By MVUME NDIMBA
With elections approaching, political parties are dusting off their promises, politicians are rediscovering ordinary people, and voters are once again being asked to decide who deserves their trust. But as frustration over the cost of living, inequality and political leadership grows across the world, Mvume asks whether we’re directing our anger at the wrong people, and whether any political party truly represents those it claims to serve.
The Election Circus Is Back in Town
One of my favourite things about geo-politics is the fact that somehow, all our elections seem to sync up in terms of months/years of voting.
In this time we see some wonderful instances of shameless pandering for votes, parties who have been consistently bad and ineffective, gaslighting you into thinking it’s someone else’s fault, and the only way to save your country is to vote (insert party here).
We saw Helen do her usual thing, collecting black people like infinity stones, first she was out in a village she’s never been to before or since, mixing up a big old pot of pap (a food with the same nutritional value as an A4 piece of paper), doing a whole DJ set or in the current cycle… spinning in a Gusheshe, which… ja… like we can see what you’re doing ma’am.
The current ruling party avoided a massive blunder recently , saved only by the constitutional court, the ANC were allowed to have over 100 names added to the ballot after failing to register in time. The sudden shock of being forced to actually do his job caused Fikile Mbaulula to burst into tears and actually faint when the court granted the ANC the decision that saved the party from humiliation at the upcoming municipal elections.
BOSA, a party that I think has some potential to actually achieve something if given any power, relied on the tried and true method of finger pointing, claiming: the green party? Whack!, The blue Party? Whack! The red party with the berets? Whack! But us? We tight as F***!
Afriforum, as usual has maintained its stance which is basically “you know what time it is”- literally,their whole campaign was “dit is ons tyd” “dit is tyd” like time for what exactly gents? Like be as vague as you like but I know exactly what is meant by “ons” tyd, and spoiler alert, if a pencil gets stuck in your hair, you are not part of “ons”… you’re a “hulle” just like me!
Across the Pond, the Political Circus Continues
Across the pond our yankee doodle ding-dongs are gearing up for their elections as well, with the party of “meritocracy” handing jobs out to pretty blonde white girls or women who genuinely appear to be extraterrestrials… I’m so serious, why do Susan, Barbara and Kelly all look like they just arrived on earth a few weeks ago?
The other end of the political aisle in the US (Democrats) have little to no work to do in this one, the best campaign they could run is to just give Trump a microphone and let him freestyle for 12 minutes. But the general tone of 2026 has been clear and decisive. The citizens are done, we will no longer sit idly by while we watch our country fall apart.
When the People Have Had Enough
The ongoing protests in Europe have showed us our inevitable future, similar to the Nepal protests of 2025, a global attitude shift is being observed where many young, working aged people are living in poverty, working harder than generations before them with nothing to show for it and bemoaning the ever-rising cost of living and lack of service delivery. France is joined by Belgium, Italy, Spain and Albania as nations that have become sick and tired of suffering under high costs of living while people with some power either financially, socially or politically continue to profit from their suffering.
We as South Africans are no strangers to these talking points, fighting tooth and nail for basic services we pay for through taxation. The French protesters burned public buildings, pouring feces all over their tax building (iconic) and dressing up in elaborate costumes as they took their streets back from the political elite, the Albanians burned their supreme court to the ground after the court granted permission for an American real estate company to destroy protected Albanian land and turn the area into a fancy resort that no Albanian citizen could afford to even visit let alone patronise, (take a wild guess who’s son-in-law is at the head of this development).
Our cost of fuel in SA has reached over R30 a litre inland and the amount of money you have to spend just to enjoy the privilege of breathing balloons higher and higher every month.
Are We Fighting the Wrong People?
So i look at the US, I see the current cult of MAGA losing influence every day, I look at France, and see the faith in the current establishment has eroded to levels comparable to the French revolution, where the leaders say “let them eat cake” while the peasantry just wants the right of dignity, I see the Albanians being ignored by their officials in exchange for financial gain, I see South Africans protesting and burning down shops of foreigners, finger pointing at other South Africans claiming that their woes stem from people who have less than they do. The ongoing scapegoating of foreign nationals and South Africans who moved from city A to city B for work breaks my heart, because as the US has shown us, there is no progress when we fight amongst ourselves, only bloodshed.
We enrich the powers that be, when our enemy is in our neighbourhood, when we see our enemy every day on the way to work, school or to socialise, it should be crystal clear to anyone with all their faculties that removing the guy on the corner won’t make police more effective at their jobs. Burning down a shop won’t make the government ease up on red tape for small and emerging businesses and kicking out the few (around 20 000) people from other countries receiving grants from the government won’t reduce the cost of fuel in our country.
A System Reaching Its Breaking Point?
What is going on in Europe today, and Nepal yesterday, and Pakistan before that is a sign that we are fast approaching a new system of governance, commerce and society. I’ve said a few times in this column that I don’t believe in capitalism as being a sustainable model for local governance. In order for capitalism to work, it requires an exploited working class’ labour. And that’s precisely why we find ourselves in the situation we’re in today, as wealth is concentrated in fewer hands, the exploited majority grows both in size and ferocity, and soon, it may be impossible for politicians to leave their homes without angry mobs accosting them.
And at the end of the day, the problem lies in the motivations of the people we call our “leaders” or public “servants”.
Politicians aren’t in the game because they love it and want to improve the lives of all their citizens (looking at you, giant wall to hide the poors from arrivals at Cape Intl. Airport), Police officers aren’t going to work with the goal of making life safer for all in their jurisdiction and teachers aren’t teaching for the love of shaping and moulding young minds as reports suggest that thousands of young children failed grade 1 this year with almost 500 000 pupils who start grade 1 not making it to matric.
Nobody does what they do for the love of it, they do it for housing subsidies, salary opportunities or in the case of some policemen and women, for the opportunity to make money on either side of the law.
Politically, We Are All Homeless
Politically, as South Africans we are all homeless. There is no one party that stands for us, that will meet our needs both sustentive and aspirational, there are core ideological beliefs that we don’t share with our parties… Some parties claimed a fake genocide when they wanted help from foreign nations, then turned around and said they never said that, some parties took Isreal to tasks at ICC, some parties stand with Isreal and believe we have a duty to uphold her interests, some parties have hopes of a foregin nation invading our shores to depose the current democratically elected president in place of a more agreeable (probably white “straight” male), replacement, some parties want to nationalise all private owned entities while creating open borders, while the other party wants all foreigners expelled and our borders secured 24/7.
Every political party has their own goal, their own desires for the future of our nation, but when you go make your mark next month, do what you can to avoid the identity politics, don’t focus on the party you hate, find the party that speaks to what’s important to you… the party that’s politics are aligned with your own, vote for the party that actually has YOUR best interest at heart, because I fear that these municipal elections and the next general elections will be a watershed moment in our nation’s colourful history, lets all hope that we find ourselves on the right side of history as we so often do.
As we watch our European brothers and sisters fight for their rights in their own land, we need to remember that at the end of the day, this land belongs to all of us, not an elite few, we need only pray that things improve, before we need to take to the streets in our Spiderman suits and picket signs, to remind the government exactly where the power of this nation truly lies.
Disclaimer: Culture Commentary is an opinion column on 041Online. The views, opinions and interpretations expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of 041Online, its editorial team or its contributors. The column is intended to encourage conversation, debate and critical thinking.
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