I have been asked by young South Africans to explain why I have chosen to vote for the DA. However, let me first say that I encourage all people to vote and further let me say that I encourage all people to vote for the party that represents as closely as possible their own perspective.
I spent the first 10 years of my adult life, from 1997 to 2006, wholly independent of all political parties. In 1999 and 2000 I voted for the UDM and in 2004 I voted for the ID. In 2006 I worked on the ANC’s election campaign in Tongaat and was not able to vote in my home ward, which is on the other end of Durban.
So I have not as yet voted for the DA and I have not as yet worked on a DA election campaign. There have been many reasons for this but most importantly among them were that as a liberal I felt the UDM offered South Africa the option of an integrated new South African party. And as a liberal, I felt that the ID’s stance on corruption was spot on.
Interestingly, the DA, UDM and the ID all have the same zero-tolerance approach to corruption and have all been involved in exposing corruption. As a liberal student politico from the South African Liberal Students’ Association (Salsa) I had on many occasions come into contact with the DP and DA youth and students. In fact a number of Salsa members and leaders have gone on to join and represent the DA. But Salsa is not affiliated to the DP and DA and as a leader of Salsa at the time I felt that it was inappropriate for me to join a political party.
Nonetheless, having (finally) put my days of student politics behind me, I went on to do an internship under the DA and then the ANC in order to see what mainstream politics was all about. My colleagues called this political tourism and perhaps they were right. It was like political voyeurism in a sense because I was exposed to all of the important stuff without having any responsibility to bring in votes and support.
And perhaps there is a reason why I joined the ANC in October 2006, perhaps it is because I felt that the congress was my political home. But having been a member of the ANC for 2 years without ever being informed of a branch meeting and without ever receiving any of the ANC’s annual reports, as all members are surely entitled, it became clear to me that the ANC was indeed a very broad church.
A broad church which derided my liberal identity while pilfering my liberal principles. A broad church whose smallest operational units are branches not members; a broad 3-storey church which has no staircases, just a heavily-guarded, express elevator for those select few members who are prepared to turn a blind eye or who are prepared to “facilitate” government procurement.
As an ordinary ANC member, naturally I was on the ground floor but thanks to my resourcefulness I worked with people who were on both of the upper floors and so I got to see things that even my erstwhile branch leaders (whoever they are) did not see. But the thing that really irritated me is that I was treated like an Indian, not as a child of KwaZulu, which I am, not as a child of Thamizh, which I am, not as a liberal, which I am, and not as an ANC member, which I was, but as an INDIAN ANC member.
And that irritated me, firstly because I came to see that all Asian, European and coloured ANC members were essentially second-class members who were unable to progress to the upper echelons of the party structures and who were rather deployed at the lower levels to do the work and “handle contracts”. And though I am a very hardworking person, I have no interest in nefarious politics nor do I have any interest in being “redeployed to business”.
However, since I was busy pioneering corruption-free politics at my prototype WNPC, I wasn’t all that worried really. Until I completed my work and presented it to the ANC. Let me say that the stony silence I received from the ANC in respect of my offer of corruption-free politics set off the first alarm bell and then the unsubstantiated rumours that the ANC did not take ideas from “Indians” set off the second alarm bell.
As such I contended that the ANC made the mistake of undervaluing my worth as an individual and as a political operator and in order to prove this I tested the ANC. I reported a case of alleged corruption to every leader of the Tamil community and sadly the Tamil community leaders, all of whom are connected with the ANC directly or indirectly, did nothing.
And to prove my case further, none of the Tamil politicians in the ANC, none of the ANC Tamil civil servants and none of the ANC Tamil public servants did anything either.
And so I resigned from the ANC? Shocked and horrified at my resignation, my ANC friends, asked me to stay in the ANC.
And I did for a while, watching from the periphery, hoping that the ANC, post-Polokwane, would be a more ethical one. But then the ANC fired Mbeki in revenge and on that Saturday before Cde Thabo’s Sunday night speech, I cut up my ANC membership card and turned my back on the ANC once and for all.
Having thus set myself adrift in the howling political wilderness I tried to find a new political home. And though the ID seemed like the logical option, my constituents would not hear of it. Thus I found myself writing to the ID in resignation, saying that I had found myself at the centre of a personality cult which I felt was counter-productive to the objectives of a political party. Little did I know that 10 days later Cde Thabo would use the same words to castigate Cde JZ in his own surly letter to the ANC.
They say a week is a long time in politics and if you’re like me and politics is your life then an hour is a long time in politics after all it only takes 32 minutes to convert an ANC cadre into a liberal-for-life activist.
