Donald Trump's arrival in the White House in Washington DC on January 20 2017 brought elation and jubilation to his fellow countrymen and women. Under the Trump administration and after years of madness one would suggest that it is important for voters in the US and SA to review the ascendancy of populism.
There are three things that we know about Trump. First, he lives on praise and flattery (a common trait of populists) and there is a likelihood that wrong decisions will get a vote of confidence. There were 63m voters who stood by him when comments about not wanting more immigrants coming from s**thole countries were reported. This included all those from south of the Sahara. He claims that his views are the reflection of how so many Americans feel about foreigners from Haiti, Mexico, Latin America and Africa.
The second thing is that we knew Trump is a racist businessman, not a politician.
Lastly, Trump was ignorant and this made him unpopular at home and abroad. He was blamed for failing to address racial and social issues and undermining all scientifically approved efforts to fight Covid-19.
To blame Trump for four wasted and comical years in the White House is puerile. The blame must be put at the door of American voters who took a gamble to vote for a businessman who is oblivious to politics.
Like in the US, SA voters have a record of protest after making wrong decisions at the polls on election day. Like Trump, those without the expertise and knowledge to run state-owned enterprises display their sheer ignorance and recalcitrance, and play dumb.
Last week, it was dramatic at the state capture commission. In the witness stand were Dudu Myeni and Yakhe Khwinana – former chairs of the board of SAA and SAA Technical respectively.
Myeni refused to answer questions, claiming that she did “not want to incriminate herself”. The latter's ducking and diving reached the height of inelegance when she was asked by evidence leader advocate Kate Hofmeyer about the multimillion-rand catering tender that had originally been awarded to Lufthansa-owned Sky Chefs, before it was cancelled and re-awarded to SAA subsidiary Air Chefs.
She preferred her response in the form of a crazy analogy involving her daughter's “fat cakes”: “If my daughter is selling fat cakes here at home, why would I go and buy fat cakes next door? And if I decide to go and buy fat cakes next door, as a parent am I not supposed to tell the child that I don’t like your fat cakes, this is how you should do the fat cakes and then please correct here and there and so on.”
This analogy is worse than taking a shower after unprotected sex.
These women served under Jacob Zuma's administration and like their former employer they are deliberately disruptive in order to cause crisis at the commission. Instead of taking responsibility for incompetence and dereliction of duty they resort to diverting attention from criminal charges they are facing and dwell on the ignorance narrative, just like Trump, who refuses to accept his mistakes that cost him the elections. He also portrays the victimhood narrative.
Much of the current voter and populist discourse reflects that as nations we are nowhere near toppling populism as long as our decisions at the polls are based on loyalty to the party. Equally uncertain is whether the broad leadership of SA society – in politics, labour, religion, academia and other spheres – are at one in appreciating this highest level of ignorance, particularly in SOEs and the current trend of populism.
We need to look at democracy as a political investment, not a religion. American election results showed us that voter attitudes have changed with the passage of time.
Here at home, we appoint clowns to the highest positions in SOEs, later rue such decisions and summon them to appear before the commission of inquiry.
We must take a leaf out US voters' book. Yet, for socioeconomic and moral challenges we face, we need the broader society to move from this pattern of electing clowns and lunatics to the highest positions, to a new political environment where we have a nation with common perspective shared and driven by government, business, labour and the fourth estate.
It is the responsibility of SA voters to put an end to both issues of ignorance and victimhood.
But who will lead the anti-populism drive remains a challenge for now.
• Ntlhane is a Sowetan reader
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