Fed-up but loyal, SA’s poor rally behind the ANC

MUNSIEVILLE – Unemployed and tired of living crammed into one-room huts with no running water, the poorest residents of this South African township say their government has failed them.

But most recoil in horror at any suggestion they vote for a party other than the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its leader Jacob Zuma in an election this week.In one of the biggest ironies in South African politics, the most loyal ANC voters are often those the party appears to have let down most bitterly.Year after year, South Africa’s poorest wait for the new house, the job, the running water and electricity, the decent education for their children that the ANC has promised since it defeated apartheid under Nelson Mandela in 1994.For many, that never comes. Yet they still turn out at the ballot box.’Half a loaf of bread is better than no bread,’ said Rahab Modise, a 24-year-old single mother, wringing out her family’s washing in front of her corrugated iron shack in a shanty-town area of the Munsieville township near Johannesburg.’The ANC is going to help us. They are taking a long time, but I still hope they will come one day.’The ANC is virtually ensured of winning this week’s election despite a challenge from a new breakaway party and a string of corruption scandals. It could even keep the two-thirds majority it holds in parliament, letting it change the constitution.Those disgruntled with 15 years of ANC rule point to the millions of mostly black South Africans whose lives have barely changed since apartheid fell.In this part of Munsieville, for example, hundreds share one water tap, which sits next to a stinking mound of rubbish where dirt-smudged children play and stray dogs scavenge for food. Residents dig pits for toilets and few have jobs.Lack of services regularly top the list of voter priorities and parties across the political spectrum cite lofty, albeit often vague, goals of tackling poverty.MIRROR-IMAGETownships regularly erupt into violence as the poor vent their frustration. Yet when it comes to voting, that anger seems to evaporate.Analysts say that until other parties such as the newly formed Congress of the People (COPE) or the Democratic Alliance learn to identify with the poor, the ruling party will face little in the way of real opposition.’Irrespective of how bad service delivery gets, the poor still think the ANC represents them,’ said Ebrahim Fakir, a political analyst at the Electoral Institute of South Africa.’The ANC’s image fits with what they see when they look in the mirror.’Zuma, a polygamist who enlivens rallies by kicking his legs in the air as he sings struggle-era songs, has helped cultivate that image. His own life embodies the rags-to-riches fairytale many dream of, and when he pledges new houses, many believe him.’We like Zuma because he’s one of us,’ said Vuyo Tsotso (26), who makes about R10 a day selling scrap wiring.’Zuma will give us grants and build houses. The ANC saved our lives because of what they did in 1994,’ he said, minutes after complaining the government had abandoned his community.The party says it has made progress, noting 80 percent of households now have electricity and more than 3 million subsidised houses have been built since it won power. It points to the growing ranks of black executives and professionals that fill South Africa’s shopping malls and have powered its economy, some of whom will live in the smart new apartments being built across the highway from Munsieville.And its yellow, green and black posters, some bearing the beaming face of Zuma, hold out hope for the people of Munsieville. ‘Together’, they say, ‘we can make a difference’.But there are also flickers of change that suggest the ANC’s grip on power will not last forever.While most Munsieville residents surveyed by Reuters vowed unwavering loyalty to the ANC, a few younger voters expressed a willingness to consider other parties.One had already decided to vote for the DA, headed by a white woman, Helen Zille – an option he had previously dismissed because of South Africa’s troubled racial past.’Since 1994 the ANC has been making empty promises,’ said Philemon Rakuba (23). ‘They say a better life for all, but they’re the only ones living better while we’re still stuck here, and still voting for them.’ – Nampa-Reuters