Can you feel it?

Can you feel it? That buzz in the air? It reminds me a bit of the anticipation we all felt with the 2010 World Cup event. The excitement, the expectation and the hopes and dreams of the masses that seemed to literally charge the air with current. It’s in sharp contrast to the feeling of hopelessness and despair many have felt over recent current news headlines across the country.

Last week we broke the news of the establishment of the United Front KZN, a civil umbrella body under which civic minded organisations across the country, including our own Save Our Berea and local ratepayer bodies have pledged support in a massive national rise up by civil society against corruption, Nkandla, e-tolls, Eskom, failing service delivery and a host of other ills that have become the legacy of our current government.

This coalition of civic organisations aims to build an alliance against corruption and to call for social justice. It’s about time, I hear you all say, and indeed it is. It’s about time we all got off our collective complaining butts and started doing something constructive. The mass march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 19 August, with supporting marches in towns and cities across the country on the same day is one way of saying “We’ve had enough.” Now it is our time to make our voices heard. It is our time to say No More! It is our time to say, we deserve better, we want better and we demand better.  This is not a political movement, it does not matter where your political affiliations lie. What does matter is that we are all sick and tired of failing service delivery, of reports of cronyism, nepotism and the failure of government officials and civil servants to accept the burden of responsibility.

There is strength in numbers. There is strength in standing shoulder to shoulder against a government hellbent on running roughshod over its people and holding itself above the laws of the country. The tide is turning. This country has a long and proud history of civilian protest and action, it’s in our blood. It is the legacy that has been passed down from generation to generation and it is our duty to honour all those who have gone before us. They showed us that mass protests by civilians CAN force change.

A perfect example of this occurred this week when High Court judge Esther Steyn handed down an order to demolish the controversial and headline-hogging development at 317 Currie Road. Had it not been for the concerted and consistent efforts of affected neighbours to the development, nearby residents and the weight of civic organisations like Save Our Berea who together fought for a long and painful two years for justice to be delivered, this may well have been another case of greed, inefficiency and a total lack of respect for the law to add to a growing mountain of similar controversies.

That the long and lengthy battle will continue, I have little doubt. That there will be appeals lodged is a definite. That a lowly scapegoat will be hauled from some backroom in the dark corners of City Hall I am willing to lay a bet … and those who had a hand in the mess that has become 317 Currie Road will walk away unscathed, uncensured and unapologetic. Here’s hoping I am proved wrong.

But not even my dooming predictions can dampen the rising enthusiasm I am starting to feel in the air. A movement has started and it is gaining momentum. People from all walks of life, across all cultures and denominations are rising. Can you feel it?