OPINION: August 3 elections – it’ll be business as usual!
Much has been said and written about the upcoming local government elections. It’s even been called a “watershed year” for the ANC.
And for some it might just be. But what if it isn’t? What if the status quo remains and some communities are again left to deal with possible local government officials not equipped to do the job? Consider the following – that the real fight will be in the metros. And it is here where all the attention will be. What then does this say, for other areas where we very well could see the same people at the helm.
Nothing will change because of the ANC’s large following – I hear you say? Perhaps so, but the reason nothing will change at local government level, I would argue, is because as South Africans we remain a highly divided nation. We still don’t trust those we are unfamiliar with. Much of what we do or say on a daily basis, is heavily influenced in my opinion, on our perceptions of people. And at times, this is heightened by what our politicians and those in power say.
A couple of years ago, the then Free State DA Leader Roy Jankielson – while electioneering, had this to say. He noted that if a person votes for a certain political party and a week later sewerage comes running down their street, they have no reason to complain, because, said Jankielson, “they had received exactly what they wanted.”
It’s easy to dismiss such claims if a party like the DA is not your cup of tea. However, irrespective of your party choice, local government level is where the populace feel change the most – not at provincial or national level, although these spheres of government are also important.
When the lights go out, housing is inadequate or rubbish isn’t collected for weeks, residents feel the pinch.
Is it too optimistic perhaps to expect wildly different voting patterns in a province like KZN for instance? Are we naïve to believe that perhaps those, fed up with bad service delivery could perhaps vote differently and change the political landscape? I would venture an answer here – Yes. Because not enough has been done by parties and by communities themselves to bridge the various divides. So when we are confronted by the harsh realities of a Penny Sparrow or Diane-Kohler Barnard social media row – it heightens the tensions already there. It makes us retreat to corners of perceptions already there –rightly or wrongly.
As the various parties prepare for the next round of electioneering and bold promises, let’s hope that the glimmers of the rainbow nation and bringing people together – are all part of their plans. We need new hope and new vision. But more importantly, more action.
Christopher Motabogi is a News Editor at East Coast Radio in Durban. He writes in his personal capacity. The views expressed are not those of ECR or its holding company, Kagiso Media.