It is pucker time for political parties as the much-debated and controversial local government elections takes place on 1 November, the harbinger for the 2024 National Elections. The Big Three, fangs bared, are on a full-throttle in mother lode, each in their own bellicose way to woo a whip-sawed populace. Mea culpa aside, the ANC are in big trouble for corruption in municipalities, non-existent service delivery and the recent unrest and failed police action.
The opposition have smelt blood in the water and are circling in a feeding frenzy in the full knowledge that they can bite off huge chunks off the ruling party.
The ANC must blame themselves for their purdah, a maelstrom of their own creation. The dance is over and now it is time to pay the Piper, to face their own demons of ignominy, dishonesty and indolence. The tremors have been around for some time and I personally expect some seismic shifts in voter trends and patterns, which could mean significant gains for the DA and EFF.
There is a plethora of smaller, minority parties who could divide the vote. Whilst they bring a fresher voice to the crowded field, they offer little but their presence when you look at the bigger picture, a case of pilot fish amongst sharks! My bet is that a lot of votes will come in for charismatic, visionary, experienced and honest leaders like Musi Miamane (One SA) and Herman Mashaba (ActionSA) who have the stellar qualities to lead. Whilst the DA and EFF always speak in a tone of perpetual doom that everything was bad and getting worse, the ANC’s rhetoric is like a vinyl record stuck on the song, apologetic.
Billionaire businessman and political commentator, Rob Hersov, who has returned home after living abroad for almost 20 years said if Madiba was alive today, he would vote for the DA. The DA have kept their campaign real, showing off with their love for democracy and their proven tested capacity to lead. However recent racially worded placards in Phoenix blemished that image. Where the twin streams of ANC supremacy and EFF ascendency meets the DA fishes.
On the other hand, Cyril Ramaphosa has been tasked with the responsibility to turn non-believers into believers or in the parlance of the ANC to turn goats into sheep. He needs to shepherd in the unthinking herds for the pasture fields for neophytes are open and welcoming. In Tembisa recently, he said with rock-ribbed certitude that the ANC will win Ekhurleni and they will obviously be aggressively revanchist in the Johannesburg and Tshwane Metros where the previous failures still haunt them. Like a locust they go where the fields are most fertile, informal settlements and lower-end societies teeming with illiteracy, poverty and the down-trodden who are ready to swallow any hyperbolic nectar.
In the meantime, Julius Malema continues to allow a full dose of his infamous sarcasm to manifest itself in all and sundry. With his kamikaze rhetoric, his words are always dusted with a sprinkling of venom. There are bodacious dreams of building RDP houses in Sandton, the tendering process will be scrapped, expropriation of land for the poor will continue and the SASSA data base will be used as a yardstick in a roll-out of free services for the unemployed and socially disadvantaged.
With all the short-term political manoeuvring and cherry-picking their narratives at stake, a lot will happen in the coming days as the process gains momentum and political analysts will be watching hotspots like Phoenix for statistical demographics and the response of the denizens in their voting decisions. Many municipalities will not get the 51% majority and then the kingmakers come into play. Really interesting days ahead!
Kevin Govender
THE COMMENT PAGE
NB: All letters MUST be accompanied by the writer’s correct name and contact details or it will not be published. A nom-de-plume will be accepted only for publication purposes. NB: All views reflected in the letters column and cartoons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor
Send us your comments to be published:
TWITTER @tabloidnewskzn
FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/tabloid.media
EMAIL southcoastnews@tabloidmedia.co.za
WEBSITE www.tabloidmedia.co.za
