Get rid of the ANC and save SA

Former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas is a latter-day saint. Having turned down an attempt by the Guptas to bribe him into joining their looting of the state, he is now chair of MTN and a thoughtful proponent of a more perfect future for us all. He’s such a good guy that both the Sunday Times and City Press printed his Govan Mbeki lecture in Nelson Mandela Bay last week.

How, he asked, do we get this country right. “We thought there were sufficient provisions in the constitution for asset redistribution, BBBEE [broad-based BEE], AA [affirmative action], fiscal policy transformation and so on. We now acknowledge the poor outcomes 28 years later.”

It’s a speech he’s given before. What can we ordinary people do to save the country? Perhaps not surprisingly, Jonas falls back on a re-energised civil society as the answer, but somehow also on the back of a “thoroughly reoriented” ANC. I disagree.

We have to clearly understand that the ANC is a creation of colonialism and apartheid. Had neither existed, the ANC would not exist either. Therefore, to finally bury colonialism and apartheid, we have to bury the ANC too. The ANC is apartheid’s parting gift to us and it is time to end it all. The same may even apply to the DA. Our brand of liberalism is as much a creation of our history as is the ruling party.

We are both complex and easy to understand. Our politics have barely changed in the 30 or so years since the ANC was unbanned. The ANC cannot be “thoroughly reoriented” and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reminds us anyway that “once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”.

That truth is that South Africans will have to turn to other parties and formations across the opposition spectrum, to deliver them from the cold grasp of a moribund and broken ANC. It won’t happen in 2024. By 2029 it will be inevitable. It is a reason to stay. A reason to be cheerful. We are almost there.

The current mix of opposition parties may be unattractive, argumentative, vain, stupid and tiny, but they are an outline of the future, however improbable that may seem. We will have to find a way of persuading them that together, they have a way forward.

And we must fully understand that the moment the ANC cannot form a government it will collapse, unable to dish out patronage and so unable to finance itself.

In the meantime, here is a rough guide to how to live well until history finally gives us a break. First, get the ANC out. Whenever you have an opportunity, vote for any opponent of the ANC. In any way you can, keep the ANC under pressure. Mock it, ignore it, but never vote for it.

Second, if you have a job, do it to the very best of your ability. Our survival depends on the private sector continuing to invest, make profits and pay salaries and taxes. If you work in the state, try your best to do your best.

Third, give money and support to NGOs like Gift of the Givers and even controversial ones like AfriForum. Monitor what they do with the money you gave them. We need them to help people and fix infrastructure. If we could deploy the skills already here inside South Africa, without political red tape and obstruction, we could fix our water and electricity problems in weeks. Your local Rotary, Round Table and Lions clubs are all trying to do good. Support them.

Understand the difference between compromise and consensus. We need more of the latter. And don’t be gloomy. There is more uniting South Africans than dividing us. We all want to be safe, put food on the table and have shelter, clean water and electricity. Say hello to people. Don’t litter. Don’t be an asshole.

Get off the grid as much as you can, if you can. Help at least one other person get off the grid too. In fact, whenever you can, help out someone less fortunate than you. Give some money to someone not begging. Find someone in your local Spar and finish their shopping for them.

Never forget that we are all in this together, black and white, rich and poor.

Politicians need to divide us. For politicians, the problem is always much more useful than the solution. But they only have power if we give it to them. Let’s rather take care of each other.

In the face of negligence and indifference, kindness, your humanity, is a potent weapon.

For politicians, the problem is always much more useful than the solution. But they only have power if we give it to them