Changes in my own life, in my work and in my outlook, together with the march of political time, have led me to view Cope with suspicion because I strongly expect them to make a post-election pact with the ANC. The blunt tools of the IFP, UDM, ID and ACDP do not interest me and the MF is so anti-Tamil and Hindu-biased that it would be a sin just to consider them as an option.
So I was left with the DA. I disagree with the DA’s position on a referendum on the death penalty and I disagree with the DA welcoming conservatives and socio-welfarists into the fold. I disagree with the DA’s choice of liberal and the euphemism of an “open opportunity society” when they mean liberalism and of course I disagree with the DA’s decision to deny me membership of the DA.
But the thing about liberalism is that differences of opinion are encouraged and expected. And though I may disagree with the DA on fundamental issues, I do recognise that they are the South African member party of Liberal International, that they are supported by a number of liberal NGOs and that they have prioritised equal opportunity as the means to eradicate poverty.
As such the DA is liberal and I am liberal and so I’m voting for the party which represents as closely as possible my own perspective even though I am not a member of that party.
I suggest that you shop around, weigh up your options and do the same. After all in this life, our free choice is all that we need to change the world. Here’s looking to an open, equal opportunity South Africa and peace and prosperity for each and every person, which that will bring.
Nkosi Sikele Mzansi Afrika!
Much of “democracy” all over the world revolves around considering a deliberately limited handful of bad choices and forcing yourself to select the least bad. This may not be a big deal in the so-called “developed” world, but right now Africa (SA inclusive) needs so much more than that.
I rather wish we Africans set about creating the NEW political movements we need. Of course it is not as easy as I make it sound, but waiting for the current system of politicians and parties to deliver the changes we all need is like waiting for it to snow in the Sahara. At some point you have to realize its not going to happen, and set about the hard work of creating the change you want to see.
Naija, I offer you my voice of support for your words. Our system of democracy really needs a total overhaul. It is a completely flawed system – a shadow of what Plato intended.
Putting a cross on a piece of paper every four years and hoping for the best does not constitute a sane and rational form of self determination.
Rather, with the technology that we have at our disposal today, we could easily, with some effort, develop a system that would allow all citizens to continuously participate in the governance at all civic levels. We do not have to subjugate ourselves to the primitive system of governance that we are currently using that only really benefits the elite few.
The current democratic system that we use is designed to keep us enslaved and powerless – not just here in SA, but in most countries who claim to be democratic.
One only has to look at the type of suppressive legislation that the governments of USA and UK are forcing upon their citizens to realize that we are not too far off that happening here.
It is up to us, the ordinary citizens to begin to create the change. Those in power will not assist us. But I guess, that is how movements start.
I dont vote for the DA,I vote for Helen Zille as I believe she is genuinely dedicated to improving our country at least as much as she is dedicated to advancing her political career,which is more than I can say for the rest of them.
PS:Why were you denied DA membership?
You don’t have to pretend to a “constituency” to whom you have to give account or to gain approval. Who you vote for is your business and your business alone.
So your policy can be summed up as “Vote for the slogans, not for the policies, principles or personalities”.
You are a perfect DA voter. Congratulations.
@MFB – now people have policies?!! Too much…
@Avishkar – I believe your approach to politics (although sluttish when you are in it for a career) is the way the general electorate should approach every election.
Make the politicians work for your vote.
I think you once wrote a similar article, Avishkar. Why would you suffer us the same old droll about the DA’s perfection/ Do you suppose you will climb the career ladder in the DA? Didn’t you consider that perhaps the reason why, during the only 2 years you were in the ANC, you could not move up the staircase was perhaps because of proportional representation? That although there might have seemed to be many Africans at the top there might were even more at the bottom?
You remind me of a passage in Biko’s “I write what I like” when he says that many Indians and Coloureds would rather identify with whites than with Africans, that’s why some don’t regard themselves as black. One might call oneself black but one might feel a certain superiority when relating to Africans. It’s the one sad thing that Apartheid lodged in the brains of our people. That even when we can intellectually profess to being black we are still stuck within than colonial mentality of scrupulous racial categories(indeed, although I am a Jew but I ascribe to the black consciousness ideology- that doesn’t mean I expect to benefit from BEE because I acknowledge that my being white naturally disposes me to a much better life than a black person, particularly one of African descent). That is just my position. I wouldn’t vote for the DA if they were the only party around.
@MFB
No, a vote for the DA is a vote for actual results – since the DA is the only party getting actual results.
I couldn’t care about slogans. Let’s face it, until Zille, we have never had a party deliver on it’s promises. That’s why my vote goes to the DA
I understand your frustrations, The ANC at the moment dispite they way that they might have treated you is still the party of choice. DA has a narrow way in which thye think that the problems SA should be resolved. Zuma will be the next president period.
@Phillipa Lipinsky – don’t let your anti-DA bias stop you from reading accurately.
