This is an exciting time to live in Africa. No matter what your opinion is of our current state, this week is proof that we are constantly on the verge of change.
South Africa particularly is such a vibrant melting pot of culture, opinion, ethics and politics. The complexity of the system of governance and authority is undeniable, no matter how laughable it has become in the past few years. This is the place where East meets West – where militants collide with pacifists and prejudices blur into agendas with various unpredictable outcomes. From an external point of view, you might think it is chaos, or a joke, but as a citizen of this great nation all I sense is that we are making history.
No nation has had a past as diverse and complex as ours. We are on the frontier of the developing world and, in many ways, are the pioneers of what the world will be in a few years. Beyond politics, culture, war, crime or economy, we are in the process of discovering what unity truly looks like in our post-modern society.
So obviously there will be some crazy growing pains – many of which can be categorised under Zuma’s time in office. I doubt he can shoulder all the blame for what has happened during his term of office, but it is very clear that things have not improved with him in power. As much as people can rant about how his presence has been destructive, it is hard to determine whether the course of events started before Jacob took over.
Our nation could very much be the largest social experiment ever to exist… And sometimes experiments do go wrong. The combination of factors can result in catastrophic explosions, but there is normally more than one catalyst or element that is required to make things go ‘boom’.
The deposition of our president may look like a step in the right direction – but it is only that. One step. Many peoples’ dissatisfaction will not be sated by Zuma leaving. I wish the economy would immediately skyrocket, that the lady waiting years for her house would get the keys straight away and that corruption would lose all power in our governance system – but we have a long way to go.
The recent call for Zuma to step down has manifested in two online petitions: One on Change.org and the other petitions24.com. I won’t be signing either. Here’s why:
Change.org
As I am writing, this petition has garnered over 134 thousand signatures so far. But besides a small, very generalised few words, there is no substance clearly defining what these people want. When Zuma steps down do we want the Vice President – Cyril Ramaphosa – to step in? Should there be an election? Is it just about removing our President and leaving authority to the dogs. Do we want a coup? Should we become a communist state? Should we invade Zimbabwe? Forgive me for being a little facetious, but the possibilities are endless because not much has been clearly defined.
Petitions24.com
This petition has a more definitive list of grievances. But the absence of punctuation, proper grammar and spelling makes it immediately unviable. I truly question the sincerity of 24 thousand people that have signed this version, since any informed individual who took the time to read what they were signing would be struck by how unofficial the draft of this petition looks like.
In both cases, I believe that more needs to be done for progressive change. Do the people have a say in how this country is run? Definitely. Is an online petition the best platform for people to voice their concern? Debatable.
A considerate amount of our country still has no access to internet. As long as they are kept out of the picture, it is going to be very hard to turn the tide of consequences our country is facing.
It is honestly up to you when it comes to signing these petitions. I understand there are many extremely personal reasons why any attempt for political change would be worth trying. I just feel it is important to say that more than a few seconds online is required for us to truly move our nation forward.
So do we do nothing? No. I know this might seem weak or passive, but the Bible tells us to pray for our leadership. I am committing to praying for my nation and for Mr Zuma. And I am actively going to encourage people who are bringing progress -no matter to what degree of influence – to our nation. If you agree with me it might mean more than typing your name into a box. It might mean investing into the people of our nation a bit more. I know we will get through whatever comes and I pray we all see the role that we can play in changing our nation. A wise person once said – change always starts with the one. Just because it looks like hard work doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. Sign the petition or don’t sign, but let’s do our part to give this place a bright future!