Police chase young people known as Zikhothani, famous for showing off their cars, expensive clothes and the expensive booze they drink. They gathered at Thokoza park in Soweto to show off their expensive lifestyle. Picture: Sharon Seretlo / Independent Media

By Sello Moloto

South Africa is a diverse nation with various social and cultural values. Unsurprisingly, when a controversial issue arises, there is always an uproar as many of us make our judgements based on our social moral values irrespective of whether it is legal or not.

The founders of our democracy and its constitution did not place much emphasis on the need for the revival of moral social values as it was not deemed urgent at the time. Even if the leaders would have loved to legislate for good moral behaviour, it would have proven very difficult.

The focus was on healing the wounds of the past as well as avoiding a repeat of the horrible trauma of the apartheid system. The preoccupation was on ensuring that democratic values and human rights are entrenched in our constitution.

Throughout the world, nations adopt conventional moral codes, which are imparted from one generation to the other. These social values become the cultural heritage of the community or the nation. Any deviation from such values is often scorned and frowned upon and any member of the community who violates such a code is punished through shaming and isolation.

The Chinese follow a social moral code of Confucianism. This philosophy advocates for a good moral character, which is based on respect for elders, emphasising mutual respect and kindness to others.

The protestant faith espouses Calvinist ethics, which are anchored on discipline, frugality and simplicity. The founder of the Basotho nation, Morena Moshoeshoe is revered for his distinguished leadership traits based on the values of peace, Ubuntu and diligence. What is important about these values is that they espouse the common and universal principles of being good to the next person.

The father of our post-apartheid nation, Nelson Mandela, bequeathed us with the legacy of Ubuntu, reconciliation, nation-building, national unity and social cohesion. In the early years of our young democracy, our nation started very well.

There were vibrant programmes aimed at healing the wounds of our past. Political and civil society leaders were actively involved in the promotion of both our democratic values and acceptable social values. Leaders used to decry and condemn the signs and emergence of crass materialism as well as conspicuous consumption.

This was the time when there were visible and active moral regeneration programmes. These programmes and activities have since disappeared, thus crass materialism, conspicuous consumption and other various social ills are on steroids.

A new culture of slay kings and queens has emerged and large amounts of money are spent on expensive alcohol and cars. Crass displays of opulence are largely promoted at events such as the Durban July or MACUFE and others, which encourage crass materialism in the world’s most unequal country with very high levels of unemployment and poverty.

Our funerals, which are supposed to be solemn occasions where we bid farewell to our loved ones, have not been spared from this culture. Families are put under pressure to spend their last savings in order to fit into the trending fashion.

The huge expenses leave the kids destitute after the funeral. What is most disturbing is the copious consumption of expensive alcohol which happens immediately after the funerals.

Mourners are no longer bothered to go to a secluded venue for their after-funeral party – dubbed “wie sien ons”, meaning who sees us. Cooler boxes are taken from the boots of their cars and the festivities start, to a point where family discussions, which are normally held after the funeral are disturbed. Families are forced to save and invest most of their income in burial societies in order not to be a laughingstock in case of death in the family.

The voice of civil society has been subdued. The trade union movement which used to be a critical voice in championing the interests and aspirations of the masses has also been significantly weakened in the past decade or so.

This progressive force was weakened by internal divisions which led to splits and general disintegration. This disintegration was accelerated by continuing declining economic growth. Religious institutions, which have always been viewed as a moral voice of reason, have been pushed to retreat to their laager.

They are no longer a unified voice with the necessary gravitas to cause the government to listen. For example, the historically known umbrella body, the South African Council of Churches (SACC), has been reduced to an insignificant voice which is mostly reactive to the developments in the country.

This culture of opulence and conspicuous consumption is largely promoted by our emerging young businesspeople who are mostly benefiting from government contracts. In many instances, the society just looks the other way. Those who despise the practice whisper and condemn the practice behind the scenes as there is no authoritative voice speaking against it.

