Two Bits – 25 April 2014

Why do people want to live in the past?
Nostalgia is stronger than ever before, in these weeks running up to the fifth national election on May 7. You see it everywhere, in letters to the press and on talk radio, people constantly complaining that in the past things used to be much better – streetlights worked, there were no potholes, there was less corruption, so on and so forth.
That would really depend on your perspective. Over the past 20 years, all the peoples of this land have been freed from institutionalised segregation and discrimination. Many millions have been provided housing, water, electricity, roads that they did not have. Life has improved for the vast majority of citizens.
That doesn’t mean that all the problems have been solved. Far from it. That doesn’t mean that some aspects of life haven’t gone backwards. What gets me is the negative approach to changing our situation, by harping back to a past that is at best coloured by rose-tinted spectacles and at worst, didn’t exist.
I prefer to look forward, to compare the actions of one set of politicians against those of another, and make a choice for the future.
The African National Congress will win this election, there can be no doubt about that. Its 56-page election manifesto leans heavily on the colossus of Nelson Mandela. It boldly promises to create six million jobs over five years, accelerate land claim settlements and re-open the land claims register and build a million houses.
However I am disappointed by its approach to corruption. It says it will force those found guilty by a court of law to step down from positions of leadership and, where this is not done, take “appropriate action” against them. In other words, discipline them within the party. I am disappointed that the party allows for this provision. In other words, some might not be forced to step down. Not everybody is equal. Secondly, critics say its promise of six million jobs is blowing smoke, that it only created one tenth of the five million promised at the last election.
The Democratic Alliance promises to put 250 000 more cops on the streets, improve BEE to reward companies that create jobs, fire corrupt officials and prevent anyone with a record of corruption, fraud and violent crime from holding public office. It promises to create government that is accountable to citizens.
The DA’s best advertisement is that it has run the Western Cape for the past five years. One can’t help noticing there how good the roads are, with not a pothole in sight, and the fact that to my knowledge, corruption in local government is not an issue there to the same extent as here.
The other party that promises to be a player this election is Malema’s Economic Freedom Front, if only for the amount of media attention its red beret-wearing followers have been getting.
The pillar of the EFF manifesto is that life for the majority has been getting worse. It promises to build houses for all, provide free education, expropriate land, mines, banks and “other strategic sectors” without compensation, grow government to the point that tenders will be abolished and outlaw corruption.
I like that last bit. Malema is guilty of tax evasion to the tune of R16 million and is still facing charges of racketeering relating to tender fraud.
There, in a nutshell, are the promises of the main players. But, as always in our politics, it comes down to personalities, not policies. And in my mind the 2014 election is about Jacob Zuma and the immense corruption surrounding the R246 million “security upgrades” to his Nkandla property.
For him to say that he shouldn’t have to repay any of the money because he did not ask for the improvements is hypocrisy on a grand scale. He knew it. He allowed it. He is corrupt. And that is why there is a widespread belief that the ANC is soft on corruption. That your and my tax money is being stolen to enrich others.
So, this election is about the next five years. The ANC will win the election, no doubt. But I am going to place my vote so that, hopefully, I will get a representative who will fight my corner.
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When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.