We are the grass getting stomped by the fighting elephants

South Africa is a democracy: we are still governed by one of the best constitutions in the world and, whether we like the results or not, our elections have, with the exception of by-elections such as those in Tlokwe, never been tainted by allegations of fraud.

Sadly, though, the same doesn’t often apply within the structures of the ANC – especially when the organisation is heading to an elective conference, as it is now.

Then, we see reports of intimidation, violence, disruption and outright gerrymandering at the grassroots levels of the organisation. That’s because it is critical who gets into those positions … they are the people who, in turn, elect the higher-ups who eventually decide on the party leadership. Success means the winners can say: now it is our time to eat.

It is disturbing to see that the opposing camps in the leadership race – those of Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – clashed so badly that an ANC conference in the Vhembe region of Limpopo had to be abandoned.

We hope that is not a sign of things to come, because this country is already teetering on the knife-edge of community strife as the different ANC factions line up against each other.

Our plea to all involved: put the country first, not the party.