Have we come this far that we are also corrupt?

I have been privileged to do a few turns on the Campaign Trail with the Abantu Intergity Movement as well as being privvy to a few communications to different Wards in Gqeberha.

Of course the negatives do stick out:

1. A few citizens want a T-Shirt in exchange for a promise to vote for AIM
2. A few want food on the same premise
3. A few are more subtle by engaging in chit chat and then asking for money in exchange for a Vote
4. Some people have written to their Ward Councillors promising a vote in exchange for speedhumps, fixing potholes or street lights
5. Some come out against our Gqeberha and promise a vote in exchange for a return to Port Elizabeth
6. Some just say; “Haai Soeka!”

Now this is where I find myself saddened as I realise that the corruption in our society and in the ‘political industry’ seems so endemic that voters feel the need to horse trade their votes in order to be heard or to have basic service delivery concerns attended to.

More heart breaking is the way that many of our fellow citizens see elections as a way of getting a free meal. That we as a society have not solved the conundrum of providing employment and prosperity for all is the saddest indictment against a political system that is clearly broken and in need of a hyper local focus to fix society as a whole.

We need to once again be proud of each other, our places and our country.