The first thing that appeared shocked me: the link read “AgangSA, COPE and United Democratic Movement (UDM) to unite?” I thought that AgangSA might join forces with the Democratic Alliance (DA) because there was a friendship between the leaders of the two parties. Never in a million years did I think that there might ever be a coalition between AgangSA, COPE and UDM. This isn’t final – it is still being discussed.
Critics thought that AgangSA would steal votes from parties like COPE. I see Ramphela as the black version of Helen Zille because the first thing she did was to attack the ANC. Many people did not like the fact that she had not mentioned anything about the land that is currently in the hands of white people. I thought AgangSA was the best thing ever to happen for South African voters, but now I don’t know what Ramphela’s plans are. I have a feeling that next year’s elections are going to be dramatic.
The Audacity of No Hope
The poor need to make their mark at the polls
By Aphiwe Cotiyana
In the past few months, some of Cape Town’s informal settlement residents have been dumping human waste on the Provincial Legislature’s doorstep and at Cape Town International Airport. The African National Congress (ANC) has allegedly been linked with this ‘Poo War’ as some of its members were caught in the act.
People who use these portable toilets say that they have to be used indoors and most people live in a one-room shack with other family members. Men complain that the portable toilets have taken away their dignity because they have to use them in front of their children at night.
The residents started the Poo War because they believe that they’ve waited long enough for better sanitation. I feel sorry for these people, not only because they are faced with health risks but because politicians are using them to earn votes. As the elections draw closer, the ANC has been trying to win back the votes of the people it claims to represent.
Our president was recently shown on SABC giving a house to an old lady in Nkandla. It took him a year to live up to his promise – which I think he could have fulfilled sooner if he had drawn on the left-over materials he used to renovate his small ‘kingdom’.
When ANC members are suspended, chances are a new party will be formed. Remember when former President Thabo Mbeki stepped down? The Congress of the People (COPE) appeared, but Mbeki did not get involved… a wise move because COPE did not go on to great success. Then former ANC Youth League President Julius Malema got suspended. He was quiet for a while but came back with a new party: the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which has a number of followers, especially among the youth. I do not have much to say about this party, but its launch reminds me of COPE’s early days: all was well and it seemed to have a promising future… until elections arrived.
Before the EFF, AgangSA was in the spotlight and (like every new party) it drew both negative and positive reactions. Despite this, AgangSA founder Dr Mamphela Ramphela had a good vision of how she wanted South Africa to be. While we were still admiring the party it disappeared without a trace. I decided to go on the internet to find answers.
PICTURE: thisisafrica
After I got my ID, I could not wait for 2014 so that I could vote and feel like a ‘real’ South African citizen. I thought that I would be voting for change but now I’m afraid that I won’t be!
South Africa has many youths, so the pressure is on us. We are responsible for our future. As Don Mattera’s poem goes: “Let the children decide, for it is their world.”
Our decisions are based on what our parents have taught us. I do not think much will change because South Africans do not understand one another. When the poor complain, the rich get irritated… but if they lived in the same conditions they would do the same thing. When it comes to next year’s elections, the poor will used to win a few extra votes.
PICTURE: Reaganplus
PICTURE:SanitationSouthAfrica.