Amandla Didiza

I see many South Africans asking why smart, articulate, educated and capable young people with private-sector or civil-society experience are not going into politics. The answer is simpler than you think. 1. The moment you take on a real political role, you are designated domestically as a “politically exposed person” under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. Schedule 3A covers party leaders, ministers, premiers, executive mayors and a long list of senior positions. Banks then have to dig into your source of wealth, get senior approval to keep dealing with you and monitor you more closely. For someone used to working for your money and living a normal financial life, that extra layer of scrutiny is a real deterrent. Simply put, the system is unintentionally manufacturing the current list of options for voters. 2. Party funding is extremely concentrated. A handful of big donors and public money tied to existing seats dominate the system. Michiel le Roux’s Fynbos entities have poured hundreds of millions into the DA over the years, sometimes accounting for nearly half of its declared donations in a quarter. The Oppenheimers have been major funders of several opposition parties. For its part, the ruling party has relied heavily on party-linked trusts, individuals and investment vehicles. The problems caused by their running out of funds are well known and long-standing. My point is this: if you're a new or outsider voice, you'll struggle to compete with those longstanding relationships and established political networks. 3. On top of that, the personal trade-offs are steep. Corporate salaries and career mobility usually beat political pay. 4. Party structures reward loyalty over pure competence. Never mind the risk of being pulled into scandals, the unending and unforgiving public scrutiny, and the limited room to actually change things; it makes politics a bad deal for anybody with real options. So, capable people aren’t staying out because they don’t care. Many are staying out because the incentives, rules and structures make it a low-return, high-risk choice compared with the private sector.