Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Emily Corke
Strangely,
yes, in many
ways, I can still
see it as an
apartheid town.
The spatial
arrangement of
the residential
areas is the
same as it was
before.
- Rhodes Universitys
Professor Paul Maylam
2
0
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4
Ten governmental shortcomings in the EC
Housing for all: On 3 April this year, the Minister for Human Settlements Connie September came to Grahamstown to
hand over the new housing plan, said to start in the area by the end of the month. Te contract has been signed and the site
has been handed over to begin construction of new houses in the area. However, residents felt that they were tired of waiting
for the municipality to provide them with housing and have used what money they have from their pensions to buy bricks
and build their own homes. Tese houses have since been demolished by the municipality.
Water for all: Te Eastern Cape has
the highest number of households with
no access to piped water, the highest
number of households that rely on riv-
ers and streams for their main source
of water, and the most households
without toilets.
Ending rural poverty: Valerie Moller,
Professor of Quality of Life Studies in
the Institute of Social and Economic
Research (ISER) at Rhodes University,
says that the rural population of the
former homelands who sufered most
from underdevelopment in the past
have been hardest hit by the rising cost
of living in the new era.
Quality education: In 2013, the matric
pass rate for the province was 64.9%.
While this was a marked improvement
from 2012, the province is still the
worst-performing when it comes to
education in the country. In 2002, in
the Eastern Cape, there were 284,283
learners who entered Grade one but
only 48,734 learners successfully com-
pleted Grade 12 in 2013.
Build an economy that creates jobs
for all: Te Democratic Alliance (DA)
has pointed to the unemployment rates
since the beginning of Zumas term
in presidency: unemployment has
risen from 23.5% to the current levels
of 25.6%. Economic growth has not
fared any better over the same report-
ing period. In Zumas fourth year as
president, GDP growth dropped to just
below 2% since the beginning of his
presidency.
Basic service delivery for all: Te
Eastern Cape only met 51% of its
target of service delivery in 2011/2012
and South Africa has been dubbed the
protest capital of the world because of
the prominence of violent protests in
part sparked by service delivery issues.
Quality healthcare for all: In 2013, life
expectancy had risen from 53.2 years
in 1998 to 59.2 years. In the Eastern
Cape, HIV/Aids accounted for the
largest proportion of female (34%) and
male (23%) deaths.
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9
9
4
End to violence in the country:
According to Crime Stats SA, over
160,000 people have been murdered
in South Africa since 2004 and 5,900
crimes are reported to the SAPS daily.
End to corruption: According to
Crime Stats SA, it has been estimated
that SA has lost R650 billion to cor-
ruption over the last 18 years, with
Nkandla being the most recent public
scandal. South Africa ranked 72 out
of 177 countries on the Transparency
International Corruption Perception
Index in 2013.
Curbing unemployment: In the
Eastern Cape, the 2011 census showed
that the ofcial rate of unemployment
is 37.4% and the expanded unemploy-
ment rate is 51.2% (which includes
discouraged work seekers). Tis is the
highest in the country.
1. Te rapes of Alison Botha in 1994 and
Anene Booysens in 2013
2. Hansie Cronje guilty of match fxing in
2000
3. South African Arms Deal since 2000
4. Zuma accused of fraud, corruption and
rape since 2005
5. Te shooting of Brett Kebble in 2005
6. Tabo Mbeki is recalled in 2008
7. 34 miners killed in Marikana in 2012
8. Oscar Pistorius shoots Reeva Stenkamp in
2013
9. Nkandlagate in 2013
10. Service delivery protests at the beginning
of 2014 (with Mothotlung at the forefront)
The ups and downs of the last two decades
1. 1994 National Elections
2. Truth and Reconciliation Commision for a
nation in turmoil in 1995
3. South Africa wins the 1995 Rugby World
Cup
4. South Africa wins the African Cup of
Nations in 1996
5. Mark Shuttleworth went to space in 2002
6. Charlize Teron and Tsotsi bring home
Oscars in 2004 and 2005 respectively
7. Legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2006
8. South Africa wins the 2007 Rugby World
Cup
9. South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World
Cup
10. Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project
awarded to South Africa in 2012
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Opening the doors of learning
Unity in diversity
Jobs and better incomes and a growing economy
Ending rural poverty
Housing and services for all
Land reforms
Improving the quality of life
The ANC manifesto then and now
Improve and expand education
Build a united nation
Ensure decent living conditions
Build an economy that creates jobs
Transform our rural areas
Health care for all (services)
Sustained human settlements
What do we have to show for
our 20 years of democracy?
