s new dispensation, they will continue to view the ‘Agang’ party as a grievance motivated insignificant other.
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The Irony of Donor Money: A Ugandan Experience

by Tumusiime Kabwende Deo, Ugandan Journalist

When the Minister of Finance Hon. Syda Bbumba was reading her budget recently, she indicated that over 30 percent of it would be funded by donors. She spoke with such certainty that one would think the 30 percent equivalent of cash is lying somewhere out there awaiting collection, but where on earth do donors get their money?

A stone’s throw in any direction from Kampala City (and beyond), you are certain to find at least one non-governmental organization. Most of these do not have a single income-generating activity and survive solely on periodical soliciting of funds from donors. The total amount of this category of donations could actually be equivalent to or even more than the 30 percent in donations expected for the official government budget.

What this would mean is that, realistically, Uganda is operating on 100 percent of the official budget presented by the Finance Minister, plus an additional 30 percent from donations that do not flow through the budget. The question then remains: why is a country with so much money in circulation still backward? How can Uganda have such a poor road network, low pay for employees, poor health facilities, an unlit Kampala City, etc.?

Sadly, it is generally believed that donor funds are largely abused, ending up in individuals’ pockets through misappropriation rather than being put to activities geared at developing the country. Ironically, even when this is happening, the donor basket never seems to run dry, as some donors simply rely on paperwork accountability submitted by their clients without ever monitoring the impact on the ground.

What is more annoying is that a lot of donor funds come with strings attached, strings that practically prohibit a more sensible use of their funds. For example, some donors are okay with spending US $100,000 on a national conference about how to improve the lives of refugees. They spend half of this money facilitating 10 experts drawn from 10 different European countries (air fare, accommodation and per diem), and the rest is spent hiring an expensive hotel venue, transport refund and an “inconvenience fee” for participants.

At the end of the day, strongly worded pre-meditated statements are offered to the media, who themselves also get a share of the spoils through the so-called “transport refund”, policy change proposals are submitted to the government, and the story ends at that. In fact, most of these conferences are planned toward the end of the year, serving as a perfect holiday for most participants. So much is spent, but refugee status remains unchanged!

Ah! Perhaps that’s why the government is encouraging the construction of more 5-star hotels in Kampala and the vicinity. I do not see any Ugandan at Serena Hotel spending his or her hard-earned cash to the tune of US $100,000 on a mere conference intended for people living on less than a dollar a day. This is simply incredible. How much would be saved if these refugees were lectured from the camp domiciles?

Sticking with the example of refugees, I recently realized one other interesting thing – many of the so-called refugees flooding the country are actually ghosts. They have been tipped off by someone that a number of organizations have so much donor money to dish out. They come over to Uganda, team up with colleagues who have lived here for long and know the flaws in the system, fabricate stories depicting themselves to be in immense danger, and the next day they receive so much aid and go out to party.

If donor money is actually contributed by people who have genuinely sweated for it and if donors truly want Uganda to develop, then it’s high time they devoted their money to tangible economic activity squared with sensible matching accountability. Less of this, we shall continue living in a land full of money, yet remain significantly under-developed.