Opposition parties, like the ANC, have their faults

We are quick to call out the ANC because of its dismal leadership at times; quick to question its leadership calibre and moral fibre of those within it. But we forget to call out the opposition parties for their conduct.

While there may be rot within the ruling party, we ignore the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), with its disruptive and sometimes abrasive politics, and the Democratic Alliance (DA), with the veiled racial intolerance that continues to raise its ugly head.

Was Mmusi Maimane an experiment gone wrong? Was he the carrot dangled to the black majority voter in order to win the election?

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A presidential hopeful had risen through the ranks among his white peers and the black voter was swayed. But as he gained his voice, he became bigger than the expectations of those that presented him to us.

I remember I put my X alongside the symbol of the DA because of Mmusi, feeling that this was a stepping stone in the realisation of the black dream.

Over the years, especially at the passing of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, I was reminded that the DA did not resonate with me. It continues to drift further and further away from the ideals of a South Africa of unity.

The continued denials of the ghosts that plague its genetic makeup are the very reason the voter would rather continue to vote ANC, or even take a gamble on the EFF.

Calling Maimane an “experiment gone wrong” speaks to the core of the party in its entirety … it is inhumane. Sure, it recognises people of colour within its structures but when these voices become too loud, they are dismissed and dubbed failed experiments.

This is the same DA that wants unity but cannot stand with the disenfranchised when the need arises. We are expected to believe the DA is not about the preservation of power to benefit the elite.

If we are to be honest and call some within the ANC self-enriching thieves, we must be honest enough to call out the racism that exists within the DA. It can no longer be ignored.

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