Many of us who have been tied to the liberation Struggle for very long are not overjoyed when the ANC strong-arms its way into a position of power or buys its way into power or works with discredited organisations to achieve this.
Personally, I’ve seen in the past year or so that just as it is true that not all ANC members and branches and councils are the same, it is also true of the DA. I was impressed with some initiatives that were intended by the minority DA-led coalition in the City of Johannesburg, the fresh ideas that were brought to bear regarding certain issues and the willingness of the former mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse, to meet with people who had grievances and to listen.
I’m not suggesting that the DA is immune to unprincipled politics. I believe that some elements of the coalitions, relying on the Patriotic Alliance and in some respects the same holds for ActionSA, have forced them to condone certain practices that are improper and have no place in democratic politics, even though democratic politics allows partners like the PA to be elected.
Insofar as hardly any candidate of the ANC has said anything about ideology, about vision, and does not really live out any vision, it encourages us to be apathetic, to be indifferent to what is going on in politics, whether in elections into which the ANC enters as the strongest political organisation in the country, or other political activities.
That is why the ANC enjoyed a special place in the hearts of the masses, where many believed they “were ANC” even without joining.Politics is about power to be used for advancing or retarding freedom. There is not any single vehicle through which power is deployed. That is why we need not treat the electoral system as the only site through which we play a political role.
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