Another week, another protest against #HelenZille in the form of a hashtag. This time however, Mzansi’s outrage isn’t directed at an obscure comment (as has often been the case for ‘Zille in the hot seat’ content) but rather an eyebrow-raising announcement.
If you were on Twitter over the past weekend, it’s likely that the ‘Devolution Working Group’ formation announcement crossed your feed – as well as an army of tweets, sub-tweets and retweets in response.
If you aren’t in the loop, the document shares that various parties (including the DA, Freedom Front Plus and Afriforum, to name a few) have decided to “step in” and “ensure” that “the constitutional rights of the people of the province are properly protected.”
NEWS | Western Cape New alliance partnership | Statement by Helen Zille pic.twitter.com/69zalsBHhC
— Sphithiphithi Evaluator (@_AfricanSoil) September 27, 2022
You might be thinking, well, who wouldn’t want their constitutional rights to be protected? Mentions of a decentralised police force and ‘devolution of powers’ also almost sound appealing when you consider that it’s 2022 and we’re still dealing with Eskom, volatile crime rates and corruption – all of which are targeted at the National Government.
However, when you read between the lines (as many Tweeps have) and understand that the cut to the chase pens an independent Western Cape, you might start to wonder what that would actually look like.
The announcement gives calculated vagueness and fails to dive into any of the semantics of what is actually being proposed, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt. Of course, that’s part of its attempted allure, no doubt. However, as it is with any open-ended concept, a double-edged sword has been not only predicted but unpacked.
Several questions come to mind.
What is the ‘legal action’ in question here? Who exactly are the people gunning for the proposal beyond the mentioned groups, and how does a focus on policing and an indirectly mentioned fresh ‘state’ not give off scents of a new beast to deal with? A police-governed state? That’s not exactly sounding like a South Africa many locals would want to be a part of.
Further, what would an independent Western Cape mean for our economy? For our socio-political structures? For our culture?
The constitution wouldn’t apply, nor would any policy agreements tied to South Africa. So the mention of acting on our ‘constitutional rights’ seems odd if the constitution we know is no longer ours. We wouldn’t be part of BRICS either, nor would we have the alliances that South Africa has built.
Beyond the endless stream of questions, what most people need to understand about the announcement, is that it is a ‘Working Group’ read, a workshop. It’s not a policy framework, nor a whitepaper or legislation. In short, it’s the equivalent of a few notably powerful organisations making a decision to act towards their idea of what is ‘best’ for the people. It’s a ‘representative democracy’ play at best and something we already deal with in South Africa on the daily – other people deciding our decisions for us.
Even if it were to happen, it would require years, momentum and backing.
Backlash was always going to be present, and some have noted that this is exactly what the viral document was depending on to gain traction. Is the doc trying to mimic the Afrikaner separatist town of Oranje? Would it send us back to a South Africa that we’re still suffering the consequences of? These are all questions that have raised major red flags.
Here’s the mixed bag of what Twitter has to say:
“Helen Zille, the DA and other racist right wing groups are ready to re-establish legal apartheid in the Western Cape.. Black people in the WC are fcuked.”
“Soon we’ll need a passport to go to CT.”
“We’d rather go to war than let them succeed.”
“Orania is expanding.”
“Western Cape is leaving SA and they will rule us from there.. Ramaphosa will be living there after frying this country. Watch and learn.”
“The Secession Project is well underway. The proponents of the so called rainbow nation long gone, now it’s time to reveal the true nature of the beast.”
“This is a perfect example of “The people shall govern” Western Cape people can’t suffer the same fate as the other provinces who keeps voting for the ANC when they have made it clear that they want nothing to do with the ANC. They should form their own Bafana Bafana while at it.”
Also read:
The highs of lows of being a Saffer should never be replaced by devolution of the Cape
Picture: Pexels