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President Zuma declared in 2008 and in July 2016 that, “the ANC will rule until Jesus comes back.” The poor performance of the ANC during the 2016 local government elections in metro municipalities like Tshwane; make me not to see authenticity in Zuma’s statement.
In February 1986, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs during the apartheid regime in South Africa Pik Botha, angered his colleaques and left them in hernous position. This is because he said that it would be possible for South Africa to be ruled by a black president. He was responding to a question posed to him by a German journalist.
In his address during the 1993 COSATU conference, the former South African president Nelson Mandela said: “If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government.”
I am making these aforesaid references to prove that there is no guarantee and surety in politics. The National Party had no feeling at all, that a black man would rule South Africa hence they did not like what Pik Botha said and in deed it happened ultimately. There is possibility that, South Africa can be ruled by another party in future other than the ANC. That is the reality of politics in every democratic country.
Today, due to the results of the 2016 local government elections, the ANC is a victim of hung municipalities in some metros like Tshwane as I have indicated. According to my analysis, this a clear message from the voters to Zuma and the ANC that, there is no political party that can rule forever. The in fights, poor service delivery, corruption cases and Nkandla saga are possibly some of the factors that have contributed to the ANC poor performance, as I am mentioning Tshwane as an example.
The writings were on the wall for me that the ANC is would lose votes in Tshwane. Those who did not like Thoko Didiza as Tshwane mayoral candidate expressed their dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, they did that violently; something that I personally condemned in my previous articles that I have written. The ANC would have been strategic and listened to the concerns of the people who were would-be ANC voters. They would have done so to secure those votes and restructure everything after.
My understanding of the Freedom Charter when it says that the people shall govern; simply means that the views of the people at grass root level are extremely essential since their votes determine those who should govern them.
I have reasons to believe that, DA is going to use the failures of the ANC in Tshwane for an example, as their strong points. Nevertheless, this will depend on whether the aspect of coalition favours them. On the other hand, the EFF is like a fly that is irritating a big elephant in its nose. Malema feels rancour towards Zuma and the ANC since his expulsion from the ANC, hence he is always hitting them verbally. The votes that the EFF have achieved would have been ANC’s votes if he had not been expelled.
Doubtlessly, some voters have punished the ANC, accordingly. It is high time that, the ANC must learn that power is not in the hands of a political party but in the hands of voters.
Rev Maudu Morudu
Temba, HAMMANSKRAAL
