Disgruntled: the word to describe the attitude of
South Africans today towards the national government. Plagued by corruption, abysmal
service delivery, and the intra-ANC-politicking that distracted from good
politics (see: Mangaung Conference) that happened throughout the Zuma
administration, it is no wonder South Africans are exhausted by the ANC's
national rule.
The Democratic Alliance has taken it upon itself (as a sort of self-appointed job) to bring the myriad of Zuma-led ANC issues to the table for the public to assess -- they are the official opposition after all. But I suppose that's the ultimate issue with the DA: they're too focused on being in the opposition, rather than attempting to lead.
With winning the Western Cape during 2009 elections, the province has become their prime example on those rare occasions when the DA tells you how it's going to govern. "Look how clean, litter-free it is," they beam about their pride and joy, Cape Town. An important aspect to note is that Cape Town was always like that. Cape Town was always well-managed & cleanly due to being a key tourism point -- it serves as a Mediterranean-esque getaway in Africa. They haven't pulled a miraculous revamp like Mayor Abraham Beame had with New York City in the 1970s -- not that the DA hasn't been provided the opportunity to prove themselves in this manner. On the West side of Table Mountain, poorer, predominately black and coloured communities live on a wide area known as the Cape Flats. Still stuck in their Apartheid classified "locations", these neighborhoods are ravaged by violence, crime, vandalism and drug problems and their accompanying gangs. The problems faced in '70s NYC and the Flats are blaringly obvious, and until they are solved by the DA, which is the moment when the party can boast about well-governed Western Cape.
The DA comes across as desperate, to the point where a person dismisses the party as a serious contender, not just the official opposition. The tipping point was their 12 minute video entitled "Know Your DA". The video outlined the role that Democratic Alliance members. Ignoring the fact that the DA was only officially founded in 2000, the video clutches at the history of apartheid heroine Helen Suzman. In the video, the DA illustrates its connection to the greatest struggle hero Nelson Mandela, by showing Suzman and Mandela embracing, as well as Mandela's words praising Suzman (and by extension, the DA). The motivation behind their video is understandable: relation to Mandela has made people vote for a party in the past, and the trend will probably continue. The issue is that Helen had never officially affiliated herself with the DA, whereas Mandela's history is certainly attributed to the ANC.
The video cheapens the ultimate goal of the DA. Perhaps it was a realistic strategy to undergo, but unfortunately backfired. The DA fails to show how it stands independent of the ANC -- even in campaigns to know the DA as a party fear, sticking to its "official opposition" title. The DA can only be considered a serious contender by the undecided voter the day they take themselves as a serious party, not just the official opposition.
But noting struggle credentials in South Africa is nothing new and has been the approach of the African National Congress since 1994.The ANC unfortunately has a monopoly over struggle heroes and exploits this for votes at the polls, so a person can excuse the DA's desperation.
In 1994, with big weights such as Mandela and Tambo in its history, the ANC passed the struggle credentials test, and continued riding its success. Struggle credentials were the key to bagging votes in 1994 -- by proving your party/its members role to defeat the Goliath Apartheid worked, and this approach has been taken ever since by the ANC.
The approach to voting in 1994 differs to what influences voters 20 years onwards. 2014 marks the election where born frees -- the generation born after 1994 who did not experience Apartheid -- are now old enough to vote and may have different motivations for voting than their parents. Post '94 babies (I suppose "adults" now) are disinterested in hearing about the past. They are appreciative of the actions done to defeat Apartheid, but a keen to know what will happen now and next. To them, the particularities of who did what for the struggle are a bore and are a point at which they cannot relate.
The older generation has also changed their motivation behind voting: the ANC throughout these last 4 years of national rule has ostracized itself with the middle and lower class voter. Harrowing screw-ups in education, failing health care facilities and unpopular policies such as the electronic tolling of national roads have the public fed up with ANC government. The citizen is looking for hope in a new political party. The voter wants a political party that focuses on the contemporary problems. The voter is looking for a national government that considers and values its opinion -- and in this search for a hopeful alternative is where Congress of the People (COPE) found its niche in the market in the 2009 national elections.
COPE, a break away from the ANC, quickly gain popularity, but with the same projectile, tanked. COPE's edge was offering an alternative to the ANC that stood for its core principles and is unable to be deterred. But with power struggles over who the new party's president should be vaporized their proposed image. The drama distracting from the good governance it promised as its edge. The intra-politicking showed, making COPE live up to the same manner as its root political party. Some votes still believed in the idea behind COPE, making this political party make contemporary history as the first party to win the most parliamentary seats in its first election.
