The journey to restore morality in South Africa

Mail & Guardian

a day ago

Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, chair of the Moral Regeneration Movement
What does a nation do when, in the Republic, the country's political and social morality dissipates under the weight of corruption, violence, corruption, moral decay and declining social cohesion, among a myriad of societal evils.
Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, chair of the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM), says this year's dialogue focuses on the theme, Living Our Values: Faith, Leadership and the Moral Soul of the Nation.
Mkhatshwa says the dialogues, taking place in the Eastern Cape this week, aim to provoke thoughtful discussion and action against moral decay; violence, including gender-based violence; spiritual malaise; and the declining social cohesion.
It would be easy to throw in the towel and walk away from a sinking ship, yet Mkhatshwa, a man of deep faith, whose whole adult life as a Catholic priest and social and political activist, is not prepared for that.
He has seen it all; he has been in the ANC political trenches and the United Democratic Front when there was darkness of apartheid and injustice and oppression in the country.
He refuses to be despondent — to walk away from the project and throw up his hands in the air in despair. This, he says, is no option.
Instead, he has announced that the MRM and its sponsors, have launched a national campaign 'not merely as a declaration, but in essence as a collective commitment by millions of public servants, in partnership with civil society, to defend our hard-won democracy and freedom against rampant threats fuelled by greed and impunity'
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He insists that something drastic ought to be done quickly to rescue the country from impending political, social and economic implosion, suggesting the campaign to reset and restore the work of MRM should be seen 'as a campaign that belongs, and driven as a whole by the nation'.
Mkhatshwa says 'it is no exaggeration to say our beautiful Republic is facing a crisis', and is saying these things not as an alarmist, but as someone who loves his country, and seeking to find a solution to save it from turning into a political wasteland.
He suggests that the endemic corruption in the public service, the government, some religious organisations and businesses is a great cause for grave concern, arguing that the pathetic service delivery by all tiers of government is failing those who need it most. In the words of Cicero, there is a need for a shift of mindset — an imperative the country needs urgently.
Quoting Cicero, the ancient Roman lawyer, Mkhatshwa says: 'Those tasked with public service must regard it as a privilege and an honour to serve the people', adding that the public service is the engine room of society, and like the church, it touches the daily lives of millions of South Africans, especially the most vulnerable, which includes a horde of poor and unemployed black people.
'The breakdown of law and order in the country has become a nightmare, and people have lost faith in the government,' says Mkhatshwa, formerly a deputy basic education minister in the first democratic cabinet of former president Nelson Mandela of 1994, and later a Tshwane mayor.
He says that 'thanks to the apartheid era' the African family structure was almost entirely destroyed and, in keeping with the apartheid ideology, 'all hellbent to create enormous wealth for a few whites — and later during the democratic years, to be joined by wealthy blacks, the beneficiaries of a corrupted political system'.
The MRM this week travelled to the Eastern Cape, to address its constituency at the Buffalo City metropolitan municipality as a reminder of the need for a total spiritual metanoia needed to change society and leadership for the better.
In this Eastern Cape venture, his organisation collaborated with the Imvuselelo Foundation, a local entity, as part of the Eminent Persons Dialogue on morality and values to facilitate societal change. A series of conversations were held with public service entities throughout the country.
'We all need to roll up our sleeves, put a shoulder to the wheel to save our country from the scourge of moral decadence in society … We cannot live all of this in the hands of the government; we have to get our hands dirty to fix the mess in our society.
'The moral decadence we see today reminds us of Madiba's passionate call for the RDP of the Soul. Fellow South Africans, I know we are weary — so punch-drunk that we risk giving up hope.
'Let us not succumb to that temptation,' he says, adding it would be better if all of society lifted itself by its own bootstraps to arrest the runaway train of corruption eating away at the moral fibre of society.
In its countrywide campaign to remind South Africans of Madiba's call for moral regeneration, the MRM last week spread the good news of moral regeneration, hosted by the Free State government, in Mangaung.
Mkhatshwa says the MRM has chosen the theme, One Family, One Future, as a rallying cry 'to underscore the centrality of the family as the nucleus, the heartbeat of society', without which the project of countering societal disruption and political chaos of corruption brought about by moral decadence, would not be possible.
He says his movement is committed to tackling ethical malaise at its root, collaborating with its partners across the country, and also tackling the education sector.
'The South African black child is of great concern to us. The department of basic education and President Cyril Ramaphosa have publicly admitted that we are failing a black child.
'We neglected early childhood development, leaving grade 4 learners unable to read for meaning, with all its ugly consequences this brings for African society.'
The MRM has engaged the Department of Basic Education to integrate the Charter of Positive Values into the school curriculum immediately.
'Progress is under way, and we hope the current minister will join us in this critical effort,' says Mkhatshwa.
The historic charter, endorsed by Nelson Mandela in 2008 and embraced by the government in 2012, is supported across political, religious and civil society lines. It transcends ideology, culture and religious belief.
Says Mkhatshwa: 'We hope to leave, wherever this campaign takes us, not just with resolutions, but a resolve to bring about change. Let us act not as separate factions, but as one family. Together we can rebuild trust, restore hope, and secure a future where no child is left behind.
'So, the task for the MRM and all its foot soldiers who are supporting its programmes in the country is gigantic, but so is our strength and resolve. The road is long, but our unity will light the way,' ended Mkhatshwa.
In the end, the dialogues seek to unpack the moral challenges facing the nation and to explore vital roles of faith-based and traditional leaders in addressing societal ills.
Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela is an independent journalist, a former trade unionist, a social activist and an Anglican priest.