President Jacob Zuma eventually abandoned the Cosatu May Day rally after a hostile reception from the crowd. He may have left the event, but this in no way means that he will leave the highest office in the land.
But his departure represents a victory for ordinary people against the audacity of an arrogant political elite.
Although the "disruptive" workers were castigated by the leadership of Cosatu and the ANC in the province as lacking discipline, they were merely giving expression to Cosatu's own central executive committee (CEC) decision that Zuma should step down.
The workers were calling to order a disruptive and ill-disciplined leadership who opted to override the will of the workers as expressed in the CEC resolution. They demonstrated where the true power lies, which is what Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini and his counterparts in the ANC and SACP seem to have forgotten.
Cosatu workers joined a growing chorus of civil society organisations and ANC stalwarts calling on Zuma to throw in the towel.
The value of this movement against Zuma is not that it will succeed in compelling the president to resign or be recalled, that is unlikely to happen. The significance of the chanters that foiled the May Day rally - and of all those mobilising against the president - is that they are reclaiming the rightful place of the people in this constitutional democracy.
The very ethos of democracy is that the people should govern. That they delegate authority to representatives doesn't mean they have surrendered their agency.
Zuma's administration with its tendency towards kleptocracy is a manifestation of just what happens when power is concentrated in one political party, and that party is hijacked in the pursuit of narrow interests.
Luckily, as much as South Africa is in a bad space as a result, it has not yet plunged into a constitutional crisis.
Questions about the legitimacy of a president whom the Constitutional Court pronounced to have violated his oath of office and about the legitimacy of a parliament that failed to sanction that president are valid.
This situation illustrates the flaw of placing too much confidence in the governing party's capacity to inculcate the core pillars of democratic practice: accountability, transparency and rule of law.
When the governing party has the majority in parliament, controls the executive by electing its own president as head of state and government, we cannot expect separation of powers and checks and balances to operate optimally. It is wishful thinking to expect the party to oppose itself.
In embracing collective responsibility, the governing party commits itself to defending and protecting itself and its leaders - at times blindly and foolishly as with the Nkandla debacle.
This has not suddenly become a problem under Zuma's administration. It has always been a problem. It is just more glaring now because he more flagrantly disregards the values of good governance and corrodes the integrity of state institutions.
As society decries the excesses of this administration, it's important not to forget that Zuma won power through the ballot, just like former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela.
There is indeed an attempted hostile takeover of the state being mounted through cronyism and corruption by politicians and public officials. But this has not yet resulted in the complete rubbishing of SA's constitutional democratic framework.
Zuma's resignation or recall is not the only recourse that remains. Two opportunities remain for ordinary citizens to save South Africa.
The first is in December 2017 where members of the ANC, if they reclaim their power through branches, can turn the tide against the rot consuming the party from the inside. I wouldn't bank on it though.
The second is in 2019 where voters will have an opportunity to recreate the party system by entrenching power sharing through coalition government at national and provincial levels, diffusing power among political parties in the executive and legislature. This will breathe new life into the checks and balances built into the political system.
Voters have power to stop rot in the ANC
President Jacob Zuma eventually abandoned the Cosatu May Day rally after a hostile reception from the crowd. He may have left the event, but this in no way means that he will leave the highest office in the land.
But his departure represents a victory for ordinary people against the audacity of an arrogant political elite.
Although the "disruptive" workers were castigated by the leadership of Cosatu and the ANC in the province as lacking discipline, they were merely giving expression to Cosatu's own central executive committee (CEC) decision that Zuma should step down.
The workers were calling to order a disruptive and ill-disciplined leadership who opted to override the will of the workers as expressed in the CEC resolution. They demonstrated where the true power lies, which is what Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini and his counterparts in the ANC and SACP seem to have forgotten.
Cosatu workers joined a growing chorus of civil society organisations and ANC stalwarts calling on Zuma to throw in the towel.
The value of this movement against Zuma is not that it will succeed in compelling the president to resign or be recalled, that is unlikely to happen. The significance of the chanters that foiled the May Day rally - and of all those mobilising against the president - is that they are reclaiming the rightful place of the people in this constitutional democracy.
The very ethos of democracy is that the people should govern. That they delegate authority to representatives doesn't mean they have surrendered their agency.
Zuma's administration with its tendency towards kleptocracy is a manifestation of just what happens when power is concentrated in one political party, and that party is hijacked in the pursuit of narrow interests.
Luckily, as much as South Africa is in a bad space as a result, it has not yet plunged into a constitutional crisis.
Questions about the legitimacy of a president whom the Constitutional Court pronounced to have violated his oath of office and about the legitimacy of a parliament that failed to sanction that president are valid.
This situation illustrates the flaw of placing too much confidence in the governing party's capacity to inculcate the core pillars of democratic practice: accountability, transparency and rule of law.
When the governing party has the majority in parliament, controls the executive by electing its own president as head of state and government, we cannot expect separation of powers and checks and balances to operate optimally. It is wishful thinking to expect the party to oppose itself.
In embracing collective responsibility, the governing party commits itself to defending and protecting itself and its leaders - at times blindly and foolishly as with the Nkandla debacle.
This has not suddenly become a problem under Zuma's administration. It has always been a problem. It is just more glaring now because he more flagrantly disregards the values of good governance and corrodes the integrity of state institutions.
As society decries the excesses of this administration, it's important not to forget that Zuma won power through the ballot, just like former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela.
There is indeed an attempted hostile takeover of the state being mounted through cronyism and corruption by politicians and public officials. But this has not yet resulted in the complete rubbishing of SA's constitutional democratic framework.
Zuma's resignation or recall is not the only recourse that remains. Two opportunities remain for ordinary citizens to save South Africa.
The first is in December 2017 where members of the ANC, if they reclaim their power through branches, can turn the tide against the rot consuming the party from the inside. I wouldn't bank on it though.
The second is in 2019 where voters will have an opportunity to recreate the party system by entrenching power sharing through coalition government at national and provincial levels, diffusing power among political parties in the executive and legislature. This will breathe new life into the checks and balances built into the political system.
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