We can now officially say the election season is over and the hard work of serving the people of SA lies ahead.
After two weeks of intense coalition negotiations, with accusations and counteraccusations in the public space by political parties, the talks have finally come to an end and local governments have been formed in the so-called hung municipalities.
Those who didn’t do well in the elections and coalition talks, particularly the ANC, must remember that in a properly functioning democracy the citizens have a way of reminding those who govern them that they (the citizens) are the ones who ultimately exercise power.
They have the right to choose who governs them based on their performance, and if the democracy is worth its salt the governors will have no qualms accepting that reminder.
The ANC has resigned itself to sitting on the opposition benches in the municipalities it lost, particularly the metros in Gauteng. Let this be the time for the ANC to reflect, go back to the drawing board and retrace its steps.
There is a need for the ANC to reach out to the voters and communities and interact with them, including the various stakeholders, to deal with the concerns of the people. I do hope that among the sectors it will reach out to will be the religious sector. There have been instances in the recent past where the religious sector has reached out to the ANC to caution it about poor service delivery and corruption within its ranks.
One hopes the ANC will not only conduct this listening campaign with candour but will also, more critically, respond with action to the concerns people will raise if it hopes to regain the voters’ lost trust. Hard work lies ahead for the ruling party to rebuild and renew itself.
To those who have been elected mayors, speakers and councillors in different municipalities across the country: you have an obligation to serve the people of this country. South Africans have sent a strong warning to the electoral system and political establishment that they are no longer going to tolerate poor service delivery. Political parties cannot afford to play political games instead of serving the people.
The games that were played by political parties in Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane in the last five years through coalition arrangements were totally shameful and a slap in the face of the people who had voted for them.
We saw these two metros rendered dysfunctional due to their political agendas, all at the expense of our people. One truly hopes this time around people will be a priority. For our democracy to remain a beacon of hope on our continent, those who are in power must remember that they are there to serve the people and not their political agendas.
The state of our municipalities is well known and the councillors are fully aware of the desperate conditions our people live under. The political parties have seen the extremely terrible results of poor service delivery in the municipalities during their campaigning and this time around there must be no excuse for failure to deliver service to the communities.
Our people are crying about basic services such as lack of water. Water is a basic human right and it safeguards people’s dignity. Having people both young and old lining up for water — particularly in the townships and rural areas — must be stopped with immediate effect. We cannot subject our people to such harsh living conditions anymore. The issue of water is desperate and I hope that in the new administrations this matter will be top of their agendas.
Some areas are still using the bucket system and pit toilets. How this is possible after 27 years is beyond me. In some areas there is damage and poor infrastructure, especially to the roads, no streets lights and poor collection of refuse. There are no parks or areas where the children can play, which is completely unacceptable — children are either forced to play on the streets or simply stay at home.
Then there are the issues of corruption, patronage jobs and tenders for pals, and the general mismanagement of state resources. As a result, these municipalities fail in basic service delivery to the communities.
Those who have been voted into power and elected to govern have their work cut out for them; they must hit the ground running and fix these problems that have been affecting our communities for a long time. The people of this country deserve better. Those who have been elected can do better. South Africans deserve to be treated with the human dignity promised in our constitution.
• McCauley is president of Rhema Family Churches and chair of the National Religious Leaders Council
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