Editorial: Distracted

On the week of 4 July — the fabled American Independence Day — Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie delivered the keynote address at the US embassy’s celebrations. In a typically beguiling sermon, he urged the hosts not to judge South Africans based on the worst among us. Namely, those who would sing Kill the Boer, as was broadcast from the Oval Office itself.

A month later and it is he who has to account for hateful language. Following his challenge to racism against coloureds on a podcast, the amorphous antagonism of the internet responded

It is an unfortunate development for the government of national unity (GNU). A few weeks ago, we dedicated this space to applauding the ministerial accountability demonstrated

But this saga is the same stale politicking that we are well accustomed to. The high-minded ideas and intentions of our political space are invariably forced back down to the lowest denominator.

McKenzie has defended his right to use the word. Whether he has a point is largely inconsequential to the consequences we face as a country: more noise pollution in lieu of stable governance.

Social media sniping is nothing new. It’s as asinine as it is predictable. Which makes one wonder if President Cyril Ramaphosa — or anyone in government — gives any energy to vetting the digital personas of those considered for leadership positions. This is not the first such incident we have had to confront recently and it won’t be the last.

South Africa cannot afford these types of distractions. One of the few things we can all agree on is that we are at a pivotal point in our history. Meaningful political collaboration — in the form of the GNU or not — is imperative to righting the economic realities that are hobbling us. Noise distracts from that mission.

And that is exactly what this saga, set to play out across our news pages for the foreseeable future, will yield. However it ends, we will lose.