A full-scale war war of attrition is in progress within the corridors of all the political establishments seeking to gain power on May 29, 2024. Our hard-fought for and precious democracy is in utter shambles as a result of ANC misrule over the past 30 years.
The chaotic situation in our country today and the grim mess that we are in have one thing in common – all our problems were caused by years of poor and inept leadership. Like a can of worms being opened, critical events have revealed the consequences of problems that have remained unresolved due to a lack of leadership and courage to confront our escalating problems caused by monumental financial greed – unprecedented in modern African history.
After the elections, a new political order will be born. The victorious will gloat with glee, and the vanquished will retreat, licking their wounds and pledging allegiance to a new generation of leaders.
Democracy in rainbow South Africa produced an abundance of incompetent and dishonest political leaders who crudely exploit people’s credulity and prejudices and thrive on emotion-driven discourse and fake news. Gross misrule in our country indirectly gave birth to the growth of fascism, elitism, extremism and loads of cronyism, creating an unprecedented number of millionaires and multimillionaires.
The once-illustrious party of beloved icon Nelson Mandela faces a stunning defeat this year. Corruption has decimated and destroyed a world-class economic infrastructure. It is a multidimensional evil disease that spreads like a contagion and consumes the whole society. Monumental levels of poverty in our country will, if left unchecked, trigger an upheaval of epic proportions whose trajectory will change the landscape of our impoverished nation. Leaders who bury their heads in the sand will be consumed by the flames of discontent.
When we look at great human civilizations, from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union, they failed because of internal weakness and rampant corruption.
We must realise that corruption is a social scourge that must be eradicated. It is important to close the pits where the virus of corruption grows. Over the past 20 years, our nation has lost R1.5 trillion through brazen acts of corruption; some reports allege that we lose millions every day to corruption, while some unsubstantiated claims allege that R300 billion is lost every year due to acts of corruption.
Our fractured nation is a ship headed for an iceberg. The year 2024 is about demanding honesty, integrity and accountability from our leadership. We must have the fortitude to make the hard decisions that must be made to change course. Voting wisely is the one key to help turn this country around. “A luta continua” – the struggle continues.
* Farouk Araie, Gauteng.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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