Afka Jadezweni, Andrea Nevay, Tarryn de Kock
and Mitchell Shaun Parker
S
outh Africas ffh democratic national
general elections are only a week away and
the decision to vote for a particular party can
no longer be taken lightly. With former Minister
of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrilss recently launched
Vote No campaign being mistaken for an anti-
voting initiative, Te Oppidan Press looked into the
practice of spoilt voting and what its repercussions
could be.
Kasrils launched the campaign to protest cor-
ruption and instability within the ruling African
National Congress (ANC), citing growing inequality
and poor governance as key areas needing to be rem-
edied. Te campaign challenges voters to go to the
polls to express their dissatisfaction with the last 20
years of ANC rule, encouraging them to actively vote
for opposition parties or spoil their ballots.
However, Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary
candidate Marius Redelinghuys called spoiling votes
a rotten choice. In a recent article on ToughtLeader,
Redelinghuys said that it would be better to vote for
an opposition party than to spoil a ballot, arguing
that in the 2009 election the 240 000 people who
spoilt ballots could have brought down the ANCs
claim to a two-thirds majority by 1%, or at least fve
seats in Parliament. Te Vote No campaign has not
been very coordinated and so the various groups who
oppose or favour spoiling ballots have not managed
to come together in a coherent way , said Politics lec-
turer Dr Sally Matthews. Matthews teaches a course
on electoral systems and comparitive politics.
South Africa uses a proportional representation
system where seats are allocated according to the per-
centage of votes won by parties. Spoilt ballots are not
counted as legitimate votes and are merely recorded
as part of the total number of people who voted, thus
not afecting the overall percentage received by in-
dividual political parties. Even if there is an increase
in spoilt ballots, we may not even know the motiva-
tion behind every spoilt ballot. It is because of this
that prominent academics, such as Rhodes alumnus
Politics
29 April 2014 Te Oppidan Press 5
Housing for all: On 3 April this year, the Minister for Human Settlements Connie September came to Grahamstown to
hand over the new housing plan, said to start in the area by the end of the month. Te contract has been signed and the site
has been handed over to begin construction of new houses in the area. However, residents felt that they were tired of waiting
for the municipality to provide them with housing and have used what money they have from their pensions to buy bricks
and build their own homes. Tese houses have since been demolished by the municipality.
Curbing unemployment: In the
Eastern Cape, the 2011 census showed
that the ofcial rate of unemployment
is 37.4% and the expanded unemploy-
ment rate is 51.2% (which includes
discouraged work seekers). Tis is the
highest in the country.
Improve and expand education
Build a united nation
Ensure decent living conditions
Build an economy that creates jobs
Transform our rural areas
Health care for all (services)
Sustained human settlements
Spoiling ballots: what you should know
Afka Jadezweni, Andrea Nevay, Tarryn de Kock
and Mitchell Shaun Parker
S
outh Africas ffh democratic national
general elections are only a week away and
the decision to vote for a particular party can
no longer be taken lightly. With former Minister
of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrilss recently launched
Vote No campaign being mistaken for an anti-
voting initiative, Te Oppidan Press looked into the
practice of spoilt voting and what its repercussions
could be.
Kasrils launched the campaign to protest cor-
ruption and instability within the ruling African
National Congress (ANC), citing growing inequality
and poor governance as key areas needing to be rem-
edied. Te campaign challenges voters to go to the
polls to express their dissatisfaction with the last 20
years of ANC rule, encouraging them to actively vote
for opposition parties or spoil their ballots.
However, Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary
candidate Marius Redelinghuys called spoiling votes
a rotten choice. In a recent article on ToughtLeader,
Redelinghuys said that it would be better to vote for
an opposition party than to spoil a ballot, arguing
that in the 2009 election the 240 000 people who
spoilt ballots could have brought down the ANCs
claim to a two-thirds majority by 1%, or at least fve
seats in Parliament. Te Vote No campaign has not
been very coordinated and so the various groups who
oppose or favour spoiling ballots have not managed
to come together in a coherent way , said Politics lec-
turer Dr Sally Matthews. Matthews teaches a course
on electoral systems and comparitive politics.
South Africa uses a proportional representation
system where seats are allocated according to the per-
centage of votes won by parties. Spoilt ballots are not
counted as legitimate votes and are merely recorded
as part of the total number of people who voted, thus
not afecting the overall percentage received by in-
dividual political parties. Even if there is an increase
in spoilt ballots, we may not even know the motiva-
tion behind every spoilt ballot. It is because of this
that prominent academics, such as Rhodes alumnus
Eusebius McKaiser, have urged voters to vote for the
least bad option rather than spoiling their votes.
McKaisers view is that, because voters will inevi-
tably have to submit to the government put in place
afer the election, they should be active in trying to
ensure that it is a government that is representative of
the needs of the country. He also believes that politi-
cal parties should be held accountable by showing
them that their support bases are never guaranteed.