It should be noted that society carries the responsibility, particularly the leadership to remind these budding business leaders that as much as they have the right to celebrate their success, it has to be done responsibly.

The proponents of this popular culture should be reminded that millions of their fellow brothers and sisters who are still going to bed hungry and living in abject poverty are unfortunately looking up to them as role models.

They wish that they invest their money in productive economic assets that will contribute to economic growth and job creation for their fellow brothers and sisters who are less fortunate. We should not lose sight of the fact that these young business leaders are the pathfinders and ceiling-breakers not only in their families, but sometimes even in their larger communities.

Many of them have no clue or very little knowledge about financial management and the creation of inter-generational wealth. They need to be properly mentored and empowered to act and behave as true role models who the coming generations of youth should aspire to imitate and follow in their footsteps.

Financial management and basic economics are supposed to be compulsory subjects throughout the schooling years, just like languages. The knowledge and skills of these subjects are important for every person, irrespective of career or profession. Management of family income and basic knowledge of investment is a necessary skill which a police officer or a doctor will need throughout their lives.

There is a need for a twin programme to address this social misfit behaviour. The one leg should be to condemn and call out those who are involved with the practice while the second leg should be education and empowerment. The sectoral associations or chambers of business should be encouraged to organise seminars and workshops aimed at providing skills for the newcomers.

Our democracy has been very noisy and messy from the time of its inception, particularly on matters related to race and corruption. The noisy and sensational media hype has served as a distraction from important national issues.

The early noise about Dr Louis Luyt’s case of hauling President Nelson Mandela to court on allegations of racism in the South African Rugby Football Union in 1998 followed by allegations of corruption in the arms deal which surfaced in 1999, dominated our mass media for quite a long time.

The sustained peddling of this narrative was aimed at confirming the usual unfortunate stereotype that Black people are incapable of governing. This distraction led to the nation overlooking the important matter of civic education. The only time we think of civic education is when general elections are approaching. Even then, the focus is on people’s rights rather than responsibilities. This is what created the culture of entitlement where citizens become passive receivers of government services.

Our mass media, particularly the electronic one is dominated by entertainment. Sports and soapies (dramas) take too much of our television screen time. The irony is that most of the soapies and dramas are of less educational value and are largely dominated by storylines which glorify crime and violence as a means of upward social mobility.

As a nation emerging from the traumas of apartheid colonialism, we can do much better with constructive stories and documentaries that promote positive values and more scientific inventions rather than the magical power of ghosts and witchcraft.

Our public broadcaster is the major culprit in this regard. Most of our radio stations, particularly those which are broadcast in vernacular languages with the most coverage and broader reach, would dedicate only one or two hours to current affairs in a day. It seems to be a deliberate measure to keep the majority of the people uninformed. The important talk show programmes are given more airtime in the stations with smaller a listenership such as SAFM.

As part of the revival of the moral regeneration and inculcation of the values of Ubuntu, the country should embark on an aggressive campaign that will involve all sectors of the community. The communities should be remobilised to encourage the inculcation of good moral behaviour where families and schools are the important centres leading such activities.

The role of mass media in ensuring the success of such a campaign cannot be overemphasised. Democracy education, including patriotism, cannot be left to the Independent Electoral Commission, which is conducted in less than three months before the general elections.

As stated earlier, in the early years of our democracy, leaders urged the nation to embrace the values of Ubuntu. They understood that it was going to be very difficult to legislate for good morals and ethics.

The leaders were quite aware that good behaviour and conduct are instilled or inculcated in society and imparted from generation to generation. The most effective form of enforcement has always been shaming and isolation from the community. The community should always be the custodian and effective enforcer of these values.

The schools should be centres that are used to instil the values to the learners. The punitive measures through the criminal justice system should be employed as an instrument of last resort for those with deviant social behaviours which may not be corrected through the known acceptable community sanctions such as shaming and isolation.

* Sello Moloto is South Africa’s Ambassador to Switzerland, he wrote this article in his personal capacity.

** The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The African

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