The crippled democratic state

By: Samane Jnr Marks

Sourced : from the internet Tue 14:51 2022

South Africa celebrated 28 years of freedom and democracy on May 10th this year. This country has been preparing for what is now being referred to as the most critical election process since the dawn of democracy 28 years ago.

Since then, South Africa has seen a rotating cast of leaders and institutions. Citizens have witnessed these presidents' leadership come under the most severe scrutiny as a result of the country's crisis, which has exposed certain shortcomings and shown other virtues.

The constitutional authority of democracy is now at stake, since obstructions such as corruption, theft and money laundering, to name a few, have crippled the democratic state and political system.

The political landscape of South Africa is currently undergoing uncomfortable growing pains, demonstrated by factional altercations and infights amongst all leading parties and a vast loss of faith amongst the nation’s electorate.

The power for change (better future for all) which the South Africans entrusted on the current president Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa has taken a turn for worse. To begin with, corruption has become the most dangerous social phenomenon.

It leads to misconducts and illegal practices spreading inside governmental sphere, through forms of dodgy tender dealings, taking of bribes, discrimination and tempering with legal evidence.

This simply indicates how poorly weak and feeble the South African democratic state is momentarily. It bestows how the encouraged abuse of power exposes danger to the citizenry’s own freedom reckoned (Montesh, M) within his analysis of the crime investigative institutions within the South African Justice system.

The prior year, on July 18th. Looting and riots killed a huge number of people in most sections of Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal. It was determined that the rioting was precipitated by the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma, and a number of supporters who are alleged to be government employees (names withheld) are being held liable for the looting, although no charges of treason have been brought forward.

This occurrence occurred over a year and eight days ago today. The information presented to the public on the progress of investigations lacks clarity and distinctness.

Dozens of political elites and individuals have come forward to criticize the present leadership's failures. At the memorial service for late ANC secretary Jessie Duarte, former President Thabo Mbeki dropped a bombshell on President Ramaphosa.

He stated that there is a "lack of a national strategy to handle the concerns of property, unemployment, inequality, corruption, and load-shedding."

This sparked a political tempest and tarnished President Ramaphosa's reputation. With the Phala Phala controversy resurfaced, it was widely accepted on social media that the President should resign down.

South Africa is now dark for at least 2-3 hours per day. Back to the President's first manifesto, released on September 2, 2015. He stated "In another 18 months or two years will forget the challenges that we had with relation to power, and energy and Eskom ever happened.”

The 14-year-old problem called load-shedding is now more prevalent. To the same President who is a former chairman of interministerial committee on Eskom who promised a turn around plan to which no action was taken.

The President recently tabulated an action plan to end load-shedding which doesn’t have any backed up support from the citizens.

All these events unfold in a very critical time where the ruling party must uphold a conference for the national elections next year. These events have endangered the freedom of the people far worse, now the South African people’s perception of the ruling party bettering the future for all had changed regardless of how long the ANC has reigned.

The people’s trust for a better living is thrown out the window as the most and highly expected party to deliver is just a liberation movement of many plans but with lack of deliverance. People lost hope in the ruling government to turn their misfortunes around. The nature of elections has been badly impacted.

All these utterances are raised now than ever before closer to the election’s conference. To infiltrate the ANC to weaken it and make it lose support of the masses further under the current leadership.