A development that has accompanied the fall of Thabo Mbeki is that South Africans seem far more willing to hold political leaders to account than was the case just a year ago. Newspaper editorials, columnists, news bulletins, business leaders, and civil society organizations appear to have lost much of the fear that once kept them in awe of the ANC. Will this Prague spring survive or is it simply a flash in the pan until the next government takes office in 2009?

Take Business Against Crime as an example which last week accused the government of being ‘out to lunch' on the issue of crime in South Africa. Such a confrontational approach would have been quite improbable only 18 months ago when a Business Against Crime speaker told an Institute briefing that the government was doing reasonably in dealing with crime but that ordinary South Africans could do more.

Also last week Business Day quoted the Canada-SA Chamber of Business suggesting that elements in South Africa's government were incompetent. Could the business community finally be finding its tongue after years of kowtowing to the government in South Africa? On civil society's side the Institute finds that it is no longer a lone voice in raising serious concerns about issues ranging from poverty to violence in schools. Only 7 months ago that the Presidency berated the Institute for questioning the government's performance on poverty relief. Today concerns about high levels of poverty are almost universal.

Even within government a number of ANC parliamentary backbenchers and committee chairs have been taking their ministers to task in the health, home affairs, and a number of other portfolios. This was virtually unheard of 12 months ago.

The contrast to the political correctness of previous years is brilliantly exposed in an article posted this week by James Myburgh. The article surveys the views expressed by leading newspapers following the appointment of Jackie Selebi as national police commissioner in October 1999. Remember that Selebi was a former ANC functionary with no policing experience at all:

• Business Day, stated that while "many question whether someone who is essentially a political animal owing loyalty to the ruling party, rather than a professional policeman, is the right person for the job. In the circumstances, Selebi is probably as close to the ideal candidate as is available." (Business Day Editorial 22nd October 1999)
• The Cape Times described Selebi as a "well-respected leader" adding that it was clear that Selebi had a "plan of action for the SAPS to hone it into a sleekly administered force with better systems. If Selebi achieves only his goal of making the SAPS an efficient force that delivers to the people he will have gone a long way in the very necessary road to making it an organisation that is trusted by the public. It is essential for South Africa that the force is a happy one--with personnel committed to the task of cleaning up crime in South Africa. For this to happen, transformation of the police must take place. Selebi, it appears, has the commitment and talent to make this happen and raise the image of the police for those who work in it and those who depend on it." (Cape Times Editorial 22nd October 1999)
• The Citizen "welcomed" the appointment saying "Certainly President Mbeki is putting his favourites in top jobs, but this has a positive side. President Mbeki bears the ultimate responsibility for sorting out crime in this country....We believe Mr Selebi, with the full support of Mr Tshwete and President Mbeki, is an excellent choice for the job." (Citizen Editorial 22nd October 1999)
• The Sunday Times "welcomed" the appointment adding that Selebi was "the right man at the right time for the policing job." ("At last, the talkers are giving way to the doers", Sunday Times Editorial 24th October 1999)
• The Sowetan stated, "Jackie Selebi's appointment as national police commissioner has met with surprisingly little opposition. And that is encouraging. We hope this signals a greater appreciation of the need for transformation of the civil service in a way that reflects the demographics of our country." (Sowetan Editorial 22nd October 1999)
• The EP Herald acknowledged Selebi's lack of policing experience but said that, "he's fortunate to have a useful background in the fraught and sensitive world of diplomacy: he'll need that and the generally favourable welcome as he uses every ounce of his skills in forging a united, cost-effective, motivated, corruption-free and skilled force" and further that, "it's important, now, for a black person to be seen at the head of the police to promote ordinary black public's respect for the service. It's the best way of beating crime." (The Eastern Province Herald Editorial 22nd October 1999)
• The City Press gave its "Hearty congratulations to Jackie Selebi on his appointment as the new Commissioner of Police after a short-lived but sterling job as the director-general of foreign affairs". "Knowing Selebi as we do we believe he will acquit himself well in his new position". It endorsed him based on his political credentials saying that he was "no stranger to politics, having played a leading role in the South African Students Organisation, been head of the ANC Youth League, an executive member of the ANC and an MP. That is why we find it surprising that some white politicians claim to know little of him and others protest his lack of experience as a policeman". Incredibly City Press then had this to say, "It is about time this position was given to a black person, with or without police experience. The truth is the police department is still seen as a bastion of apartheid....It's about time that black people feel protected by their own kith and kin. South Africa is a black country and it must be seen as such." (City Press Editorial 24th October 1999)

Arguably many far right extremists do now see South Africa as a ‘black country' due to the likes of Selebi although this is probably not what City Press had in mind.

The benefit of hindsight is an advantage in political analysis of this type! None of these newspapers could have foreseen Selebi's alleged criminal dealings and connections to the criminal underworld. That is not the point. It is rather to question why these editorials did not rather make the fairly obvious points that the police would be best run by a policeman, that the police should certainly not be run by a politician, and that being black imbibes no special skill or competence.

Looking at the mess that is the South African Police Service today it is incredible that they did not say this. To what extent did pleasing the government of the day or at least a fear of attracting negative publicity or being accused of racism play in many of these editorials? The racism on display in City Press's editorial suggests that it may have played a very central role.

Sustaining the current vogue of critical questioning of government policy may help South Africa avoid many of the errors of the Mbeki era such as the Selebi debacle. The ANC would do well to take such critiques to heart. In most cases, where these emanate from within South Africa, they are motivated by genuine concerns about the future of the country.

In many past cases such critiques turned out to be a spot on analysis of what many South Africans were experiencing. As the elected political representative of the majority of South Africans the ANC is of course not obliged to act on every critique. It is also unnecessary to react with bitterness and anger. The ANC is today perhaps at its most unpopular since 1994.

In part that may be due to the arrogant assumption that it had all the answers all along - events of the past six months suggest that it had few of the answers. If it learns anything from the experience of Thabo Mbeki's debacles it will be to take all critiques seriously and to be grateful that many South Africans are willing to stand up against the consensus, at the risk of attracting personal criticism, if they believe that doing so will be in the best interests of South Africa.

However, if the space for critical debate is again curtailed after the 2009 elections we should expect that there will be many more ‘Selebi style debacles' for the ANC to juggle in the years ahead.

Frans Cronje is the deputy CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations. This is an edited version of an article which first appeared in SAIRR Today the weekly online newsletter of the Institute June 13 2008.

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