Your vote is powerful – use it well

Voters and citizens alike need to think where we are as a country; how far we are from the African dream and how far we’ve come from the racial nightmare of apartheid that left many slain, exiled and scarred.

April, a month of assassinations, is also Freedom Month. On April 9, 1960, David Pratt’s assassination attempt on the life of the architect of apartheid, Hendrik Verwoerd failed. On the other end of the spectrum, on April 10, 1993, the torch bearer of socialism in SA, Chris Hani, was gunned down. Fast forward 26 years: are political corruption and killings still the norm? Yes.

Sindiso Magaqa, Mbhekiseni “Pat” Khumalo and Kwazukwakhe Mkhize are just some of the people who died due to the political onslaught that continues in this country. How far have we come when blood is still spilled mercilessly for political reasons?

It is not just the killings, but the lack of maturity from our political leaders, the lack of service delivery, the moral compass that loses its position and the ever growing political intolerance that now has sullied our democracy.

Alexandra Township has been on a “shutdown.” The residents of Bekkersdal have followed suit. One side of the parliamentary population declares it cheap politicking, the other shouts of a government so far removed from its castle while the townships burn… there is little to no maturity and transparency in South Africa.

Exposés on political figures should be shocking us, the mismanagement of the public purse should enrage us – but we have opted to be keyboard warriors who can do no more than type, post and share…

At the launch of Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book, Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture, protesters destroyed material and intimidated those in attendance. It shows the state of SA has remained unchanged.

For one born at the end of apartheid, at the very brink of the endless possibilities of democracy, the state of the nation is demoralising.

Going into the voting booth, we must remember the power we wield with our votes. Use your vote well.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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