Avishkar does not say the DA is perfection – he is says it is the only option left to him after his experience with the ANC and other parties.
@ all… actually in light of the DA’s lacklustre performance 2000 – 2009, its gap between leadership and the new generation, the lack of intellectualism from its R&S dept and the half witted fools being churned out by their young guns/leaders program… i estimate that it will be 2 years and 3 months before i am in complete control of the DA, nationally. and then we will see what liberty could mean for you and me.
To Quote: “Liberty means the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes is his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion” (Lord Acton)
I agree 100% with Avishkar. As an ex liberal I had and still have the same questions nagging my conscience. But I have nevertheless made my decision as to which party is deserving of our votes, and it not the ANC. In this case the devil we know is WORST than the one we don’t know.
This time around I am convinced, and the grape vine confirms, that the ANC should not rely too heavily on the Indian or other minority groups vote, for very many obvious reasons.
As I see it the first thing to, if you are not already aware of them, is to discover the principles which you adhere to. Having done that find the political party which in its policies and manifesto and on the ground behaviour most closely meets those principles and either support it or if you cannot because the match is not close enough then have the courage to set about creating a new party that matches your principles. This seems to be roughly the road that @avishkar travelled.
@Noko – Think again – think McCauly!
of course the irony of a liberal seeking totalitarianism is wasted on my readers it seems
naturally it is only in a liberal party, where a volunteer activist can voice political ambition without being excised – id like to see new members of the ANC, IFP, MF, ACDP, FF+, UDM, ID etc etc etc declaring that they will be contesting the next party leadership race…
oh wait thats right u cant do that in a personality cult, ummh i mean in a leader driven political party which is all about the one person – thankfully the liberal DA is a party which encourages ambition and excellence from every DA supporter
I find this post deeply disturbing. I’m a woman of Tamil Indian ancestry, who has lived in Cape Town since the mid-1990s. I am a professional with more than 2 decades experience in my field. who consults to both the ANC-led provincial govt and the DA-led City. Since the DA took over the City in 2006, I have lost over 80% of my contracts, and so have most of the black-owned SMMEs I work with. Black-owned SMMEs are now having to put up white fronts to win contracts at the City! The new City leadership is predominantly white male, and increasingly conservative. The political involvement within the administration is shocking. Jobs and contracts for friends is rife.
The ANC-led provincial government is indeed a home for all. I’ve never been made to feel my race there. Instead, I get treated as a professional who has value to offer. Contracts are won by people of all races, including white. The ANC MECs I have worked with (at least 4) are committed and dedicated to resolving the internal battles and focusing on positive change for all.
Stop thinking like a child Avishkar. You’re inconsistent and wishy-washy. And for God’s sake be careful of what you wish for. Also, stop wielding your Indianess like a weapon. Commit to a shared African identity, and vote for the party that offers the most to most South Africans. That’s the ANC.
@Avishkar – why did the DA deny you membership?
@Duncan – what results did the DA get? The only major city that they have run is Cape Town. The recent survey by Accelerate Cape Town shows that in the 3 years that the the DA has run Cape Town, there has been a flight of big business from the City. It also found that black people feel more isolated and unwelcome in the city.
The DA claims to be a business friendly party. Their economic policy is tied to its pro-business and anti-state intervention stance, and yet in the one place that they control, they are chasing business away. This sounds like failure to me.
They also claim to be building a South Africa for all, and yet in the 3 years they have run the City, black people (Indian, Coloured and African) feel more isolated and unwelcome. They have suceeded in building a South Africa for a few – who happen to be white.
And don’t get me started on the way they invest. Have you seen the investment going into areas like Seapoint vs. the investment going into the townships. Cape Town’s townships look like apartheid didn’t end. I actually have the minutes of a Cape Town Council meeting were senior DA councillors say that we must do less in the poor areas and more in the affluent areas.
What about cronyism and the apointment of Helen Zille friends for lucrative contracts from the City?
@ Rani, “Stop thinking like a child Avishkar. You’re inconsistent and wishy-washy…” – really? are you being serious? it must be difficult to see that Im being childish in demanding that organisations which print the ThiruVasagam should practice the principles of Manicka Vasagar… no wait, that logic and belief is from the Thiru Kural… as produced by the Thiru Valluvar Centre (NPO) which i founded in 2004 at the age of 25
so tell me, when i have a list of 73 Tamil Business people (contracters if you will) who have clearly paid bribes, inducements and incentives to people in government, the civil service, the ANC and the IFP – what should i do?
and since i dont accuse people without iron-clad evidence and since i at the time was an ANC activist – when i asked the ANC to take a stand on the issue of corruption in the community – why did they fail to do so?
for the record – i dont believe that a city council or provincial and national departments should outsource anything (even physical and production items can be provided internally) – certainly we have no need for consultants – between government, political parties and universities we dont need tender wallahs and consultants
@ Cape Town Consulting Contractor… i will say no more, offended as i am, other than that my postal address is PO Box 48245 Qualbert 4078, send me an affidavit that says that neither you nor any of your associates have any relationship of any sort with any person(s) directly or indirectly connected with government, political parties or the civil and public service – that none of the revenue received from these contracts have ever benefited anyone (directly or indirectly) in a manner which could be construed to have contributed to having induced them to award contracts to you and yours in the first instance – and i will ask the Executive Mayor of Cape Town to explain why your firms are not winning tenders.