COPE remains as a registered political party for the 2014 elections. With the power struggle sorted out by the judiciary and out of their way, COPE is finally prepared to fulfill its promised mandate. A major error from publicity perspective is that COPE had not campaigned its new organised and prepared party, leaving their image tarnished in long-gone supporters' eyes. The solution to the presidency issue was a minuscule report in major newspapers. COPE has become synonymous with disappointed hope -- the taste of change that went away before it could be problem. COPE is likely to fizzle after its (relative) bang of 2009.
COPE and 2009 elections illustrated the desperation of the voters which still lingers for the 2014, hoping that will be the year they are heard.
With the 2014 elections nearing, new political parties are springing up. Three are note-worthy entries
1) WASP
2) Agang
3) EFF
The Workers and Socialist Party (WASP)
Out from the Marikana tragedy where striking miners resulted in over 40 deaths, comes a worker-oriented political party. The party noted the Marikana massacre of last year was pre-empted by a lack of representation of the miners to the mine bosses, which lead to restlessness and a violent outcry for attention.
The issue with basing a political party on history or emotion provides the party a fleeting foundation -- ask the ANC. They have used the struggle against Apartheid as the ANC's main approach to winning elections and it becomes exhausted as people become disinterested and irritated by repeated information. A party needs to be greater than a historical happening, and clear about what they stand for independent of "not allowing the [insert historical piece here] to happen again."
Little has been heard from WASP post the week of launching and seems to be an idea unsupported by proper structures and media (as it always does), has moved onto the newer kid-on the block.
Agang
Beginning as a "political platform" where citizens can discuss their grievance with the status quo, Agang (the newer new-kid-on-the-block) has skilfully assess the problem with South Africa and resembles a similar approach to COPE during the previous elections. Agang seeks to motivate passive citizens to play an active role & centralizes its principles on the citizen as a key player in their country's governance.
Now officially registered as a political party lead by a struggle icon by Mamphela Ramphele, Agang was embraced with open arms. By engaging actively with youthful citizens on social media platforms, Agang brought the attitude that South Africans sought in COPE.
Agang shares similarities with COPE, bring the apprehension that it may suffer the same disappointing fate. Agang's diminishing popularity may not be its self-constructed demise, rather that South African's attention has been whisked up by the newest new-kid-on-the-block, EFF
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
Founded by dismissed ANC Youth President Julius Malema, EFF wants to fight the ever widening gap of between rich and poor, which runs close to racial lines due to the legacy of Apartheid. Much of Malema's radical babbling whilst ANCYL president is intended to become EFF policy.
As it stands now, EFF seems to be a boys' club filled with radical members. Malema is joined by Kenny Kunene, an obscenely wealthy business man who is known to spend money at a whim -- epitomizing exploitative capitalism through eating sushi off of women's bodies at his elaborate, multimillion Rand birthday parties spanning three days. The hypocrisy of standing for the poor but behaving like their "masters" is also evident in Malema who is also known to sport expensive items such as a Breitling watch and red beret -- the red beret becoming synonymous with the new party. Since forming the party, the two have denounced their previous ways and claim to have changed their lifestyle to suit their word.
Regardless, EFF's popularity is booming. Having well-known members, but this party features a few important aspects: firstly, Kenny Kunene through an open letter to President Zuma outlined the issues with his administration in an unapologetic, fearless manner, voicing what makes South Africans concur. Secondly, they have clearly established who they stand for and fight for; and thirdly, they have a brief policy on how they shall through various means, including nationalization of mines. They have taken the first step away from rhetoric, and shown clearly they are against what has made the ANC deter from its principles: corruption -- South Africans are jubilated and many have deposited their hope for this maturing democracy in the red beret (ignoring that its leader Malema is under investigation for a corruption charge).
After learning from the e-tolling saga, South Africans are beginning to adopt an active role in policy making; they are beginning to demand policy talk. We are maturing as democracy, with voters no longer enticed by politicians' rhetoric, rather by policies that they intend to adopt. The focus on policy drives for political parties to speak more about their policies, and restores hope for national government efficiency in years to come.
South Africans have been begging for viable governance since 2009, and with the 2014 elections, they are spoilt with choice. Whatever the outcome, what can be concluded is that the road is getting shorter for the ANC with each passing election.
