Garland Sam

Just because one has benefitted from the gains of democracy does not mean one must consent to abuse, mismanagement, willful blindness, political criminality or corruption. Benefiting from change is not a lifelong contract to tolerate poor leadership. It is astonishing that this still needs to be said out loud. There is a reason so many have abandoned the ANC. People are not irrational for walking away. Humans vote in their self-interest. As Napoleon put it, "Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest." Well, the electorate at this point is moved by both: the fear that their future is being squandered by elected officials, and the self-interest to preserve what remains of it. It is ironic then, that ANC leadership decries this "self-interest" among voters while many within their own ranks have ruthlessly pursued self-enrichment at the expense of the people they are meant to serve. Voters are, after all, merely following the example set by their leaders: prioritising their own survival by abandoning those who have abandoned them: the ANC. Gwede saying that the middle class is “ungrateful” ignores historical data. There is also a reason why the ANC’s middle class support peaked under Mbeki. Yes, he had shortcomings, no one disputes that. But he presided over the longest period of economic expansion in our history, including the apartheid era for those who are oddly nostalgic about that economy. This did not happen by accident. In fact, had the economy continued to grow at the same rate (4.5%) after Mbeki left, it would be double its current size. That should anger anyone. Sorry Gwede, people are not ungrateful, they are angry. Some data under Mbeki: Growth: The economy grew at an average of 4.5%. Had we maintained that trajectory, our economy would be double its current size today. Employment: The "jobless growth" narrative is a fallacy born of laziness. Under Mbeki, the economy produced 500,000 new jobs a year. Employment nearly doubled from roughly 8 million in 1994 to 15 million by the time the Polokwane conference concluded. Service Delivery: For every one shack erected during that period, ten formal houses were built. Fiscal Health: Mbeki handed over a budget surplus, the first in our history. The ANC even secured a two-thirds majority during this era because people felt the results in their pockets and their communities. They rewarded competence. Contrast this with what followed. The very party that now demands loyalty abandoned its responsibility to the economy in favour of factionalism and self-enrichment. Under Jacob Zuma, average growth plummeted to 1.8%, and job creation halved to 250,000 a year. Under President Ramaphosa, despite the "New Dawn" rhetoric, we are averaging only 100,000 new jobs a year. (Although I am cautiously optimistic recently). The ANC vote share declined seems to follow the pattern of the economy. As Bill Clinton’s Chief Strategist, James Carville put in when Clinton was running the presidency in 1992, “It’s the economy stupid!” So for Gwede to claim that the middle class has benefitted most from change yet refuses to identify with the ANC is either arrogant or out of touch. It sounds very much like an argument made to protect power rather than to interrogate the ANC’s very poor performance, which I understand [power is lovely] but cannot condone. Why should the current ANC be rewarded? For commissions of inquiries? For apologies? People reward delivery, not nostalgia. The ANC is losing votes because it abused the platform it inherited sixteen years ago. People are not confused. To quote my favourite philosopher, the late great Paul Bearer, The Undertaker’s promoter, people are, “Sick and tired of being sick and tired,” and being expected to applaud decline.