EXPEDIENCY VS PRINCIPLE: A DILEMMA

Responses to Letter from the editor, 27 April

I live in the hotbed of South African politics – you guessed it, Kwazulu-natal.

So, I imagine that in voting I need to be guided by common sense, rationality, circumspection and a big dose of hope that others, be they black, white, coloured, Asian, male, female, young, old or any other differentiating status, would also use the same parameters before they tick their boxes of choice on the ballot paper.

1. National vote: DA, because my vote will determine the future for South Africa in a world that is rapidly showing signs of anarchy and despondency.

2. Provincial vote: DA. While my heart tells me to vote IFP because we need to have a change of provincial leadership, I just don’t see Velenkosini Hlabisa having enough political following in isizulu-speaking circles to compete with the ANC and MK (read Zuma).

So, my vote for the DA is one of pragmatism. Also, I reckon Chris Pappas would restore some vestige of sensibility to provincial government.

3. Regional vote: still too early to say as we don’t yet know who our choices are. However, I will be guided by individual performances and any specific work ethic that stands out.

By the way, I think the regional vote is going to cause considerable confusion and uncertainty unless the Electoral Commission communicates what is intended with this vote before 29 May.

Tony Fisher

I was wavering between voting DA or Rise Mzansi. I don’t know which will be better strategically. According to your article, Rise Mzansi is nowhere, so if you are right it will be the DA.

Josephine Allais

First, allow me to express my thanks to everyone involved at Daily Maverick for the sterling job you all do in bringing honest, balanced reporting to people interested in living in South Africa, whatever their race, religious affiliation, gender or political bent. I do not agree with the opinions expressed by all your contributors, but then, who wants to live perfectly homogeneously? Vive la difference!

In response to your request for readers to share their election choices and strategies, I must say that I am slightly conflicted between expediency and principle.

The ACDP stands for much of what I hold dear, but I am not convinced that its grasp of economic policy will achieve my desire for growth in the economy that is so desperately required to address the priorities of food, shelter and education for the majority of our fellow South Africans.

The DA has shown that it is capable of managing the Western Cape, but the thought of Jumping John Steenhuisen whining like the playground hero wannabe makes me seriously consider being put into an induced coma.

Do you think the IEC would allow a vote that is conditional upon him being barred from any speaking role in Parliament? Probably not.

As difficult as it may be to confess my shortcomings and lack of discernment, I admit that I voted for Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019 in the belief that he had a spine and could lead from the front.

However, I must conclude that the ANC is so riddled with corruption, structured in a way that leadership is by committee, seeking to design a racehorse without realising that the image in their mind looks far more like a crocodile ready to eat the rider on its back rather than a horse able to carry it to the pot of gold at the rainbow’s end. So, what to do?

I believe that our country has little option but to be led by a coalition.

And the anticipated levels of support for the parties involved dictate that the ANC, as much as it irks us, needs to be part of such a coalition, joining forces with the likes of the fewest number of parties with any degree of integrity and selflessness in their sights, whether they be DA, Actionsa, or whoever.

God forbid that the ANC should continue to place personal gain above the good of the country and seek out either the EFF or MK as possible coalition partners.

Yes, under such circumstances, many Saffers who are able and willing to join up will probably opt to pack for Perth.

Craig Nain

I am responding to your request to let you know who I will be voting for.

My choice is a no-brainer. I’ll be voting for the DA.

I am fortunate to live in the Western Cape and am a beneficiary of good governance and service delivery.

My message to voters out there is to stop bashing the DA and to vote for the party if we are to have any hope of rescuing our beloved country from the disaster that is the ANC.

Barry Canning

I shall be voting for the DA. I joined the general euphoria in 1994 and voted for the ANC. Since then I have voted for the DA.

I live in Cape Town and enjoy the benefits of having a far-from-perfect administration, but nevertheless one that is not completely dysfunctional.

From a national perspective, the alternatives are too awful to contemplate.