No altruism left in SA politics

Greed, money, lust for power the main sources of national problems

Money, greed and insatiable lust for power remain the main sources of our problems in black communities, and it does not matter if we are in villages, townships, suburbs or cities.

We have collectively as black people lost the plot and this explains why after 24 years of democracy, we remain economically and psychologically powerless, let alone being landless in our own country of birth.

The failure by the governing party to fulfil the liberation struggle promises represents our collective failure as black leaders from all political parties, more especially those of us from the liberation movements section.

Instead of us focusing on nation building, capacity development, serving our people and using our collective wisdom to propel the country forward, some within the liberation movements section have become obsessed with being elected into political parties’ leadership positions with the intention to access state resources for personal gain.

The struggle these days for factional leaders, their supporters and those bank-rolling fragmentation of liberation movements is all about themselves and associates, and no longer about serving the people.

Their time to feast as much as they can has arrived.

In the present day South African black politics, being elected onto a political party’s local, regional, provincial or national structures enhances one’s ability to become a councillor, mayor, MPL, MEC, premier, MP, deputy minister, minister, deputy president or president of the republic.

I believe there is a deliberate plan to weaken and fragment liberation movements, fuelled by love for money, greed and insatiable lust for power to the extent of going all out to even kill each other for our names to be on top of the candidates list submitted to the IEC.

In other instances, those who are against corruption and become whistle blowers in the private and public sectors are also eliminated to make way for uninterrupted feasting on state resources by the triumphant black factional leaders and demagogues while the majority of our people continue to live in squalor.

The state of black politics has deteriorated so badly that commissions like the Moerane Commission had to be appointed at taxpayers’ cost to investigate the so-called political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.

You would be forgiven for thinking that the rapid deterioration of humanity, selflessness and service in black politics is only limited to the governing party.

It is a problem that has managed to permeate across other political parties.

I believe that factional leaders and demagogues we find in all political parties have no other interest to serve the people except themselves and their supporters.

They consciously participate in factional battles and related activities, because they, too, stand to individually benefit when the factional leaders triumph.

This sickness will only be eliminated the day our people develop enough courage to tell all these factional leaders where to get off and reject them outright.

As long as our people continue to entertain these factional leaders, it is our people who will continue to be exploited and suffer.

Lately our courts are also used to settle factional battle scores. Again, you would be forgiven if you think that the so-called comrades are taking each other to court for failure by the triumphant faction to deliver decent services, misappropriation of state funds, corruption or failing to fulfil the elections promises. It is all about them. In our submission to the ad-hoc constitutional review committee in parliament in May last year, in addition to making proposal for the direct elections of mayors, premiers and president by citizens, I supported what I refer to as the “Azapo Bekkersdal option” which requires only a candidate with the highest number of votes from the ward to be appointed a proportional representation councillor.

This, in my view, will in the long run eliminate laziness among comrades and reward those constituencies whose candidates receive the highest number of votes.

It is really sad that we black leaders are our own worst enemies and have no one else to blame but ourselves.

Lesego Sechaba Mogotsi, member of Azapo committee on publicity and information Tshwane, Gauteng