Leaders’ silence is deadly

South Africa is in a political void, lacking the tangible and intangible leadership that is desperately needed. As we navigate a pandemic plagued with personal protective equipment tender fraud, elective meddling, political interference and disruptive politics, to name a few of the problems, I remain resolute that we continue the journey to the promised land. But there is nothing more disheartening than the state of the nation.

The ANC was impossible to ignore in the armed struggle. Its reach was worldwide. Today, one has to wonder if it has become so deaf to the struggle of its people that they see and hear no evil – even when it comes from within.

During the previous regime, the movement created unity among the masses. People of colour were united and there were those like George Bizos, Ben Turok and Ruth First who stood with us. Across racial divides there was unison. Today, not even the black masses can confidently stand together behind the ANC because of what the organisation has become. It is impossible to continue to justify loyalty based on history.

Today, the party’s voice is barely heard where it matters most. People, of whatever colour, remain landless, jobless and hopeless. But a rich elite based on political associations seems to be growing. We bemoan the corruption and looting that is synonymous with the party, but it doesn’t shake the moral compass of the movement that once served its people.

I am in my 30s, born in the bloody 1980s, schooled in a fresh democracy. I became a feminist because my times allowed for it. My biggest sadness is that the ANC watches while women are bludgeoned to death. It is “condemned in the strongest terms”, but never fully punished.

Now, a new pandemic of child trafficking has gained traction: children are leaving the country, undocumented, without their parents, and the ANC is not saying or doing enough.

Members of my family, for one, sacrificed for this freedom, risking their lives because they believed in the movement’s ideals. This cannot be the ANC people died for, with leaders living in comfort while the rest fight to survive.