#TwoBits: Manifesto madness – sorting through 200 parties’ promises for May elections

Another weekend, another political party manifesto.

With more than 200 parties on the ballot for the May elections, there aren’t enough weekends for the fanfare launches of all their manifestoes.

Thank goodness!

I have tried to pay attention to those that have been announced so far, but I confess that it’s become a blur.

They all promise to do wonderful things for the country, from the seemingly sensible to the absurd, like giving away all the money in social grants.

I really wanted to see what changes the party that has been in power for the past 30 years is going to make. That party’s leaders flip-flop between acknowledging ‘mistakes’, then a few moments later boast about how much they have done for the country.

When I heard one of that party’s leaders saying on the radio last week that their primary goal was to tackle crime and corruption, I think oh, really! Could have fooled me, with the steady looting and stealing that’s been going on forever, the gutted police force and courts, the state of Jo’burg and Durban . . . the sad story goes on and on.

So, I have a clear idea of who not to vote for. When it comes to choosing who gets my vote, I place my faith in those who have demonstrated that they can do the job.

Not that I don’t have issues with the DA and its sometimes-peculiar leadership, but I ask myself these questions: do I want water and sewage and electricity that works? Roads without potholes and money spent on maintenance, not going into someone’s pocket?

You only have to look as far as Howick where the DA mayor Chris Pappas has turned a broken municipality into a successful one in a few years. From debt-ridden to profitable. Where roads and water work. Litter is gone.

In the Western Cape, Cape Town is held up as a DA success, but I prefer to look at the small towns I visited in February. Clean and neat, pothole-free, sewage and water working. That’s what rates are supposed to achieve.

People are quick to complain and slow to praise.

Here in KwaDukuza territory, life ain’t so bad. Most things work, most of the time, Eskom aside.

It isn’t Europe where everything works all the time, but it is certainly not broken.

You want to see Umtata or Butterworth or many towns in the Free State to understand the meaning of broken.

Our most glaring problem is with the iLembe District Municipality, which is charged with water supply.

Many areas of Stanger, Melville and surrounds have been without water for months. Bad pipes, maintenance money misspent, insufficient technical knowledge perhaps.

Ballito is okay, thanks to Siza Water, but what happens when the concession runs out in 2029? I can only pray it is renewed.

While the thought of the May elections might make you despair, you are not alone.

This year two billion voters in 50 countries will be going to the polls, something of a record.

And every one of them is going to be thinking, which lying bastard am I going to vote for?

Top of the list of crazy elections has to be the USA. The richest country in the world and the best they can come up with are Biden and Trump, one a ditherer and the other with squirrels in the attic.

The Americans have only two people to choose from – on the upside, we at least have 200.

Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.

Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.