SOUTH AFRICANS CASTIGATE POLITICIANS ON FREEDOM DAY - POLITICIANS ONLY INTERESTED IN THEIR OWN POCKETS

WHAT FREEDOM - ASK YOUNG PEOPLE? South Africans today celebrated 23 years of freedom when they went to the polls on 27th April 1994 to move away from white minority rule and apartheid and vote for a non-racial and democratic future. But as South Africans observed this historical day – thousands of people had taken part in a rally to regain this freedom because they claimed President Jacob Zuma has allowed the country to be captured by some of his business friends. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has indirectly accused Zuma of this state capture by calling for a judicial commission of inquiry into this claim and for those responsible to account for their actions. Ramaphosa’s bold call has thrown open once again the poisonous struggle for leadership within the ruling ANC and the country as a whole on this the 23rd year of South Africa’s freedom and democracy. Subry Govender writes that many South Africans say the factionalism in the ruling ANC are not in the interested of the marginalised and disadvantaged. On Freedom Day, South Africans have come out in the open to say they have had enough of corrupt and unscrupulous politicians. They were referring to the deep divisions with the ruling ANC elite and the protest marches against President Jacob Zuma. I spoke to young South Africans at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and asked them about 23 years of Freedom and what they thought about the scramble for power within the ruling ANC.

(Pumelelo Tshalala and his friend, Jabulo Ndima) Pumelelo Tshabalala, a 23-year-old social science student, said he had expected a great deal in the new South Africa but politicians had not lived up to their commitments. “The leaders we have today are just here for money purposes, promoting their own interests,” he said. His colleague, 23-year-old Jabulo Ndima, was just as disillusioned. Hailing from a working class background, he wanted political leaders to work in the interests of the poor and marginalised and not just to promote their own pockets. “It seems we have to concentrate on our studies and obtain a decent qualification in order to improve the lives of our family and ourselves,” he said.

(Ms Thobile Mkhize (left), Ms Andile Dimande (Centre) and Ms Snekuke Zungu) A 24-year-old psychology student, Ms Thobile Mkhize, and her two friends, Ms Andile Dimande, 19, a law student, and Ms Snekuke Zungu, 27, were all pessimistic whether the ruling elite would bring about changes to improve the lives of the masses. Said Ms Mkhize: “We still struggling a lot and we still fighting for what our parents had fought for. I don’t trust anyone and to be honest I don’t vote. I am not for anyone because they all work around the same strategies.” Ms Zungu, who is a political science student, said 23 years of freedom was only for the rich. “You know the ANC and the regeneration of power, that’s how it operates. When it’s about election time, they regroup, they group into smaller little clans and they scramble against each other for power.” Andile Ndimande said factions within the ruling party is not in the interests of the country. “If there’s factions in the party that is going to leave us in a compromising position as a nation. Things are bad already and nothing is going to change, still the same things,” she said.

(Xolani Radebe) Xolani Radebe, 36, has obtained two degrees in sociology and is now studying for his masters. He says he has found it difficult to obtain a job and earns a living by selling all kinds of goods. He said politicians only wanted to enrich themselves. He said: “When you look at Africa you find out that the ruling elites always get big with their families. For instance, the Zuma family was not known before he became a president. But now suddenly his family are multi-millionaires. The one leader that will win at the end of this year come will inherit what President Thabo Mbeki and President Zuma did. And I think there are other external forces of which our government is subjected to.”

(Kuhlekako Umtatuli) A young woman activist who is the president of the SRC, – Kuhlekako Umtatuli, said leaders must fulfil the promise of restoring land to the people and ensuring that the masses become fully involved in the radical transformation of the economy. “I believe that South Africans are angry and we need to start directing our anger to the direct channels. Is it really the state? Because who is the state captured by, it’s captured by white business, the minority. The main concern I am having in politics overall, starting from communities and institutions and all other power struggle structures is the level of corruption and we are not finding enough leaders speaking out against corruoption.”

(Political analyst, Zakele Ndlovu) Political analyst, Zakele Ndlovu, said the anti-Zuma protest demonstration on Freedom Day and the deep divisions within the ruling ANC would cause serious problems for the ANC to retain political power after 2019. Since Zuma emerged as leader in 2009, the ANC has seen two major ruptures with disgruntled leaders establishing breakaway parties such as the Congress of the People under the command of a former Minister of Defence, Mosioua Lekota, and the Economic Freedom Fighters, under the leadership of former ANC youth league strongman, Julius Maleman. Ndlovu said the ANC had become deeply fractured over the past 10 years. “I think what you have seen in the last decade or so is that the ANC is really struggling to manage this factionalism which is tearing the ANC apart. “They may not lose power in 2019 but their support is going to decline significantly. Right now they are sitting at 62.4 percent if I am not mistaken. Come 2019 I can see the support coming down to low 50s if not below 50,” he said. On the 23rd anniversary of South Africa’s Freedom Day, Z the people in general should be looking to a brighter future for all. But from all accounts, it seems that the political wrangles within the ruling ANC between the pro and anti-Zuma factions will have serious implications for the masses struggling to overcome massive poverty, rising unemployment and growing inequality between the rich and poor on a daily basis. Whether Cyril Ramaphosa or Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will be able to unite the factions and bring about the socio-economic changes necessary for the stable development of the country – will be keenly watched over the next few months in the run-up to the election of the next ANC leader in December. The political divide will continue even though Ramaphosa shared a Freedom Day platform with Zuma at the main government function in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com