Eddie gaining insight on South Africa's realities

Today I attended a meeting in Cape Town, which comprised of multifarious organisations, charities and pressure groups with the aim of coordinating a common framework to achieve a better democratic South Africa for everyone.  Being in attendance was hugely insightful as I heard a broad range of grievances and strategies to make democracy more inclusive for people who have been relegated to the fringes. 

One professor proffered the ‘democracy rand’ where the government would deposit about R100 (about £6) into eligible voters’ bank accounts.  The voter could then use this money to purchase newspapers, journals, party manifestos and other enlightening items to properly inform them of the choices presented before them.  The theory is that it is the voters who will drive the national debate rather than the parties and the media directing the contemporary issue.  Another salient grievance was raised when a Xhosa speaker through an interpreter criticised the neglect of languages other than English and Afrikaans in official government correspondence. She argued that this was a method to restrict people from entering and understanding South African politics and stymied inclusion.  When this was raised I immediately thought of Spanish speakers in the USA and wondered if they have ever felt like they were excluded from politics.

An activist advanced the power of mobile phone companies and their charges for airtime.  He maintained that the high prices are a means used to restrict political communication and are an agent of control.  He reminded the meeting that communication is a right enshrined in the constitution and that tariffs are a veiled method to regulate who communicates and who doesn’t.  It was also very intriguing to listen to the quandary shared by many people who said that in the face of what was being discussed, they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the ANC, but they also cannot bring themselves to vote for a party other than the ANC.  Many commented that they intended to spoil their ballot in the forthcoming presidential election.

The meeting was hugely incisive as it introduced me to the important tribulations of South African democracy and to those that strive to mould it to include everyone.  It made me contemplate if the democratic country, which Nelson Mandela and all of the other activists fought for, has been realised.  I was reminded of Mandela’s sentiment that once one climbs a mountain, one finds that there are many more to climb.