Spoiling ones ballot is an act of protest against the
options available and against the government in pow-
er. While it is a democratic right to express this senti-
ment, the general sense has been that it is not what is
necessary in these crucial elections, which mark the
20th anniversary of our democracy. With democratic
South Africa fnally out of its teens, impatience has
arisen around the ability of the country to mature
fully and realise the promises of independence.
National elections are a huge deal and no matter
how much we dont approve of the system, it should
be respected as such, said Cory House Sub-Warden
Sonwabiso Damana.
SRC Activism and Transformation Councillor
Lindokuhle Zungu argued that choosing to be silent
would not stimulate the change South Africa needs.
We should use the opportunity democracy has af-
forded us to critically engage with party manifestos
and be that generation that will cast its vote with a
well-informed mind, he said, adding that there are
parties with progressive ideas that can speak to the
needs of young people.
Environmental Science student Josh OBrien
agreed, I feel that everyone who can vote should,
especially the born-frees. We fnally have a chance
to make a diference and move this country forward,
and it is disturbing that some people choose to let
their votes go to waste.
Get to know the manifesto #3
Kimberley Nyajeka
Te fnal in our Get to Know the Manifesto series looks at three
parties with small but quite specifc support bases.
Freedom Front Plus
Te Freedom Front Plus (FF+)
was established in 1994 and ran
in the countrys frst democratic
election as the Freedom Front,
winning 2.2% of the seats in the
National Assembly. Tis fgure
dropped to 0.8% in the 1999
general election and since then
the party has not seen any major
growth in its support base.
Te party manifesto high-
lights that the New South Africa of 1994 has failed and
has become an old South Africa. Te recipe for nation building
in the past 20 years since 1994 has not worked. We dream of a
truly New South Africa which is to the advantage of all its people.
Party leader Pieter Mulder, who is also the Deputy Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, stated that should there be a
reduced ANC presence in government, South Africa will be able
to transition smoothly into becoming a nation where every indi-
vidual is equal. Mulder predicts that the ANC will gain no more
than slightly above 60% of the seats in parliament, emphasising
the partys slow decline in infuence.
Te FF+ party advocates for a coalition with the government,
whereby all members of the executive, legislative and judicial
branches work together to ensure that the entire populations
political as well as socio-economic rights are protected.
Te party has been described as pro-Afrikaans in the past
and enjoys signifcant support in Orania, the controversial town
formed in 1990 that follows Afrikaans values and culture.
Iqela Lentsango: Dagga Party of South Africa
Te Dagga Party of South Africa is
a registered Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) party which
advocates for the legalisation of
cannabis (marijuana). Founded
in 2009, the partys manifesto
illustrates how it shall strive for
a carbon neutral, people-centred,
dagga-based community through-
out the country.
Although the Dagga Party is not eligible to run in this years
general election because it didnt register in time, it has a grow-
ing support base despite being seen as a niche party. Te party
argues that the legalisation of cannabis would be benefcial to the
economy and cites Ukraine as an example, where the legalisation
of marijuana in 2013 has resulted in a revenue of R140 million.
Te party draws on how the plant can be used to treat cancer
patients, as well as the fact that legalislation could potentially
open doors for further research into the medical benefts of
cannabis.
Te party does not seem to have much else on its agenda, but
party leader Jeremy Acton assures sceptics that dagga legalisation
is like a dagga bush: it keeps on growing.
Equal Rights Party
Tis party was ofcially
established in 2013 and
stands for the rights of the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender and intersex
(LGBTi) community in
South Africa. President and
spokesperson of the Equal
Rights Party (ERP) Michael
Herbst stated that the party
was established afer huge
incidents of corrective rapes
of lesbians were reported
in 2012.
Herbst also explained in an interview that we have the most
beautiful constitution in the world, but when it comes to imple-
menting the Bill of Rights there is very little support. Te party
argues that despite the legalisation of homosexual marriage in
2006 and general acceptance of LGBTi culture in the more afu-
ent and metropolitan areas in the country, homosexuality remains
a cultural taboo in South Africa.
Te ERP chooses not to integrate itself within a larger, more
infuential lef-wing political party. Herbst accounts for this by
explaining the partys feeling that larger political parties are more
concerned with proportional racial representation in the govern-
ment and the economy than with representing the needs of other
minorities.
Te party is registered with the IEC and will contend for seats
in parliament in the upcoming elections.
Students should be aware of all the voting options available to them for the upcoming
election. Photo: SHEILA DAVID
Spoiling ones ballot is
an act of protest against
the options available and
against the government
in power.