Sitting in my room till late into several evenings, followed by tossing and turning as I constantly studied election results practically 24 hours a day for approximately five days had become a norm as I ended up not looking at who won, but rather what the election results meant.
It was clear after at least two days of collating the results which party was going to win the national vote, however, as expected; Gauteng was decided in the last moments. Although the ANC won, the message was clear – South Africa now has a formidable opposition party.
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This was an encouraging witnessing the ANC’s loss of considerable votes in the history of South Africa, and the new comers Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) managed over a million votes. In all this, the Democratic Alliance (DA) continued to be the only party to have grown in votes at every election.
This is encouraging because while we can get excited over the prospect of a new government, it is vital that the ANC’s margin of victory needs to be reduced in order for us to enjoy a more accountable government.
At the same time we still have some way to go. Before elections we were promised a government that is committed to addressing the issue of corruption, however, all we are left with is an administration of officials who believe in flexing their muscles when it comes to dealing with issues.
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Let us for a moment entertain Zuma’s, “I did nothing wrong” statement regarding Nkandla. We need to consider that his private home received ‘security’ upgrades at an unbelievably large amount, R246-million to give you an idea. Now the president says, it is not his fault or he had nothing to do with it… Let us assume he is telling the truth, he still owns the house, he should take responsibility.
A man of integrity would pay back the money used on certain upgrades to his Nkandla home which the public protector described as, ‘non-security features’; instead of doing so, the President went on the defence by saying, “I had nothing to do with Nkandla.” Although he may be telling the truth, one has to wonder, “Besides pointing fingers, what is the President doing?”
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The year 2014 will not necessarily be remembered for the elections or the ‘good story’ we were told, but rather the money which must be paid back to the departments whose funds were sacrificed in order to upgrade one man’s house. Yet again, President Jacob Zuma fails to show leadership…
As we begin 2015, the first we need to look forward to is the State of the Nation Address, which is usually expected to be an opportunity for the president to give the country an indication of which direction South Africa is taking for the next year. In theory, we shouldn’t be given a history lesson, but rather be given a hope for tomorrow, a future where we as a country can prosper.
It would be great to see parliament operate more smoothly this year as compared to last year. While we may be entertained by the chants of ‘Pay Back the Money’, we need to ask ourselves if we are going anywhere, if not, it is time we reconsidered the manner in which we deal with issues.
