LETTER: Change the nappies

The ANC, which has not been able to run its own little political party let alone the entire shooting match of SA Inc, failed to register candidates for the upcoming municipal election, probably because it believes it has the God-given right to run SA until the second coming.

The subtext is: why even have elections? Almost three decades in power has inculcated an arrogance of note.

I was surfing television channels to see the latest news on the Electoral Commission of SA’s decision to reopen not only the voters’ roll but also the candidates’ roll. Among the programmes I came across included commentary from political analysts who, when probed about the likely return of the ANC to power, albeit in a far weaker position, could not fathom the notion of another party running this country and its municipalities. They looked like deer in the headlights.

The panel hosts could not even come up with a notion like “let’s look where a party other than the ANC has run a municipality or a city or a province”. There are living examples that could have been put under the spotlight, like the Western Cape, Cape Town, Midvaal and Swellendam, DA-run areas that are functional and efficiently run.

It seems SA has blinkers on as far as elections go. It is time for change. As I believe Maggie Thatcher once said: “Politicians, like babies’ nappies, should be changed often and for the same reason.”

Dr Peter Baker
Parktown North

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