There is no doubt in my
mind that for a 20 year old democracy, South Africa has come a long way.
The new South Africa
adopted an indebted economy, socio-economic inequalities, poverty stricken
communities, as well as large amounts of black people seeking vengeance for the
injustices of apartheid.
We are now heading towards
one of the most interesting elections of our young democracy.
The country is celebrating
20years of democracy, the ‘born-frees’ (those born in 1994) are voting for the
first time, and various political parties slander each other with every ounce
of power they have each week, so this year’s election promises to be a very
interesting in terms of the outcome.
The reason why these
elections are intensely contested is because many South Africans are disgruntled
with the current ruling party.
For the past five
years, many of the progressive economic, social and educational transformations
that have been implemented by the African National Congress (ANC) have been
counteracted by the scandals that its politicians and public officials have
been dragged into.
From the fallen police
commissioner Jackie Selebi, Shabir Shaik, Justice Moeng Moeng, corruption
within the government, Marikana massacre, up to President Zuma’s “gallons” of
misconducts, and inability to lead righteously; the list is endless.
Above all, because of
the malfunctions of the authority of this country, the image of South Africa
has been tainted. Also, many South Africans have been losing jobs rapidly. The
latter however, is not entirely the government’s fault; the global economic
recession has played a role in the country’s inability to create job
opportunities.
Furthermore, the ANC
dug itself a “hell-hole” when it decided to no longer be-friend its radical
soldier, Julius Malema in Novemeber 2011.
Simply because Malema is a bull that
does not succumb to rules and bureaucracy, as a result, Malema did not take his
suspension well, to the extent that he felt the need to lash back at his elders
within the ANC – especially Pres. Zuma, calling him out as a “traitor”.
Since then, Malema has formed
his own political party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to challenge the
ruling party’s dominance.
In my view, Malema
brought a highly needed form of radical action against the ruling party in this
country, which has rattled the ANC. For
example, shortly after the Marikana tragedy, Malema took the opportunity of
winning the confidence of the destitute miners, their families and the youth he
led while still with the ANC Youth League.
As a result of this,
the black voters in this country are hugely divided or spread among the many
parties; EFF, AGANGSA, UDM, IFP, COPE and many more.
My concern however is
the youth and where their vote lies. From my peers I have heard a lot of
doubtful and confused voices, to a point where these so-called ‘born-frees’
boycotted the voting registration and will thus not be voting.
Last week, COSATU
secretary-general, Zwelinzima Vavi claimed on an election debate that only 22%
of the two-million 18-19 year old registered to vote in the general elections.
This fact is quite
alarming for a country that brags to be the youngest progressive democracy on
the continent, especially with the fact that the youth of this country is the
biggest population-wise.
By Sisipho Skweyiya
