Elections Again

Here it comes again, Elections. Well sort of, seeing as these are local government, in other words municipal elections, and the population is asked to choose ‘parties’ to run their towns and cities.

Well quite honestly, I don’t know who I will vote for, or for that matter if I’ll even bother to vote….

Don’t get me wrong, if I do not vote this time, it will be the first time ever I will have chosen not to vote. I have voted in every election and referendum since achieving voting age all those years ago… elections were important, so much so I invariably got involved to some degree with voluntary work for the candidate of choice. Throughout those years prior to 1994, my vote went to the Progressive Party, Progressive Federal Part, finally The Democratic Party. Why? in those days they were the only people deserving of a vote. The others, National Party, Herstigte Nationale Party, Konservatieve Party, United Party, well I’d sooner have been drawn and quartered before voting for one of them….

In 1994 the ANC got my vote, they offered what was closer to my heart than any other. In the 1999 election I was unable to be in my registered area of Kingsborough on voting days, so couldn’t vote. However the ACDP candidate would have got my vote that time. Not because I have any consideration of this parties extremist and frankly ridiculous policies (except their proposal on tax), but I promised the candidate standing in the region I might vote for her if she could get me a copy of the Marine Living resources act. She was as good as her word, and for no other reason deserved my thanks by way of a vote…. In 2005 Patricia de Lille got my support – at the time she was the most vociferous objector to the iniquities of the ruling party… Then in 2010 the DA was the party of choice, offering at least professional and relatively transparent governance.

That brings us to this coming charade…. Now supporting any party at this time needs consideration given to the overall state of affairs of performance, and manifestoes at central (national) government level (at least to me).

ANC, sorry comrades, your party is so incompetent, corrupt, and frankly just as racist as the old NP was in apartheid days. Not one of you deserves the exorbitant salaries you earn for doing absolutely nothing worthy of your office. So no vote for you. The DA has recently voiced its commitment to supporting traditional ‘big business’, and as a small business professional, such institutions as the stock market, major corporate interests, and such are not in line of creating a better environment to ease the needs of small business, like easy access to unsecured venture capital and so on. I doubt you have any real interest in anyone other than the existing ‘top wealth’ individuals in this country. The IFP, quite honestly not much better than the ANC… As to the rest of the seemingly 1001 insignificant groupings out there, none of you have anything worth considering….

Now, that’s the ‘real issues’ side of things, now to a more individual level…. Why should I give my vote to any candidate, irrespective of your affiliations. Since 1994, I have NEVER seen a candidates representative. Not once have any of you bothered to knock on my door to ask for my vote….. At least those old pre 94 parties would come every time to canvass for my support, and whether they were NP HNP, KP, or PP/PFP/DP, I would give them courtesy and my time of day, a cup of coffee or tea, or a glass of coke, and listen to their point of view. Sometimes they even had some good points to make, irrespective of whether I could agree with their point of view or not.

All we the electorate get these days are talking heads on TV, and then not one of you tell us what you or your party stand for. It is NOT up to us, the electorate, to discover what your manifesto is, what sort of person you as are. It is surely YOUR responsibility, if not DUTY, to let us know.

So, MY vote is hanging in the air. If some astute candidate wants it, come and ask me personally for it, tell me what you would like to do, what your party is all about. I just might give it to you!!!