My brief for this book is not clear. Professor Eddy Maloka came together with the publisher, Mothobi Mutloatse, and dropped the book and left.
It is both a privilege and a test to respond to Professor Eddy Maloka’s thought-provoking book, South Africa’s Second Chance – The Case for a Second Republic.
I asked: why the Second Republic and not the Third?
Maloka presents a historical analysis that is incredibly descriptive (not dry at all) yet not purely academic in the old-fashion text book manner. Rather, the author takes us on a grand tour of critical moments, in Haiti, Ghana and Ethiopia, explaining how those moments have shaped South Africa’s trajectory.
His thoughts and analysis in this book being brutally honest and deeply reflective, stray away from traditional historical comparison. The examination of political leadership, state governance, and the unfinished business of transformation are also salient issues and debates that require much more reflection, detail and dialogue from all of us and all those who care about the future.
And perhaps it is also for this reason that the book is timely in its urgent call to confront the realities of a nation that, despite decades of democracy, remains burdened by its past and uncertain about its future.
The book is a timely intervention and contribution to the ongoing debates about the South Africa we envision or aspire to. Although the author’s vision is not solely unique, the book serves as a symbol of a mood and a set of questions that the population is thinking and feeling…with self-critique bubbling under the surface of a pot lid that may seem to boil over at any point.
Prof. Maloka’s work captures this heat and collective emotive response – a sense of the need for reflection and reckoning – offering a critical space for re-evaluating the country’s direction, as any history book should do.
His concept of a Second Republic seeks to correct the flaws of post-apartheid governance, advocating for a new governance paradigm rooted in self-reliance, technocratic efficiency, and substantive grassroots empowerment.
His call for a self-reliant mindset resonates deeply with vivid imagery of a society paralysed by dependence on the state.
Prof. Maloka’s vision demands a government driven by competency and integrity rather than loyalty to political factions.
Although the author does not entirely pinpoint exact steps and methods to achieve his vision of a Second Republic in South Africa, he represents a starting point for more dialogue, more questions, more debate, and more understanding of South Africa, its people, and its politics.
His work is an invitation to engage with the complexities of governance, national identity, and political responsibility.
However, Does Prof. Maloka make a strong case for a Second Republic, one must ask?
Have we exhausted the possibilities within our current constitutional framework?
Or is the call for a new republic an implicit admission that the present system has failed beyond repair?
Maloka’s analysis of constitutionalism is insufficient. He does not provide a strong enough case for how South Africa’s constitution has failed us or explain in depth the pillars and structure of constitutional governance.
Constitutionalism evolves in phases, yet Prof. Maloka does not explore how South Africa’s constitutional framework has adapted—or failed to adapt—to its challenges. If the argument for a Second Republic hinges on constitutional failure, then a deeper critique of the current system’s shortcomings would be necessary.
Prof. Maloka’s assertion in Chapter 10 The Case for a Second Republic, of which he opens with a disclaimer: “the conclusion, if you are still not convinced don’t worry , I am to blame… may be telling.”
This brings us to the doctrine of the separation of powers.
The Constitutional Court of South Africa offers an explanation of constitutional supremacy and the separation of powers:
“A crucial function of a constitution – and one of the classic features of democracies – is the division of power among the three pillars of government.
“Constitutions protect democracy by separating state power into three arms.
(a) The legislature (parliament, the provincial legislatures and local councils) makes the laws and monitors the executive;
(b) the executive (the president, deputy president and ministers) makes policy, proposes laws and implements laws passed by the legislature; and
(c) the judiciary tries cases and administers justice.
“The judiciary is unique in that it is not elected but is independent. This means no one can interfere in the work of the Constitutional Court and the other courts in the country.
“In practice this means each arm of the state keeps watch over the power of the others. The courts can judge the actions of the legislature and the executive but cannot pass laws. The legislature can make laws but cannot hand down judgments or take executive action.”
However, the principle of judicial review in a constitutional democracy creates the impression that the judiciary has the last word whenever a dispute arises.
We are thus presented with a further balancing act where challenges arise in ensuring that the executive does not wield its authority without being contained by the other pillars of government.
Prof. Maloka alludes to the fact that History is the best teacher… however history is only the best teacher depending on the lessons one draws from it and the lens through which one chooses to view it. Oversimplified narratives fail to do justice to the resilience and agency of nations and people.
In an article published in 1942 titled, “Defects in Party Education”, Moses Kotane the then General Secretary of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), motivates an approach and explains why we study history to understand the historical context of the power and politics of knowledge:
The Aims of Education
“We must study history to know and understand the story of man’s development through the ages – the various forms of his social organisation and the causes of the rise and fall of those forms of human relationships.
“We should know that at some time in the course of their history, peoples of other countries also suffered political, economic and social injustices just as we Non-Europeans do in South Africa. We should also know what they did in order to free themselves – their setbacks and the secret of their eventful successes.”
In conclusion, the book encourages us to confront uncomfortable truths about our past, present, and future. The late Prof. Keorapetse Kgositsile in his poem entitled: “The Present is a Dangerous Place to Live”, writes past, present and future as one word, and says “pastpresentandfuture is always now!”. Meaning that despite periodisation, history cannot be sliced up like a loaf of bread.
Whether one agrees with Prof. Maloka’s vision of a Second Republic or not, his book leaves no room for complacency and impels us to try and understand the nuance that is often missing in our discussion.
Thank you.
