Politics is infamous for being a dirty game. South African politics is no exception! If one follows it closely one can draw the conclusion that South African politicians are incurably racist. This statement is directed more to the vanguards at Luthuli House and the overwhelming squad that follows them.
Am I implying ‘Black’ politicians, who largely compose team ANC, are racist? Without a doubt, YES! Recent events in the country’s political landscape attest to this. For instance the ruling party thrives on flashing the race card and have graduated magna cum laude in blaming apartheid for their inefficiencies. Without belittling the Marikana Massacre, the ANC fell short on blaming the blood spill on Verwoerd, as they did when the Limpopo book crisis emerged.
Ours is one of the most corrupt societies in the world. This too we blame on apartheid, though not blatantly. However, evidence suggests that the ANC has invented and patented the most corrupt government system post-apartheid. The 2010 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index assigned South Africa an index of 4.8, ranking South Africa 54th out of 178 countries. This is appalling for a nascent democracy with the values enshrined in our constitution!
Government institutions are malfunctioning while those entrusted with public office fight for political survival in protracted party-political contestations. The masses’ interests are put on hold while the ‘masters’ squabble for the keys to the main reserves in the Union Buildings. Cry, my beloved SA.
Comrades wielding daggers will besmirch one another in a fierce battle that will scar not only the party but also the state. The media, in pursuit of a juicy headline, will be used by politicians desperate to advance their political base as a tool to character-assassinate others. As witnessed in 2007, in that watershed Polokwane Conference, state resources will be used to either topple or uphold the status quo. The Youth League is already crying foul following the court proceedings against its erstwhile leader. Just like Polokwane we might see a sitting head of state ousted in a coup that is shamelessly referred to as a “recall.”
The ANC elective conference holds the country’s fate in ransom. Investors worry about policy adaptations which might prove costly to the overall functioning of the economy. We hear voices of those ridding on the ignorance of the masses calling for unsustainable policy positions that will plunge the country further into crisis. A case in point is the Youth League’s call for nationalisation.
In theory the policy might make sense. However, reality dismisses it altogether. Currently the state runs the country’s sole power utility Eskom and that institution is in shambles. We have malfunctioning parastatals, schools and hospitals. The department of Home Affairs is cynically referred to as ‘Horror Affairs.’ The national airliner is a basket case, always on the lookout for supplies from the taxpayers. The tender system has proven to be the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg for a cabal of corrupt cronies.
In all its centenary of existence, this current generation of the ANC is the most morally bankrupt. Many senior officials are fingered in sinister practices alleged to have siphoned off public funds. In Kwa-Zulu Natal you have the speaker of the Legislature and sitting MEC’s on hauled before the courts for corrupt practices. In the Northern Cape, the ANC chairperson has retained his chairmanship despite damning allegations of fraud and corruption hovering above his head. The rot, inspired by the Zuma corruption saga, has trickled down the party line. And little is being done to right the wrongs.
Cadre deployment is scarring government’s overall performance. We have a president in limbo whose cabinet is composed of incompetent comrades he cannot dismiss because they helped propel him to the highest seat in both party and state. Minister Angie Motshekga’s administration in basic education limps from one crisis to another, but nothing is being done despite her department threatening the future of many bright sparks which the system fails to set on fire.
The ANC which produced some of Africa’s finest leaders like Chief Albert Luthuli is a distant memory of yesteryear. It has suffered a tragic death. And its prestigious history in the liberation struggle suffers erosion daily. As South Africans we need to reconsider the hands in which we entrust our future. The ANC has lost its foresight and deviated from its founding values. Perhaps it’s time for a new alternative to emerge.
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