The ANC gets a wake up call

By Marimuthu Subramoney
(aka Subry Govender)

The ruling ANC has received a wake up call.
Despite notching up a comfortable 61 percent of the votes of the 18 million people who cast their ballots in last Wednesday's local government elections, the ANC appears not to have attracted a significant percentage of the non-African people who had supported the struggle prior to 1994.
These people are situated mainly in the Western Cape; the area of Port Elizabeth and other urban districts of the Eastern Cape; certain areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria; and the Metropolitan area of Durban, the north and south of Durban, Pietermaritburg and other urban areas in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
These people turned up in their hundreds of thousands to vote for the Democratic Alliance(DA). This support helped Helen Zille and the DA to notch up 24 percent of the votes nationally.
What is the reason for this? Why would those who fully supported the anti-apartheid struggles now turn against the very organisation that portrays itself as a non-racial and democratic organisation?
One of the people who voted for the DA at a polling booth in Verulam was blunt:
"I didn't vote for the ANC simply because many of their leaders are not giving the country a good name with their continued talk of racism, nationalisation and confiscation of land.
"Nationalisation has not worked in any country in the world but yet these people are demanding nationalisation."
Another voter who cast his ballot in Tongaat expressed similar views.
"Some of these people have adopted the same attitude of the former apartheid rulers. They believe they can just dictate and the people will accept it. Well I can tell you that it's because of this attitude many people have turned away from the ANC. The people want to see a strong opposition so that the ANC can be kept in check."
Yet another person who registered his vote in Phoenix said he did not care who was in power but expected the government "to create opportunities for all people to take care of themselves".
"We cannot create a culture of expectancy. The government must develop an atmosphere where businesses will be able to flourish and where they will be able to create jobs for the people. The government cannot create jobs outside government departments.
"The ordinary person must able to look after oneself rather than looking to the government for handouts."
In addition to these people who cast their ballots for the DA, there were thousands of others went to the polls but did not vote for any party. They spoilt their ballot papers. Many of these disgruntled folk were former struggle activists who indicated that they felt let down by the ANC.
Said one former activist who lives in Verulam:
"The ANC of today is not the same ANC that I struggled for. Many of those in the ANC today have thrown our values and principles through the window. I, therefore, could not vote for the ANC or any other party. I will vote for the ANC once again once the current crop of leaders promote the values of the Nelson Mandelas, Walter Sisulus, Govan Mbekis, Ahmed Kathradas, Billy Nairs and Fatima Meers.
"Meantime, the ANC leaders must go back to the drawing room and ask themselves why so many people are turning their backs on the organisation?"
The ANC has reacted to its loss of support in several communities and has announced that it will discuss the latest developments. The ANC said it would like to find out why these communities have turned away from the ruling party.
However, at the same time it stated that racism was also at play as some people within these communities believe "African people cannot rule".
There's no doubt whatsoever that there are many who display this "racist" behaviour but for the vast majority of people, all they would like to see is a government that takes a firm stance against bribery and corruption, wastage, misuse of state resources, and action against civil servants at local, provincial and national levels who display arrogant and uncaring attitudes to members of the public. They would also like to see an effective police force and leaders who promote inclusivity rather than division through racist statements. They would also like to see opportunities being created for all instead of the state introducing regulations that are reminiscent of the apartheid era.
The question that many people are asking is whether the ruling ANC will take into account the reasons why many people are turning against it. Or will it adopt a "dog in the manger" attitude since it believes that it will continue to win elections for some time to come and that its detractors can "go and jump in the lake".