The Democratic Alliance has taken it upon itself (as a sort of self-appointed job) to bring the myriad of Zuma-led ANC issues to the table for the public to assess -- they are the official opposition after all. But I suppose that's the ultimate issue with the DA: they're too focused on being in the opposition, rather than attempting to lead.
With winning the Western Cape during 2009 elections, the province has become their prime example on those rare occasions when the DA tells you how it's going to govern. "Look how clean, litter-free it is," they beam about their pride and joy, Cape Town. An important aspect to note is that Cape Town was always like that. Cape Town was always well-managed & cleanly due to being a key tourism point -- it serves as a Mediterranean-esque getaway in Africa. They haven't pulled a miraculous revamp like Mayor Abraham Beame had with New York City in the 1970s -- not that the DA hasn't been provided the opportunity to prove themselves in this manner. On the West side of Table Mountain, poorer, predominately black and coloured communities live on a wide area known as the Cape Flats. Still stuck in their Apartheid classified "locations", these neighborhoods are ravaged by violence, crime, vandalism and drug problems and their accompanying gangs. The problems faced in '70s NYC and the Flats are blaringly obvious, and until they are solved by the DA, which is the moment when the party can boast about well-governed Western Cape.
The DA comes across as desperate, to the point where a person dismisses the party as a serious contender, not just the official opposition. The tipping point was their 12 minute video entitled "Know Your DA". The video outlined the role that Democratic Alliance members. Ignoring the fact that the DA was only officially founded in 2000, the video clutches at the history of apartheid heroine Helen Suzman. In the video, the DA illustrates its connection to the greatest struggle hero Nelson Mandela, by showing Suzman and Mandela embracing, as well as Mandela's words praising Suzman (and by extension, the DA). The motivation behind their video is understandable: relation to Mandela has made people vote for a party in the past, and the trend will probably continue. The issue is that Helen had never officially affiliated herself with the DA, whereas Mandela's history is certainly attributed to the ANC.
The video cheapens the ultimate goal of the DA. Perhaps it was a realistic strategy to undergo, but unfortunately backfired. The DA fails to show how it stands independent of the ANC -- even in campaigns to know the DA as a party fear, sticking to its "official opposition" title. The DA can only be considered a serious contender by the undecided voter the day they take themselves as a serious party, not just the official opposition.
But noting struggle credentials in South Africa is nothing new and has been the approach of the African National Congress since 1994.The ANC unfortunately has a monopoly over struggle heroes and exploits this for votes at the polls, so a person can excuse the DA's desperation.
In 1994, with big weights such as Mandela and Tambo in its history, the ANC passed the struggle credentials test, and continued riding its success. Struggle credentials were the key to bagging votes in 1994 -- by proving your party/its members role to defeat the Goliath Apartheid worked, and this approach has been taken ever since by the ANC.
The approach to voting in 1994 differs to what influences voters 20 years onwards. 2014 marks the election where born frees -- the generation born after 1994 who did not experience Apartheid -- are now old enough to vote and may have different motivations for voting than their parents. Post '94 babies (I suppose "adults" now) are disinterested in hearing about the past. They are appreciative of the actions done to defeat Apartheid, but a keen to know what will happen now and next. To them, the particularities of who did what for the struggle are a bore and are a point at which they cannot relate.
The older generation has also changed their motivation behind voting: the ANC throughout these last 4 years of national rule has ostracized itself with the middle and lower class voter. Harrowing screw-ups in education, failing health care facilities and unpopular policies such as the electronic tolling of national roads have the public fed up with ANC government. The citizen is looking for hope in a new political party. The voter wants a political party that focuses on the contemporary problems. The voter is looking for a national government that considers and values its opinion -- and in this search for a hopeful alternative is where Congress of the People (COPE) found its niche in the market in the 2009 national elections.
COPE, a break away from the ANC, quickly gain popularity, but with the same projectile, tanked. COPE's edge was offering an alternative to the ANC that stood for its core principles and is unable to be deterred. But with power struggles over who the new party's president should be vaporized their proposed image. The drama distracting from the good governance it promised as its edge. The intra-politicking showed, making COPE live up to the same manner as its root political party. Some votes still believed in the idea behind COPE, making this political party make contemporary history as the first party to win the most parliamentary seats in its first election.