On the other hand it is important to remember that no-one has any right to supply the state in perpetuity and that in fact everyone should get the opportunity to participate – so on what basis are u complaining about the “loss” of business – surely you have no inalienable right to the work?
you will note that i have never been associated with a single tender, bid, application or any other thing that in any way would have put me in line to get paid by the state… even when i developed the WNPC plan i gave it to the people of SA for free. i think its called civic responsibility…
I have no idea why the DA denied me membership (a year ago), they didnt say and i didnt ask, altho i have indicated that i will be appealing their decision, at some point in the future.
I think it may have something to do with the fact that i worked in the DA’s election office before going off to become associated with a number of other parties before applying to join the DA… even in the corporate world there are these restraint of trade and cooling off periods etc.
Re: Cape Town and the DA – i have lambasted the DA for what i perceive to be a class orientated approach to development – however i am also led to believe that there has since 2006 been an influx of business people buying homes and setting up offices in Cape Town, from Jhb. that in itself tells you that the DA has won the hearts and minds of a group of people, who have been disappointed by the ANC
Are their reactionary and racist elements in the DA? yes, but do they tell me what to do, NO – i dictate to them, but the ANC, IFP, COPE and other parties have reactionary and racist elements as well… the arrogance of black power nationalism far outclases the insecurity of white enclavist paranoia, in terms of the number of people who get ignored by the state.
Avishkar, at no time did I say that I believe that I have a right to supply the state in perpetuity. However, I have a national reputation as a leader in my area of work, I’m a highly qualified black businesswoman with a long list of credentials of successful work. I am very highly regarded in my field, and when I suddenly stop winning contracts only at the City of Cape Town, I am forced to question this. My former clients (from several different departments at the City) still call me for free consulting advice, but tell me that they have enormous difficulty in appointing black companies – and my company is 100% black-owned and staffed.
I will not reveal my details to you or anyone else in a public forum. Like most black people in SA, I support my nuclear family, my staff, several members of my extended family, and several members of my staff’s extended family – in Cape Town. I live in the real world, and I cannot afford to do anything to endanger my work.
with all due respect, this is not a public forum it is my thoughtleader blog. and i will take that doublespeak to confirm what i suspect. moreover, it would behove you to know that I disapprove in the extreme of any contractor or licensee holding more than 1 contract with the state (or any part of it) at one time – thats cos we have to SHARE the national wealth and the opportunity of easy work – given that the govt work has low expectations and is overpaid. but most of all let me say that when i become a politician in the next few years the first thing i am going to do is rid SA of the tender wallahs and the service providers – cos if we employ civil servants they shud b able to do the work without consultants. also we will boot these leeches who derive the bulk of their income from the state in one form or another – theyre the real cause of inflation. if u are an expert on something – go work at a university – setup a new research centre – do consulting work that way – we all give free advice – ur suggesting that you have more competence than the current contractors… i say stuff like that cos i can and its factually true… why do u?
interesting… in March 2006 the DA won the Cape Town elections. in May 2006 a catalogue of the literature pertaining to Cape Town’s URP is presented to Council. in June 2006…A Review of Literature Emanating from and Related to the City Of Cape Town’s Urban Renewal Programme is commissioned by: City Of Cape Town Information and Knowledge Management Department and City Of Cape Town Urban Renewal Programme. and it is prepared by: InfoWizz Information Services, which provides Business Data Solutions at P O Box 366, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915 * Phone: 083 293 4235 * Email: rpillay@infowizz.net * Website: http://www.infowizz.net/
let me say categorically that i have read this literature review and must now ask why a metro council commissioned either the catalogue or the review when these are skills taught in undergrad Research Methods courses and every Civil Servant in the City of Cape Town with a university degree should be able to do this work. So why wud we need to spend the taxpayers money doing what our political secretaries and civil servants are able to do by themselves as part of their jobs?
unless we are dealing with civil servants who have differential learning abilities and from the rather cursory lit review, im going along with that.
in the future the DA will continue to ensure that were not wasting money like this – to tender wallahs everywhere – its tough, your mandarin days are over !!!