The election has citizens’ emotions running high.
In every corner you see the campaigning material of different parties and even individuals want a piece of the pie.
My question is, what are people going to vote for?
Promises are being made, from jobs to houses and every little thing that will warm the citizen’s hearts.
A resent visit to an informal settlement left me humbled and questioning the level of honesty in politics.
The reality of people is beyond the well-written manifestos of political parties that plays with people’s emotions.
The majority of people will vote for anything that will give them a better life, which is sad as in most cases politicians never come back to deliver or even check if the last faces they saw on the last visit are still alive.
Shack fires are the reality of residents in informal settlements and they never know if they will survive the next fire.
What amazes me the most is the beacon of hope that they carry with them, which is of a better future.
They will still give politicians an ear to hear the sweet promises that might not even come true.
Their beacon of hope is waking up every morning go do odd jobs and they come back with enough money to buy food and not to go to bed on an empty stomach.
I have learnt from the smiles and joy they carry with them that a home is not a building but the people you share your life.
However, it’s not an excuse for politicians to play with the emotions and dreams of a better life.
A T-shirt and pamphlets with promises will not bring a better life for most who are suffering because of the injustice of politicians not wanting to take responsibility for changing people’s lives.
I’m not impressed by the blame game and using people’s struggles to score points.
Visiting disadvantaged areas in your fancy car and saying the party is getting closer to the people to understand their daily struggles does not validate you to be the right party to lead.
The problems we have been faced with for the past 22 years during our democracy, namely unemployment and housing and the long list of other problems, will still be there whether the DA, ANC, EFF, UDM or any other party is leading.
The elephant in the room is this – what changes are you going to bring and how are you planning on bringing about those changes?
The reality is you will still get the same budget which still comes from the same taxpayers.
Promising jobs to the unemployed is cheap campaigning. Why must people vote for you first before they can get jobs?
Why you are not providing jobs now if you have a better plan than the current leading party has.
Talk is cheap and the damage it does to the nation will take years for people to recover from.
Parties have a bucket full of promises and truckloads of broken promises.
To all the parties who will be intensifying their campaigns and visiting the communities and making promises – please take a moment to think of the comfortable car you are driving, the plate of warm food you get and everything you have, and think twice before making a promise you will never be able to fulfil – a promise to an elderly woman who has been living in poverty for as long she can remember. And keep the T-shirt you’re about to give her because it’s not going to turn into a house and a warm meal for her.
#cheappoliticsmustfall #putpeoplefirst #servicedeliveryfirst
