In previous editions I have spoken about the ANC’s death upon us and later ANC facing a slow death; both these editions were based on how the current crop of leaders have turned the party we all respected.
Under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela and former President Thabo Mbeki, political parties debated policies without being called names or labelled racist. Those were the days we could differ in opinion without jeopardising the health of our democracy.
While the efforts to redress the effects of apartheid were in progress from 1994 to 2008, the wheels came off in 2009 when President Jacob Zuma began his term in office. His administration has since appeared to run a party which is arrogant and has no care about public interest.
The party has made a number of dubious decisions clouded by a stench of corruption. One can name the appointment of various ministers, the Guptas’ landing at Pretoria’s Air Force base, the ongoing controversy around e-tolling and Nkandla.
It seems like it hasn’t taken long before President Jacob Zuma forgot his pledge to continue upholding the values Madiba lived by. After inspiring the country when he said, “We will continue to honour Madiba’s legacy,” he went on to spit on his own words and the legacy of Mandela when he addressed the opposition as ‘racist’ after they asked for matric results to be verified.
Nelson Mandela did not exude the arrogance the current leadership exudes. They disregard the will of the people by claiming they will rule the country ‘forever’. South Africans need to learn race should not be an issue when debating subjects that matter. Unfortunately, the ANC continues to refer to apartheid when arguments become a bit more heated.
South Africans should not be defined by the colour of their skin; we should learn to live in an inclusive government which does not treat the minority as the voiceless.
As Nelson Mandela once said, “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” In this case, we should measure how well we are doing as a country by only looking at the majority; we also have a responsibility to protect and listen to the views of the minority.
