Opposition myths and legends Demystifying two main points raised by the opposition parties against the ANC: The ANC shall indeed rule South Africa for the unforeseeable future! Thembinkosi "Guerrilla" Zondi, Politicsweb, Johannesburg, 21 February 2014 As much as I have been flirting with the idea of writing an article about how the current opposition parties in South Africa will never defeat the 102 Years Old African National Congress (ANC) even if they were to swallow their often inflated but bruised political egos, I must however confess that this article is mainly motivated by Professor Malegapuru Makgoba's article entitled "A democracy at the crossroads" which appeared in the City Press publication of the 19 January 2014 on page 30. For the benefit of those who might have missed Prof. Makgoba's article, let me quickly highlight what I think are some of the key points in his article. The Prof. argued - and I absolutely agree - that since 1994 there has been significant changes (both in terms of quality and quantity) in most rural and urban areas in South Africa. These changes include although not limited to tarred roads, electricity, clean running water, health facilities such as clinics, schools and the extension of government grants which are received on time. I am pleased that at least some academics such as Prof. Makgoba's do have guts to admit that the ANC and its government is the best thing that has ever happened to South Africa in that it has made the latter to be alive with possibilities and a better country to live in notwithstanding some challenges most of which are structural. However, the main intention for writing this article is not to whine about well-known post-1994 structural challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequalities including internal ANC problems as correctly identified by Prof. like "cronyism...lack of integrity, complacency of incumbency and at times arrogance and a failure to deal with wayward members" which the ANC also admits. Instead, this short article seeks to demystify two main points raised by the opposition parties against the ANC. Firstly, the opposition argues that the ANC Government has allowed the issue of corruption to reach unprecedented higher levels. Secondly, that the ANC government has failed to improve the lives of the South African people such that some opposition parties such as EFF have stopped short from daring to claim that the apartheid government was better than the ANC Government. Let me quickly deal with each of these points before proceeding to argue as to why the current fragmented state of opposition parties vindicates the claim that the ANC shall indeed rule South Africa for the unforeseeable future. Whether you - as a reader of this article - agree with me or not but the truth of the matter is that the ANC Government has done a lot to arrest the issue of corruption. For instance, since 1994 the ANC Government has been intensifying the fight against corruption both in the public and private sectors from initiating methods aimed at preventing public servants from doing business to holding public officials individually liable for losses arising from corruption. Additionally, it has also taken an unprecedented decision that any ANC member or ANC public representative found guilty before a court of law especially on charges of corruption to step down from any leadership positions in the ANC, government and society at large. As much as the above decision is yet to be given practical meaning but it signals a serious commitment to fighting against corruption. Moreover, the ANC Government has put in place systems and programs which have exposed corrupt activities. However, the ANC admits that all of these are not enough hence it calls on both the private and the public sectors to desist from participating in corrupt activities such as bribing public servants etc. The claim that the ANC has failed to improve the lives of South Africans is fallacious to say the least. For instance, the ANC Government has done a lot to transform Bantu education to an inclusive education system resulting in the elevation of the senior certificate rate to above 70%. Arising from this and other government interventions, the number of graduates has doubled since the ANC Government took over. Furthermore, it is also an undisputable fact that today more than 15 million people are able to go to bed with something on their stomachs because of the comprehensive anti-poverty programs aimed at intensifying social security networks thus contributing significantly towards addressing three scientific discoveries made by Karl Marx as observed by his friend (Frederick Engels) which is the issue of food, shelter in the light of the fact that it has built more than 3.1 million houses. Another fact which cannot be disputed as well is that the ANC Government remains committed to fighting against joblessness through different initiatives which includes - although not limited to - labor-intensive public works programs of whose incentives can be used by beneficiaries to address the issue of clothing beyond food and shelter, amongst other things. Therefore, it is misleading and myopic for the opposition parties to argue that the ANC Government has never done anything to improve the lives of South Africans especially considering the fact that the South African economy has increased from 83% over the past 19 years and that the disposable income per capita of households has augmented by 43% and the total employment has increased by more than 3.5 million since the Peoples Government came into office (see the ANC Statement on 20 Years of Democracy). Flowing from the above, I content that no opposition would have managed to score some of the above victories other than the 102 years old national liberation movement. Let me conclude by agreeing with four key reasons as to why South African opposition parties will never defeat the ANC thus making the ANC Government to be more relevant than ever before. Firstly, it is true that "some of these opposition parties are direct offshoots or imitations of the 'broad ANC church' in some for". Secondly, that "each of these parties is led by a single domineering 'cult-like or disgruntled figure' without whom these is no party". Thirdly, "the leader is the party and the party leader is not ready to be led by any other member within the party or other opposition party leaders" (the recent 5 days marriage of DA and Agang being a relevant recent example" and finally that "some of the leaders have such chequered political history and record". All of these four points mean one thing to the voter which is: "this is neither the time (hoping no such time will ever come) to contemplate removing the ANC government nor to give it less support" as Prof correctly puts it. As a result, the ANC shall indeed rule South Africa into the unforeseeable future. Thembinkosi "Guerrilla" Zondi is the KZN 221 ward 3 ANC Branch Secretary and ANC Caucus KZN Legislature Senior Researcher writing in his own personal capacity. From: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=5 49484 <http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid= 549484&sn=Detail&pid=71616> &sn=Detail&pid=71616 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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