> Who is accountable for the mess South Africa is in today?
> Nobody! That’s our problem. We have very limited mechanisms for
> holding the incompetents and crooks accountable, so our problems
> continue and escalate.  Our much touted constitution has let the
> people of South Africa down badly in the area of official
> accountability.

> As a citizen you get ONE chance every FIVE years to hold the current
> government responsible for EVERYTHING they have done, good, bad, and
> forgotten. That is such a dumb system I am amazed that anyone can be
> persuaded to fall for it.  Can you imagine if a supplier like Pick 'n
> Pay opened its complaints department for ONE complaint per person,
> once every 5 years? Can you imagine a business that allowed its
> shareholders to vote only once in 5 years?

> Accountability is essential for good governance.  The success of
> America, it has been said, was built on two words - “You’re fired.” In
> much the same vein, Dr Samuel Johnson said “Nothing concentrates the
> mind like the threat of a good hanging.”  If we are even remotely
> serious about improving our country, fighting corruption and crime,
> delivering services, then we must start holding the officials
> responsible for these tasks accountable to the people who elect and
> pay them.  This is simply done. You don’t need to setup a conference,
> or hold a commission of enquiry, or hire extra consultants.  Just
> implement the concept of a “Citizens’ Recall”.

> Many states in the U.S. allow a citizens’ recall, under varying
> conditions, although there is no federal equivalent. Arnold
> Schwarzenegger became Governor of California after his predecessor was
> successfully recalled by popular vote.  No politician or civil servant
> can feel safe in office, protected for at least 5 years, when faced
> with the threat of a citizens’ recall.

> In our recent past, the president of South Africa was recalled, not by
> popular vote, but by political skulduggery. Nevertheless, the sky did
> not fall in, there was no more chaos than usual. A replacement was
> found, and the business of government continued. In fact, our
> democracy improved as a direct result of this recall. And, by all
> accounts, so did our governance.

> I propose the following plan for a citizens’ recall in South Africa:

> 1. Any elected official or civil servant paid from taxes is subject to
> recall.

> 2. In the event of a successful recall, as defined below, the recalled
> official is immediately removed from office. A recall is a punishment
> for an official judged to be incompetent by a significant number of
> the citizens who pay the official’s salary. The official receives one
> month’s salary in lieu of notice, only. The official is not placed on
> suspension, there is no appeal, no labour or other employment
> regulations apply, no prior contractual agreements may be invoked. The
> effect, for legal purposes, is as if the official had died in office.

> 3. For an elected official, a recall succeeds if the number of recall
> ballots exceeds 25% of the votes cast for that official in the last
> election. A by-election will be called to replace the recalled
> official. The recalled official may not stand in this by-election.

> 4. For an official elected by proportional representation, the number
> of votes cast for that official is calculated as the total number of
> votes cast for the official’s party divided by the number of officials
> actually elected.  For example, if party X receives 100,000 votes,
> resulting in 10 officials getting elected, then the votes cast per
> official is deemed to be 10,000, and the recall target is 25% of
> 10,000, or 2,500.

> 5. For an appointed civil servant, the recall succeeds if the number
> of recall ballots exceeds 10% of that official’s basic monthly salary
> in Rands, before any extras or incentives. The official may not re-
> apply for the same position.

> 6. A recall ballot may be initiated by any South African citizen
> against any specific official.

> 7. Any South African citizen who is eligible to vote (name appears on
> the voters roll) may vote on a recall ballot.

> 8. A citizen may vote on an authorised ballot issued by the initiator
> of the ballot, at any state office (Post Office, SARS, Home Affairs,
> Police Station, etc), through ATMs managed by participating banks,
> through an authorised website, or by cellphone sms to an authorised
> service provider.

> 9. In all votes the voter’s identity will be confirmed and will be
> validated against the voters roll, as for any ordinary election.
> Thereafter, the vote will be anonymous (i.e no record of the identity
> of the voters on a ballot is kept.) Only one vote per citizen per
> ballot is allowed.

> What would be the effect of  instituting a citizen’s recall?  The
> performance of every government official from the humblest to the
> mightiest, would be subject to review, not by a toothless audit
> committee, nor a bunch of like-minded cronies, nor loyal members of
> the official’s own party, nor an equally incompetent boss, but by an
> independent group of  citizens interested only in getting value for
> their hard-earned tax rands.  The civil servants would quake in their
> boots. They would wet themselves. They would instantly focus on how to
> please their constituents, instead of their boss, or their party. They
> would know that corruption and incompetence could actually cost them a
> seat on the gravy train. They might even start serving the community
> instead of themselves.

> Would this lead to chaos in a civil service already stretched to
> breaking point? Would civil servants leave government employ in
> droves? Would the unions never allow it? It is the incompetent time-
> servers already in government who are responsible for the current
> crisis. Getting rid of them could only improve the situation, like
> removing poison from your body.   South Africa’s problem is
> unemployment - there are literally millions waiting for a chance to
> prove themselves by taking over the jobs of departing civil servants.
> Even if the new guys are useless, at least we now have a mechanism for
> sorting the wheat from the chaff.  Of course the unions would oppose
> such a proposal. They oppose anything that threatens their comfortable
> stranglehold on the country and the economy. But nothing worthwhile is
> achieved without effort.

> As a  South African citizen, your one chance in 5 years to make your
> voice heard is here now! For a few brief months all the politicians
> are actually listening to what you have to say. Use this rare
> opportunity to insist that you will only vote for a party that
> supports the concept of a citizens’ recall.