South Africa’s Public Policy Clubs of Exclusion
A reminder to the ANC that it needed to deepen democracy in society arrived at the ANC’s Polokwane conference, where one major gripe against President Mbeki was that he had failed to create “policy coherence” amongst the ANC and its alliance partners, let alone the broader society. Mbeki was criticised for insulating public policy through technocratic methods, and failing to build consensus in society beyond the so-called chattering classes. Whilst Mbeki’s vision for a post-colonial society that worked rested on making unpopular decisions, it was at least palpable.
President Jacob Zuma’s administration repeats Mbeki’s mistake, but in more hidden ways. Nevertheless, it’s exactly the same thing: attempting to insulate public policy choices from contestation in society, and as a consequence failing to build policy consensus in society. This is most visible in the establishment of various presidential panels to advise on key policy areas of black economic empowerment (BEE), state owned enterprises (SOE) and developing the national plan.
Posted: July 26th, 2010 | No Comments »
Filed under: Civil Society, Public Policy | Tags: Black Economic Empowerement, Jacob Zuma, Planning Commission, Policy, Politics, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki
