When I go to cast my vote in the municipal elections
today (Nov 1 2021), I will recall the first time I had cast my ballot in the
first democratic elections on April 27 1994.
At that time, I was looking forward to cast my ballot
because the elections would be ushering in a new non-racial and democratic South
Africa after more than 300 years of colonial and white minority rule.
Tens of thousands of liberation fighters had paid
their ultimate price for the freedom that was being ushered in and thousands of
others had sacrificed their lives and families by being imprisoned on Robben
Island and other prisons throughout the country. Thousands, others had also
been banned, house-arrested, detained and denied their fundamental human rights
of freedom of speech, association and movement.
I remember clearly joining a long queue in the
Sandringham area of Johannesburg to cast my ballot. I had at first filed a
number of reports for the Press Trust of India (PTI) and several international
radio stations that I had been working for at that time.
I was over-joyed that the elections would see Nelson
Mandela being elected the first president of our new non-racial and democratic
South Africa and confident that the ANC would be elected the new government in
a post-apartheid South Africa. I was
overjoyed that I would see our new non-racial and democratic country becoming a
country where all people would have the opportunities to improve their
educational standards; to enter the business world – whether big, medium or
small; to create job opportunities; to
create opportunities for the business world to thrive in an open environment
where the workers would also benefit to improve their lives and create a better
future for all.
But today(Nov 1 2021), 27 years later, I am not
that overjoyed to cast my ballot because the party that we had aligned
ourselves with and supported during the liberation struggles, is no longer the
party of the Mandelas, Govan Mbekis, Walter Sisulus, Albertina Sisulus, and Ahmed
Kathradas.
It has over the past two decades or so become deeply
divided and riddled with factions and breakaways; accused of becoming the home
of those who want to further their own nests through fraud and corruption at
the expense of the ordinary people who live on the verges of our society; and a
party that has been accused of allowing state entities such as Escom, SAA, and Transnet
to degenerate and collapse.
The ruling party has also been accused of allowing
unemployment to escalate through the failure of lack of job creation and
creating the impression among the poor and unemployed that the state will
continue to provide for them. The culture of self-reliance has taken a back
seat.
But despite all these failings, leaders of the ruling
party have gone around the country to continue to garner the support of the
people.
Whether the ruling party will be able to attract the
support of most of its die-hard supporters from the early days will be watched
with keen interest! Talking to many
South Africans of all shades, I found that most of them had felt that they had
been let down by all the divisions; fraud and corruption; and the failure to grow
the economy.
They had expected people with morals, values and
principles to be associated with the former liberation movement. But, unfortunately,
many who now join the former freedom movement do so not because of any
convictions to improve the development of the country and the people but they
do so to see how they can enrich themselves, and their friends, family members
and associates at municipal, provincial and national levels. Loading themselves
with tons of cash has become the new order and not the development of the new
South Africa and most of its people.
The other political parties and independent local
parties and candidates are also no better. Most of them have joined the race to
see how they could continue to load their bank balances and enrich themselves
on the backs of the poor, the marginalised, and the even the ratepayers and
taxpayers.
Promises are being made left, right and centre by all
the political parties, scores of small political parties and independent
candidates that they will work in the interests of the people in their wards
and constituencies. But whether they will keep to their promises is another
matter altogether.
In any case, whatever our doubts, we have to be
positive. We have to give them the space to show the people that after being
elected they would continue to communicate with the residents as to matters
that affect the lives of the people on an every day basis. These include the
dirt, filth and rubbish that continues to contaminate our roads and streets;
the continuous break in water and electricity supplies; the failure to repair
and fix broken water pipes and electricity cables; the disappearance of open
spaces and playlots in former disadvantaged areas; and the fraud and corruption
that have become an every day affair in most municipalities and Metros.
Twenty-seven years later we cannot hope for
candidates who have liberation morals, values and principles. But surely, we
can hope for political parties and people who want to become councillors
because they have a desire to work in the interests of the people and to improve
the conditions in their different cities, towns and wards. That will be asking
too much but nothing better than having some hope. So when you join the queue to vote tomorrow think
about the individual or party before you cast your precious ballot. Ask
yourself whether the individual or party will work in the interests of the
people by ensuring that essential services such as clean water and electricity
will be provided for all the people and whether the environment in the
different cities, towns and residential areas are clean and tidy for the people
to live in. You must also ask yourself with the municipality or metro will work
in the interests of the people by creating jobs for all people and not only for
their cadres and for their “yes men” and “yes women”.
Twenty-seven years into the new non-racial
and democratic South Africa most people are fed up with all the deterioration
and degeneration in their towns and cities, failure to deliver proper municipal
services like water and electricity, failure to create a crime-free
environment, failure to create opportunities for the improvement of the economy
and a failure to create a positive climate among the people. Ends, Oct 31 2021 –
subrygovender@gmail.com
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