The South African opposition led by the official opposition, the DA, are lost. I say this because the ruling ANC has given them ample opportunities to erode some of it’s support but like blind men they keep fumbling around instead of providing leadership.

The problem is that all of our opposition parties have secretly admitted that they can’t beat the ANC at the polls. Bull! The only reason they can’t and won’t beat the ANC at the polls is because they do not want to shed their narrow interests and embrace the interests of South Africans at large.

The DA for instance. In order for the DA to make serious inroads into the black vote, they need to start looking seriously at issues affecting black communities which would be uncomfortable to the majority of their current voters. They need to start talking seriously about BEE, land reform, affirmative action and the likes. But no, the DA is simply too scared of shedding white voters in order to gain black ones. Of course when asked they will point out to problems within such policies as they are. True, BEE, land reform and many other similar policies have serious shortcomings but opposition parties need to come out clearly in support of the principles and then propose alternatives. So far we haven’t seen much of these. They seem to be hellbent on simply using the media and other White Inc resources to simply shoot these policies down. This is unfortunately interpreted as a stance against transformation by the voters.

The DA comes across, at least to black voters, as a white liberal party hellbent on protecting the interests of the white minority including privilege. While many commend theDA for it’s role in questioning government and helping uncover corruption they feel that this in not done by the DAacaring opposition party but as a DA dedicated to ridiculing black rule and proecting white interest. This perception is born out the DA’s failure to take up issues that are bread and butter to blacks only and their seeming protection from the media who are forever critical of the ruling party. It’s also born out of the DA’s failure to adequately field blacks in positions within the party. When asked, the response is that they look at competence and not colour. This can only mean, to many black peole at least, that the DA does not think it has within it’s ranks competent black people who can fill these positions.

Other opposition parties are even worse in that their interests are even narrower. The UDM is nothing but a vehicle to keep the good General in parliament. IFP started out pursuing narrow Zulu nationalism interests which proved a sham when election results showed that a majority of Zulu people did not buy into the ideology of Zulu nationalism. Since then, the party has become increasingly irrelevant. The less said about Cope and possibly NFP, the better.

Freedom Front plus is at least honest about their political objectives. Looking after Afrikaner interest whilenparticipating in our democracy. One might not agree with their politics but can appreciate the honesty of it. PAC and AZAPO are simply an insult to South Africans who worked tirelessly and even lost their lives working for these organizations during the struggle against apartheid. They have become nothing but sideline spectators in the political arena.

What we should be seeing is an opposition that does not seek to impose its own ideology on voters but one that strives to understand the wants and needs of the electorate. An opposition dedicated to all South Africans and not just a section of society. This opposition shall acknowledge the imbalances of the past and work diligently to address them without fear or favour. It will be true to the democratic principles on which this country was founded. We should be seeing an opposition that supports government when they feel government is on the right track and an opposition that takes up the fight of all the citizens with the same zeal that they do when taking up interests of the White Inc. Opposition parties waste too much of their energy fighting the ruling party instead of talking to the electorate. This only serves to alienate them from voters rather than win them over.

Until the people feel that the opposition has their best interests at heart, they will continue voting ANC. The ANC itself, while making strides in some areas has shown itself to be riddled with corruption, factionalism and has dismally failed to address some core needs of the people. The opposition has dismally failed to capitalize on this. They need to be seen to be taking up fights that matter to poor black people. You can’t be seen to be wasting millions taking government to court to fight on whether ministers should be driving around in million rand vehicles. While this is correct, I would much rather see you first taking government to court for failing to provide me with quality housing, failing to address the land question or failing to protect my child who was raped in school. Those are the fights that matter. The fights that will bring in the votes.