If last year’s local government elections taught us one thing more important than the ANC losing control of the metros and some big municipalities, it was that a growing number of citizens are becoming disaffected with politics.
Millions of South Africans eligible to vote simply stayed away from the polls in much greater numbers than they did in previous elections.
This should have worried political parties across the board. On the governing party’s side, the voter stayaway is a reflection of citizens’ dissatisfaction with its track record in office.
For the opposition, it is an indictment on its inability to convincingly present itself as a viable alternative that so many voters would rather stay at home – when unhappy with the ANC – rather than cast their votes for other parties.
Since those elections, neither the ANC nor the opposition – perhaps bar a very few exceptions – have done enough in my book to convince those who stayed away to back them when the country goes to the polls again in 2024.
The outcomes of the local government elections, which saw scores of municipalities once controlled by the ANC either falling into the hands of another party or being taken over by coalitions, were a great opportunity for the opposition to showcase what a post-ANC government at national level may look like
Instead, since November the ANC has become more fractured, fuelling doubts that it will emerge unbruised from its national conference in December.
The opposition, on the other hand, has not covered itself in glory both individually and as a collective.
The outcomes of the local government elections, which saw scores of municipalities once controlled by the ANC either falling into the hands of another party or being taken over by coalitions, were a great opportunity for the opposition to showcase what a post-ANC government at national level may look like.
So far they have not painted a pretty picture. The infighting between coalition partners in some major cities has led to leadership instability and caused doubts about the suitability of hung legislatures for a developing country.
What makes matters worse is that the source of the instability – as we saw in Johannesburg – is quibbling over which party should hold which portfolio. It is never about the residents and the services that should be delivered to them.
As I write this, there seems a real possibility that the mayoral chains in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni may have new owners by the new year – and that such developments would have nothing to do with whether the incumbents are doing a bad job or not.
Whether ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba succeeds in blocking his party’s senate from pursuing talks with the ANC that would result in the two Gauteng cities being wrestled away from DA mayors is yet to be seen.
But what the whole saga – ranging from the DA’s intransigence when faced with requests from its partners to give the speaker position to one of them to “the smaller parties” entertaining a new deal with ANC – has done is to leave voters with the impression that it is all about the politicians, their pockets and egos.
We are about 18 months away from an election pundits say could give us our first coalition government at national level. The elections approach at a difficult time for our country, the continent and the world.
Economic indicators suggest that we are headed for tough times, partly because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The IMF and the United Nations’ Conference on Trade and Development put global growth forecast for next year at between 2.5% and 2.7%. Global inflation is also on the rise. All of these are ominous signs for South Africa.
Yet there is little evidence any of the parties who stand a chance of being part of the post-2024 election coalition government are working on policies and strategies that would help rescue South Africa from the crisis.
Hardly any of the candidates vying for the six top ANC jobs up for grabs at the conference in December has bothered to present the public – or even party members – with a plan.
Instead what we get is the whining about the government’s failure, sometimes from candidates who also happen to be serving ministers in the very administration. If they are not ministers, they are individuals who left government not so long ago.
The incumbent is not helping either as, with about nine weeks to go before his party’s conference, he has not said a word about why he thinks he deserves a second term and what he plans to do with it.
Assuming that he does not make it, or that he does but his party is unable to win a majority in 2024, can we really say the opposition has said and done enough since the November elections to convince us that they’ll be better placed to tackle the problems ahead?
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