LETTER: Opposition parties have a duty to unite and unseat the ANC

Even the most naive of South Africans must realise that being governed by our itinerant, evasive and do-nothing president and his deplorable cabinet (recently aptly referred to by businessman Rob Hersov as a bunch of clowns), is becoming more intolerable by the day.

Frustratingly, the prospect of the ANC’s December conference replacing some or all of them from its so-called leadership ranks, with their false promises of unity and renewal, is yet another ghastly contemplation. The depth of that party’s immorality and incompetence is unlimited.

Quite simply, and as a matter of urgency, the defunct ANC-led government needs to be thrown out by the electorate and replaced by a prodemocracy, civil, competent, transparent, courageous body of real leaders, capable of upholding the rule of law, a high degree of integrity and restoring a level of dignity to our politics and pride and wellbeing to our citizens.

In this regard, and if indeed they really have the country’s interest at heart, opposition leaders John Steenhuisen, Herman Mashaba, Pieter Groenewald and Mmusi Maimane should analyse what exactly it is that requires them to lead separate political establishments rather than create and be part of one cohesive major political force that could garner enough electoral support to unseat and replace this hopeless government.

Can there really be such fundamental differences in values, principles, policies and practices between them that they shun the notion of merging into one winning political combination for the good of the country?

If indeed there are such contrasts, the voters have a right to know what they are and understand why we continue to have a fractured and relatively impotent opposition that leaves us and our future in the hands of this destructive, disgraceful government.

If these opposition leaders do not do their duty to our country and put it ahead of their own party and personal political ambitions, they will linger on in a state of ineffectuality, failure and political stagnation and watch on the sidelines as the ANC drives our country even deeper into misery and eroded standards of living.

They will be doing our nation a disservice and leave no meaningful political legacy of their own at all.

David Gant, Kenilworth

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