Why X still marks the spot for the ANC

Submitted by Phaphama Dulwana

It’s certainly not Thabo Mbeki’s dazzling smile on the ballot papers, or the great service delivery in our country. It’s certainly not the unity inside the African National Congress either. So why are the majority of voters throwing away their votes to the ever-crumbling ANC?

Fear! This is the only reason why the ANC is still the X that marks the spot in government. People are afraid of the unknown, afraid of searching for greener pastures.

The oppression era crippled people with fear; it engraved a sense of fear that is still today a fresh wound to the core of black voters. People are tired of getting useless results, but they would rather suffer than vote for a “white government”.

Are we so crippled by the scars of oppression that we have actually turned a blind eye to the incapability of our ruling party in delivering results? Is the ANC taking advantage of its historical stature during the freedom struggle, to make the public feel indebted to it? Isn’t it time that people demanded superior service or sought alternatives to provide this superiority? These are questions that bombard my mind every day.

James Moroko, Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, Olivier Tambo and Govan Mbeki are just some of the men who have made the African National Congress. These are men of integrity, honour, wisdom and intelligence; men who humbled themselves to the people. They are the embodiment of passion. Where is that passion now?

We are obligated to watch as these great leaders’ devotion to the people are ridiculed by reinforcing them with corrupt, malicious, flamboyant excuses for real men who simply perpetuate violence by creating a cheer (Umshini Wami) by which criminals celebrate every time another criminal is acquitted.

Jacob Zuma is an insult to the stature of the men who have served as president of the ANC. He will never possess half the integrity these great presidents had, yet the “people” voted for him to become leader of the ANC.

If the ANC wins the upcoming national elections, it is inevitable that he will officially be the country’s president — my people’s president, my beloved country’s president. Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa! (And who will be the first lady?)

Let’s see how that will work out. Zuma will be responsible for his own downfall. He will be the “brains” (laughs) that will run the country (straight down). Let’s just hope our foreign investors like singing and dancing clowns, and let’s just hope his singing is good enough to secure those investors. At least if the politics thing doesn’t work out, he could always start a music career.

But it is pretty clear that Zuma is doing something right, with all the support he has secured (or maybe his followers are naive?) — especially among women; they seem to go mad for our prospective president. perhaps all secretly wishing to be wife number 100.

It is disgusting to see a woman (I know, there’s freedom of choice and expression) acting as a staunch Zuma supporter. To me it’s mind-boggling seeing this reaction from our mothers. I felt despair when Zuma was acquitted in his rape trial and women marched and cheered the verdict. As a black young woman, I started to realise how fragile this so-called “womanhood” is that we claim to have. I felt betrayed and still do every time I see a woman wearing a JZ T-shirt with the words “Innocent till proven guilty” boldly printed on it.

What if our future president is found guilty of the corruption charges still pending? Not a big intellectual loss, but we will be left with that pathetic Cabinet of back-up singers. I’m praying hard for this country. How are we trying to portray our country to the outside world? Do we believe so much in the rehabilitation of criminals that we would bet our country’s presidency on it? What message is being sent to criminals in the streets — that crime is alright, that as long as you have enough money and power to buy the justice system, you can get away with anything?

Today it is all about money and power; that’s why there is so much fraud and corruption in the government. Politics has lost its essence — the science of effective, efficient governance. This no longer exists in the government. Why would there be when many public servants are uneducated and unskilled to perform in their posts?

Are we so possessive of black rule in our country that we would stoop to such low standards? Once again we are proving the number-one point of the oppression era — that “the black man by birthright is incapable of leadership”. This is the bitter truth to swallow, but it’s fast becoming our reality. The current government is incapable of taking care of its people. The oppressors must be smiling wherever in hell they are, watching the government ripping itself to shreds just like they had predicted it would. Our government is a joke and an embarrassment.

The ANC today is an insult to the great people in its past; the people who led us to freedom. The ANC stood for unity among all Africans, regardless of race or gender. The rift in the ANC is becoming more eminent (Mandela, we need a little magic please) and it is affecting the entire country. It’s enough to cripple the party, given time, and it is ammunition for other parties to kick a dog while it is down and ultimately shatter the wings of the ANC.

The ANC is a great party, but with all these defects it could crumble. It should start reclaiming its greatness — not by empty promises, but with strong actions. The only reason people are still putting that X next to the ANC is because of blatant fear of the unknown. Unfortunately fear is temporary and voters might soon have the courage to seek greener pastures. Then the ANC will be a has-been quietly losing supporters and fading away, a party you will hear of in shebeens when the men boast about feeble things like belonging to the ANC once upon a time.

To many the ruling party is a living dream. ANC, do not commit suicide. To many you are, still, hope!

Phaphama Dulwana is a second-year public-management student at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. She is highly interested in politics and current affairs, and in how the youth respond to the situation in the country. She enjoys writing about issues that stimulate debate, especially among the youth, and is all for social development and the empowerment of young women