Voting Lottery as an alternative to Spoiled Ballots

I am a patriotic South African and that is why I am going to vote, However, I have quite a dilemma - I do not know who I am going to vote for. As a student of politics, please spare me the rhetoric/bullsh*t of spoiled ballot or voting for the opposition parties.

My vote is no secret but still my choice.

Thus, here is my dilemma. I am a greater South African than I am an ANC supporter, and currently I cannot give my vote to the Zuma led ANC. The Zuma led ANC is morally bankrupt and think we South Africans are stupid. I am not stupid and hence will not vote for the ANC.

I would have voted for the EFF but I cannot trust an economic freedom fighter with Lious Vuitton shoes. The contradiction is way to big and like the Zuma led ANC the Malema led EFF think we South Africans are stupid. I know the EFF attract a lot of the poor angry youth with its rethoric but, unfortunately, for me actions speaks louder than words.

I will never vote for the DA because Helen Zille is racial insensitive, and too middleclass for my liking. In addition to this, the DA leadership does not reflects its membership. Once again I cannot vote for a party who thinks black, coloured and Indian people are stupid. If you do not believe me take a closer look at its policies, leadership structure and membership. Once again I am not stupid.

I will also never vote for Agang and the Cope. Both middleclass parties that are very elitist in their approach. They do not speak the language of the poor but the language of the middleclass. My friends and family are still in the working class and hence, my reason not to vote for them

So my last hope is with the ACDP. Not the strongest party but at least I can somehow relate to it. The party was not rocked by any large scandals. So they are a strong maybe and if they also dissapoint me I will close my eyes and random choose a party from the list and vote for it.

And know the ANC, the EFF, the DA, the Agang and the Cope members and supporters will be sitting on May 7 with their fingers crossed hoping they will be the lucky one in my lottery. With this I still have the power to choose whoever I like or not like.

Number 1 - A photo blog

Election time in South Africa

A family in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The national road that connects Uganda and the DRC with one another

Self Portrait 1

Democracy is more than just the vote

There is more to democracy than just to vote. Politicians, the media and the IEC, just to mention a few, want us to believe that by voting we are deepening democracy. Voting is a criterion for deepening democracy. Democracy also mean the right to have proper services delivered, a safe environment to live in and ‘spaces’ of participation to engage the state between elections.

Presidents Zuma this weekend said that he now understands why service delivery protest marches are taking place. This came only after the ANC was exposed as also being guilty of building open toilets. This begs the question can we believe him? I personally do not believe him because protesters usually submit a memorandum of understanding or a petition that voices their grievances. So, what happen to those memorandums and petitions? Are they collecting dust on some administrator’s desk?

The open toilet saga made aware of two things. The first is the hypocrisy of the ANC and second, it made me wonder why citizens of both Khayelitsha and Moqhaka accepted these toilets. Why didn’t they voice their grievances earlier? In the Moqhaka it is only eight years later that this particular issue got the attention of the media. This also raises an issue of media bias.

As the politicians have a responsibility towards democracy, we as the people of SA also have a responsibility and amongst other it is to engage the state between elections around issues of service delivery. We can’t sit back and expect the state to deliver service.  We have to tell them about the services we need and follow-up and make sure that they do deliver these services. You might argue and say that we do it through protest marches. But that is the problem. Protest marches only happen once the situation is so aggravated that citizens see no other way as to violently voice their grievances. And we saw how it ended for Andries Tatane.

There are ways of engaging the state at local level. There are the Integrated Development Planning (IDP), ward committees, public meetings and Imbizo’s that citizens can use to voices their problems. However, research so-far have indicated that the majority of citizens do not even know that ward committee and the IDP exist. Research also indicates that these mechanisms of participation in many cases are so dysfunctional that it does not help communities much. Here you might ask yourself why I want you to participate in structures that are dysfunctional. My answer is simple; it is dysfunctional because of a lack of community participation in these structures. However, it does not stop you from starting your own structure to engage the municipality because it is your right to engage the municipality.

As citizens we need to develop innovative ways of engaging the state and keep the state accountable. We also need innovative ways to get the state to respond to our needs but sitting and waiting on politicians to deliver will not help us one bit. So, it is important to vote but the vote alone will not change our situation it is only when we engage the state and voice our grievances and keep them accountable for the decision they are taking that we will deepen democracy.

Jacob Cloete

The Constrasts of a Democratic South Africa

Our visit this week to Gugulethu once again have revealed the many contrasts of the reconstruction of the post-apartheid society. Firstly, there was the really poor and the affluent. The poor stay in really tiny shacks with no running water or proper sanitation whilst the affluent stays in big houses with high walls and alarm systems (See photo 1 and 2 in the Gugulethu Folder).

Secondly, Gugulethu also have a very rich struggle history. Most of the prominent ANC leaders of Cape Town are from Gugs (as it is informally known). One of the most well-known sites in Gugs that are visited by many tourists is the Gugulethu Seven Memorial. However, I have noticed that some youngsters have vandalised the monument by writing on it. This shows the ignorance of the youth towards their history, a history that has been written in blood (see photo 3 and 4 in the Gugulethu Folder).

Thirdly, there are those that nothing to eat whilst there are those that have so much to eat that they do not know what to do with the left-overs. Those of us that have been to Gugs surely would have been to Mzolis. A place the local elite and tourists hang out. If you have money you can order as much meat as you desire and then you can try and devour it. You will also find in Gugs people that do not have food to eat and have to struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet (see photos 5 and 6 in the Gugulethu Folder).

So the contrasts go on and on and on. It is really sad that most of us who are in a much better situation look at the government to do something about poverty, and by doing this we are shifting our responsibility to the state. A close friend of mine  has the following to say about our responsibilities as citizens: “We as South Africans need to stop complaining about what the government did not do or need to do and take the responsibility and initiative towards changing our lives and the lives of others for the better. Government must be seen as a tool in helping us getting there but not an excuse of why we not getting there”. So look around in your community and identify the contrasts and do something about it.

Posted by: Jacob Cloete
22 May 2011
Photos © Jacob Cloete