Voting day is on Wednesday, and if you’re like any other South African, you’re not exactly looking forward to it. Our political parties leave much to be desired, and most citizens are a little over it all by now.
Last week, we told you that the best way to figure out who to vote for wouldn’t be by looking at what a party promises in its manifesto. Rather, it would be seeing how they have operated in the past when they have been close to or in governing power. Our guess is you haven’t had time to do the homework yet. Our big takeaway and this is going to be hella controversial, is that there are certain parties you just SHOULDN’T vote for if corruption is top of mind for you.
🔹ANC: In spite of its historical role in ending apartheid, the ANC’s modern-day scandals and abuse of public funds are too numerous to count. Plus, the electorate gave them a major second chance after President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to clean up, but he continued to put the party ahead of the country. The damage done to Transnet alone (and the huge cost to our economy) under his tenure is unforgivable.
🔹EFF: They are by far the most charismatic political party and the only ones who can really claim to speak for many young South Africans. Interestingly enough, they also have the best just energy transition ideas in their manifesto, and their leaders’ commitment to ongoing personal education is impressive. But despite all their promise, the weight of evidence of corrupt activities by its leaders is just too heavy: from the VBS bank scandal to corruption allegations when they were in a sort-of coalition running Johannesburg, plus dating back to leader Julius Malema’s alleged benefiting from tender fraud in Limpopo’s roads in his previous life as ANC Youth League leader.
🔹The Mkhonto weSizwe Party (MK): The fact that Jacob Zuma is their mascot tells you all you need to know about how this party will handle public funds should they get their hands on it. Ten years of Gupta-assisted state capture taught us Zuma saw the public purse less as a means for effective service delivery and more as his personal piggy bank.
🔹Notable mentions: The Patriotic Alliance and Al Jama-ah’s switching support for inept coalitions don’t inspire confidence, and neither does the UDM after the performance of its reportedly wildly corrupt mayor, Mongameli Bobani, in Nelson Mandela Bay.
When it comes to actual abuse of public funds, the ones we mention above take the cake. If stopping corruption is important to you, don’t vote for them. There are, of course, loads of issues plaguing the rest, including the opposition DA, who has a terrible track record on basic EQ and race. Patricia de Lille’s Good is a rampant political opportunist, while Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA is horribly xenophobic, while newbies Bosa and RISE Mzansi are untested. No one is perfect, so pick your battle come Wednesday, and at the very least, let’s try to curb the irredeemably corrupt getting more power.
