A young South African's decision

This is so long overdue from me. I’ve been watching the country’s political scene, and I must say it was quite interesting to be living in these times. Now all the drama has gone by and one sits back and wonders if the ruling party feels that we as citizens are stupid or if it thinks it is smart.

I got to a point where I was, like, wow, it’s amazing that 14 years down the line, one really gets the idea that we are not living in a democracy. I don’t know what to call the state in which we live, but democracy is most definitely not the word I would use.

Fourteen years down the line and we have in-fighting within the ruling party. Its youth organisation is ruled by someone who had to be called to order because he is somehow still stuck in the days of apartheid when we still had things or people to kill for. I get that Peter Mokaba is his hero, but please, this dude is not even 30 yet; can he get with the times?

I really find what we are living in right now to be sort of sad, to the point where I am asking myself whether I will bother voting come next year. Yes, I stand by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. For me, voting seems to be a waste of time. The fact that we are still voting for a party and not an individual is a contentious issue, I believe.

Think about it this way: since we are voting for a party and not a person — yet the ruling party votes for a presidential successor approximately 14 months before the state president’s term ends — this sort of defeats the purpose, because what would prevent what has happened to Mbeki from happening again? We all know that generally the ruling party’s president is automatically the president of the country.

The next time that the party “loses” faith in its leader and it votes him out of power, will it then not recall him or her too? So, in essence, voting for a party still leaves you at the mercy of its decisions as a party.

Most of us had voted for Thabo to come into power and felt that he was a great president for the country. He might not have been awesome as a party leader but he did wonders for the country. He did so much for the African continent as well for the upliftment of women. I have to admit that I had moments when I wondered why the man was the country’s president since at some point he was more in other countries than in his own, but when you look back on what he did not only for the country but the continent as well, you really start wondering if his being recalled was merely a case of party before country or if the ruling party really had lost faith in him. No agendas at all. Yes, Kgalema is competent — I do not take that away from him at all, but I had no say in the decision to have him be my ruler. It is an issue that still leaves me cold.

I commend the MPs, DGs and other Cabinet ministers for leaving with Thabo, though. In their positions I think I would have done the same. Politics in South Africa have become a big, fat, mudslinging, agenda-bearing joke. At times I guess it’s true when they say that artists use art to show the truth, yet politicians have the art of covering the truth. And sadly some of us Model-C types can squirm all we want, but at the end of the day this country is ruled by the working class and we don’t stand a chance against it. The majority has made its support for Zuma quite clear and we all must just grin and bear it. So, to all those who are voting, I hope you make a choice that works for you, but personally, I’m good, thank you.