I am a journalist by profession and a politician by choice. I am a resident of Emjindini, a citizen of Mpumalanga, but above all, I am a South African.
To me politics is an art and not a profession. My passion for journalism is undying.
These are two sides of the same coin. You cannot highlight the plight of the poor, unfairness and justice as a journalist without trampling on political territory. In my understanding, politics is basically about fighting for justice, social equality, accountability and good governance.
Journalism influences politics and vice versa.
I dislike it when people say they hate politics. How can you possibly hate something that deeply affects your very spirit as human being?
Whether we like it or not, everyone is affected by politics in one way or the other. I know some people hate politicians. But it is important to realise that this is the very bedrock of our existence.
In the past, members of the ruling party – ANC and the Umjindi Local Municipality it leads – often complained about the unfair manner in which the media portrayed the party and the municipality.
We have been accused of falsely reporting bad things about them, especially when we unearthed their scandalous activities. Those who are trigger-happy rush to the courts to file countless lawsuits, most of which they know are baseless. The aim is mainly to frighten media houses into silence. Others use direct threats on us reporters. This is not to say we media people don’t err; the point is that most corrupt public office bearers and councillors hate us for exposing their evil deeds.
But the municipality and the ANC can only blame themselves for the bad publicity. Nothing illustrates this point better than the manner in which they have so far handled the sacking or resignation of their councillor – Lucky Sambo.
A lesson very few municipalities ever learn is that when a big scandal like Sambo’s rampant corruption activities breaks, the worst thing you can do is try to hide information from journalists and the public. When you do this, you give the scandal legs. If you come clean from the start and reveal all the foul facts, it will fade after the initial flurry of reporting.
Since Sambo resigned, I think it’s time that we Barbertonians create other leadership alternatives and not wait for political parties to be our sole source of future leadership of Umjindi.
It must be clear to all that they have failed and will continue to do so because of personal interests.
In my opinion, councillor candidates the party’s hierarchy select are everything we do not need, simply because they have demonstrated to us that they are unable to take Umjindi forward – firstly because of their culture of management, and secondly of the political baggage.
The gang at the top gives us selfish job seekers, so many shun politics as a “dirty” game and refuse to get involved.
We have to now decide that we do not want to be led by average men and women who happen to be in politics. I continue to attend many council meetings and all the time, I end up convinced that as long as we sit and complain or discuss solutions, we will never really change these circumstances.
The choice is clear, we can sit and point fingers at the ANC and Umjindi until we get old or we can choose to be the solution to the future and actively work together to replace them at all levels of leadership. The future is in our hands.
Richard.
