Vote for the actual doers

AS THE countdown begins in earnest to the ANC’s elective conference in December, and the 2019 general elections thereafter, our appeal to senior politicians and office bearers of organisations is not to turn presidential hopefuls into gods.

And to the public at large, we want to make a small suggestion too: If anyone tries to speak to you about “dying” for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa, Mmusi Maimane or Julius Malema, among others, ask them to prove it. Immediately. It is high time that some maturity was introduced to our politics. South Africa needs more solutions to its ever-increasing number of challenges – and less waste products that come from the rear-end of a bull.

In 2005, the then-Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said any effort to stop Jacob Zuma from becoming president would be like “trying to fight against the big wave of the tsunami”.

The only person pushed aside by this tsunami was Vavi himself. After a massive fight with Zuma, he found himself at loggerheads with the rest of the Cosatu leadership – and was unceremoniously elbowed out of his position.

IN 2008, the then-ANC Youth League head Julius Malema also declared his undying love for Zuma, when he told a cheering crowd at a rally in the Free State: “We are prepared to die for Zuma. We are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma.”

Less than four years later, he was expelled by the ANC – and two years after that he launched his own party, the EFF.

It is important for South Africans to remember the consequences of this type of rhetoric by people like Vavi and Malema.

Politicians should be judged by the way they perform – and not by outrageous claims praise-singers make on their behalf.

Our appeal to voters is simple: if you’re going to vote, base your choice on the policies of parties and individuals.

Ask yourself whether what they are promising is doable and good for you and our country.

Millions of our compatriots are living in grinding poverty. Remember, too, to think about them before you decide who to cast your vote for.

But most of all, do not fall for piein-the-sky promises.