In any country globally, election time is mostly projected as a period when politicians turn into ‘cannibals’. Even the US elections that just ended gave a glimpse on how politicians could ‘devour’ each other. In his writings, George Bernard Shaw recognised this tendency and hinted, “An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it”. The recent events over the past few months give less hope on the future that lies ahead.
There are few incidents which come to mind, to name a few.......the incessant political killings in Kwa Zulu Natal, Limpopo Textbook saga, Instigation, and preposterous murder of mineworkers in Marikana, E-toll debacle, Low Investor confidence seen by recent downgrades, Vote of no Confidence on our President by opposition party et al, are among issues that has been in the public domain over these months.
However, one should reflect whether these events in any other year that is not an election year should have happened the way they did or are there some ‘free masons’ ensuring that things outplayed the way they did. We have lackadaisically succumbed to a country that innovatively develops new ways to insult the President as dictator and other sorts of names. I am not attempting to let the President off the hook from accusations been laid in the public domain but it is very unfortunate how these events have been ‘coincidentally’ linked to him in the public eye.
Some of these unfortunates include the expulsion of ANCYL President Malema which some believe was masterminded by him, the genital paintings, Nkandla house upgrade and other pertinent issues. Many argued on how he has treated issues in recent months which includes Malema debacle, court action to silence cartoonist Zapiro, organising protest against his paintings, and recently the pulling of Fish and Chips ads from the SABC featuring his Nkandla residence.
We should not forget that as a President, he has achieved more that we should be proud of as South Africans-he negotiated and got SA into the BRICS, hosted a successful Soccer World Cup under his reign, lobbied to get the former Home Affairs Minister to take up prestigious position at African Union, and few more.
There is no doubt that more work needs to be done in addressing today’s challenges which includes appointing capable and accountable leaders, stabilising our policies to ensure foreign direct investment and job creation.
As citizens we should know that without our undying support, government and our leaders will unfortunately not achieve its developmental and service delivery goals.
Together we should work towards:
· building a society that will hold government accountable without hailing insults,
· a society that will support government’s initiatives,
· a society that will be innovative to bring new ideas to life,
· a society that will respect its elected president,
· a society that will secure a better future for our children.
Kizito Okechukwu- Executive at SEA Africa and consultant Editor African Entrepreneur (writes in his personal capacity)
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