Who to vote for in the South African municipal elections in 2011

I would like to tell South Africans who to vote for definitively but alas, I can’t! This is the first year since 1994, in which I don’t know who to vote for. All other years it was easy for me. It was a foregone conclusion even before the election date was declared, in those years, that I would vote ACDP. However, this year, I am not sure whether I want to vote for them or not! This post will probably make many people come after me with baseball bats, ice-picks, shot guns and more! Hey, but that is part of the fun of blogging!

It is definitely easier to know who I will NOT vote for: the ANC, PAC and what I would call the communistic left. It is here that the devil’s plans find root for South Africa. It was under the leadership of the ANC and “Saint Nelson Mandela” that abortion, pornography and homosexual marriage were legalised in South Africa. It is they that are leading South Africa into the ocean of despair just like the Pied Piper led the mice to a watery death!

However, living in Pretoria, I have been toying with the idea of voting for the DA. I know that the DA, as a political party, is not against abortion, homosexual marriage or pornography. In fact, according to the DA, they do not have any policies regarding these issues. When votes on such issues come up in parliament the DA gives their members of parliament (MPs) the right to vote according to their conscience. That means that different DA MPs could vote opposite to one another in a true democratic system. This is something that does not exist in ANC ranks. Their MPs are consistently told what they are to vote. However, while the DA certainly does not seem to be an upstanding moral party, there are other issues that must be considered. The ANC has brought Pretoria to brink of financial disaster, and corruption in the ANC-led council in Pretoria seems like a bottomless pit. Currently, if we are to be realistic, no other party apart from the DA has even the remote capability of taking over the reins of the city from the Abortion Nepotism and Corruption party. Many areas around Pretoria have not received adequate services and hostels that were promised by none other than Jacob Zuma to be rebuilt, after several years never happened. Also, the DA only needs another 20,000 votes to topple the ANC out of ruling this city. That is certainly something to think about!

God has shown right through the pages of the Bible, that He doesn’t need complete Christian governments in order to have His will performed. Under the pagan King Cyrus, God started a move in this ungodly king’s heart, who then sent Israel back to their promised land. God raised Godly men, such as Joseph and Daniel to high positions in godless kingdoms in order for His will to prevail. Then, on the other hand, many so-called Christian governments and presidents of countries have flopped seriously, such as in Malawi and Fiji!

In my opinion, when it comes to service delivery in our towns and cities, anyone can do better than the ANC, and to be honest, who has the manpower and skilled people available right now but the DA?

On the other hand, there are political parties in South Africa based on Biblical principles. These can be found at the South African Voter’s Guide. There are basically four parties based on a Christian ethic: ACDP, CDP, CP and the FF+. Of course, this causes a problem for Christian voters. However, right off the bat, the CP here seems quite useless, since their website is never up, displaying the message: “Bandwidth Limit Exceeded.” So, that makes it easy... no ‘X’ for the CP!

I have never seen the FF+ as an option, since in my perception, it has always been a party for racists. My perception may be wrong, and I sincerely hope that I am wrong. My question to the FF+ would be whether it is a requirement for their officials in the party to be true Christians, or is the name “Christian” simply a cultural attachment.

That leaves us with the ACDP and the CDP (a founding member of the Christian Democratic Alliance). One would think that being Christian parties, these two parties could cooperate, perhaps the ACDP could even become part of the Alliance. But, oh no! There is so much bad blood between the ACDP and the CDP. And don’t expect either of the two parties to acknowledge that they were the cause of the bad blood. That would be like Moses trying to get water out of a rock by beating the rock senseless with a stick! As recent as the 2009 general elections, the CDA approached the ACDP to become part of the CDA, to have a united front. But, the ACDP dissed the CDA with all kinds of excuses, not wanting to join the CDA. At that time I wrote an “Open letter to leaders of the ACDP and CDA.” You can read the responses of the ACDP and the CDA.

I was a member of the ACDP, served from branch level to provincial level in the patty’s Provincial Council as deputy-chairman and also on the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) as Provincial Whip. I resigned in October 2008. In 2008, in the run up to the 2009 general elections, the party president, Kenneth Meshoe wanted to have a meeting with the PEC. I cannot remember the complete situation, or what Meshoe wanted to do, but as the Whip (and therefore executor of the party constitution and guidelines, I warned him that what he wanted to do was not in line with the party constitution or the rules and guidelines. What followed next shocked me! Meshoe was adamant that we should not let the constitution of the party hinder us from getting the job done. My answer to that was that we should then put in a motion to make an amendment to the constitution. I soon left the party since I couldn’t work under these type of circumstances where the constitution of the party was not followed properly. There were other very unpleasant situations in the Tshwane region, where I was the Secretary General for the region, that also added to my motivation to resign.

Another problem I have with the ACDP is that they are not always democratic. In the run up to the 2009 elections, the party list for the elections had to be formulated. This is the list to rank people in the party from the highest ranking to the lowest to determine who would get parliamentary posts if the ACDP received enough votes. After the popular vote within the party, some really capable and strong people landed in the top 10. However, then the National Executive Committee got hold of that list, and several people lost their ranking on that list and dropped out of the top 10 simply because they were white. Apparently, the sub-committee in charge of this process felt that each block of 10 people in the ranking must be representative of South Africa. Hence, each 10 was made up of 8 blacks, 1 white and 1 “other.” I would say this is the opposite of democratic! And apparently, this was not the only time this type of list manipulation has happened.

Some other high profile people that have left the ACDP in the last 2 years have made claims of fraud, racism and manipulation. It has been claimed that these listing processes have crippled most of the provinces and regions. Unqualified and incompetent people get positions above those that are able with good education, much of this based on skin colour. With things like this going on in the ACDP, can they render any real contribution to politics in South Africa, especially against mismanagement in local government?

Some key people have left high profile positions in the ACDP since around 2009. A very longstanding national chairman resigned after serving for many years in that position. His successor resigned only a year later. Also, the national Elections Manager resigned last year after serving many years in that position. Inexplicable things happen in the ACDP that drive people away. Read this letter to the CDP concerning the ACDP.

What is wrong within the ACDP? When I was still within the structures of the ACDP I had such high hopes for the party. Even after I had resigned from the party I still had hope for them in the run-up to the 2009 elections. After all that has happened since I had left, I am no longer sure that things re well within the party. Is it time for a leadership change at the top? Has Kenneth Meshoe overstayed his welcome? Only time will tell!

My hope is that the ACDP and CDP would be able to sort out their problems and come up with a united front. However, while the ACDP is experiencing all these problems, no matter what causes them, it will remain a one-percenter.

I could probably write more on these issues, but the point is that it is not that easy this year to decide who to vote for!

Maybe the hand of God will write on the wall!

Continued in Part 2...