COPE remains as a registered political party for the 2014 elections. With the power struggle sorted out by the judiciary and out of their way, COPE is finally prepared to fulfill its promised mandate. A major error from publicity perspective is that COPE had not campaigned its new organised and prepared party, leaving their image tarnished in long-gone supporters' eyes. The solution to the presidency issue was a minuscule report in major newspapers. COPE has become synonymous with disappointed hope -- the taste of change that went away before it could be problem. COPE is likely to fizzle after its (relative) bang of 2009.
COPE and 2009 elections illustrated the desperation of the voters which still lingers for the 2014, hoping that will be the year they are heard.
With the 2014 elections nearing, new political parties are springing up. Three are note-worthy entries
1) WASP
2) Agang
3) EFF
The Workers and Socialist Party (WASP)
Out from the Marikana tragedy where striking miners resulted in over 40 deaths, comes a worker-oriented political party. The party noted the Marikana massacre of last year was pre-empted by a lack of representation of the miners to the mine bosses, which lead to restlessness and a violent outcry for attention.
The issue with basing a political party on history or emotion provides the party a fleeting foundation -- ask the ANC. They have used the struggle against Apartheid as the ANC's main approach to winning elections and it becomes exhausted as people become disinterested and irritated by repeated information. A party needs to be greater than a historical happening, and clear about what they stand for independent of "not allowing the [insert historical piece here] to happen again."
Little has been heard from WASP post the week of launching and seems to be an idea unsupported by proper structures and media (as it always does), has moved onto the newer kid-on the block.
Agang
Beginning as a "political platform" where citizens can discuss their grievance with the status quo, Agang (the newer new-kid-on-the-block) has skilfully assess the problem with South Africa and resembles a similar approach to COPE during the previous elections. Agang seeks to motivate passive citizens to play an active role & centralizes its principles on the citizen as a key player in their country's governance.
Now officially registered as a political party lead by a struggle icon by Mamphela Ramphele, Agang was embraced with open arms. By engaging actively with youthful citizens on social media platforms, Agang brought the attitude that South Africans sought in COPE.
Agang shares similarities with COPE, bring the apprehension that it may suffer the same disappointing fate. Agang's diminishing popularity may not be its self-constructed demise, rather that South African's attention has been whisked up by the newest new-kid-on-the-block, EFF
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
Founded by dismissed ANC Youth President Julius Malema, EFF wants to fight the ever widening gap of between rich and poor, which runs close to racial lines due to the legacy of Apartheid. Much of Malema's radical babbling whilst ANCYL president is intended to become EFF policy.
As it stands now, EFF seems to be a boys' club filled with radical members. Malema is joined by Kenny Kunene, an obscenely wealthy business man who is known to spend money at a whim -- epitomizing exploitative capitalism through eating sushi off of women's bodies at his elaborate, multimillion Rand birthday parties spanning three days. The hypocrisy of standing for the poor but behaving like their "masters" is also evident in Malema who is also known to sport expensive items such as a Breitling watch and red beret -- the red beret becoming synonymous with the new party. Since forming the party, the two have denounced their previous ways and claim to have changed their lifestyle to suit their word.
Regardless, EFF's popularity is booming. Having well-known members, but this party features a few important aspects: firstly, Kenny Kunene through an open letter to President Zuma outlined the issues with his administration in an unapologetic, fearless manner, voicing what makes South Africans concur. Secondly, they have clearly established who they stand for and fight for; and thirdly, they have a brief policy on how they shall through various means, including nationalization of mines. They have taken the first step away from rhetoric, and shown clearly they are against what has made the ANC deter from its principles: corruption -- South Africans are jubilated and many have deposited their hope for this maturing democracy in the red beret (ignoring that its leader Malema is under investigation for a corruption charge).
After learning from the e-tolling saga, South Africans are beginning to adopt an active role in policy making; they are beginning to demand policy talk. We are maturing as democracy, with voters no longer enticed by politicians' rhetoric, rather by policies that they intend to adopt. The focus on policy drives for political parties to speak more about their policies, and restores hope for national government efficiency in years to come.
South Africans have been begging for viable governance since 2009, and with the 2014 elections, they are spoilt with choice. Whatever the outcome, what can be concluded is that the road is getting shorter for the ANC with each passing election.
Written by Wandile
"Carbon" Dlamini; a social and political commentator on a blog. To
read more or contact through my
Facebook fan page:
http://facebook.com/viewthenorth
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Wandile_Dlamini
deviantART page: http://thenameisCarbon.deviantART.com
Editor’s Note—This week’s quote comes from Enver
Hoxha, an admirable Albanian leader.
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