By Lesego Sechaba Mogotsi
With only 49 days remaining before the much-anticipated national and provincial elections and the growing elections fever, it is quite funny that even atheists and self-proclaimed revolutionaries are suddenly finding themselves requesting churches to open their doors for them to either address the congregations or ask for prayers.
If this is not a demonstration to the electorate on how manipulative some of the political parties and their leaders are, then it means that we have not learnt anything in the past 30 years of our democratic dispensation.
However, what I would like us to focus on today is the deafening silence from some of the political commentators and analysts on those independent candidates, political parties and leaders that the voters should honestly not consider voting for on May 29, and in the subsequent national, provincial and local elections in South Africa.
We have all over the years seen how lenient the requirements are for anyone to become a public representative at local, provincial and national level in South Africa.
And it is for this reason that I would like to make an appeal to the 27.7 million eligible voters in South Africa who value their votes, not to vote for the independent candidates, political parties and leaders on May 29 and in the subsequent local, provincial and national elections as our lawmakers (public representatives) who are likely to continue to behave like constitutional delinquents in council meetings, provincial legislatures and Parliament.
It is so sad to note that after almost 30 years of our democratic dispensation, there are some elected councillors, members of provincial legislatures and members of Parliament who still do not understand their role as our first line of lawmakers in South Africa.
It is quite evident that some of those elected public representatives who were entrusted with the law-making process in the past 30 years in South Africa do not value and appreciate their roles as the first line of lawmakers at local, provincial and national level in South Africa.
As one of those patriotic South African, my submission to the 27.7 million eligible voters is not to vote for any of the independent candidates, political parties and leaders on the May 29 who continue to:
– promote lawlessness and incite violence
– encourage squalor in our communities
– promote illegal occupation of the land
– promote destruction of public properties
– promote destruction of private properties
– promote vandalism and destruction of public facilities and infrastructure
– demonstrate that they are unfit and cannot be entrusted with state power at any level
– demonstrate that they are intolerant and lack political maturity
– encourage destruction of council, provincial legislatures and Parliament properties
– support shutdowns that often inconvenience other citizens
– support disruption of council meetings, provincial legislatures and parliamentary sessions
– encourage illegal and undocumented foreign national entry into South Africa.
The May 29 national and provincial elections offer many eligible South African voters a golden opportunity to carefully consider who they will be voting for, not only to become public representatives, but also their first line of lawmakers.
It is a golden opportunity that many South Africans can’t afford to squander, taking into consideration some of the amateurish behaviour and antics we have witnessed in some of the council meetings and Parliament.
LESEGO SECHABA MOGOTSI
AZAPO MEMBER, TSHWANE, GAUTENG