LETTER: Opposition parties have to work together

Your editorial is right to be hesitant about the ANC’s commitment to much-needed change despite its promises of renewal and cleaning house (“ANC economic resolutions welcome though dogged by overhang of uncertainty”, January 9).

The party’s continual resistance to privatisation of the electricity sector and Eskom is a cause for concern, as well as its continued general distrust of the private sector as a whole. Where President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised progress, I am not impressed. But that is not to say voters won’t be impressed. Hope is a sparse resource in SA, and many voters may give the ANC yet another chance in next year’s election.

It is up to the opposition parties to provide a more sane, rational and effective alternative. The ANC will, most likely, continue to be corrupt, embrace terrible policies and drive this country into the ground. Yet many people will still vote for the party because they don’t see any viable alternative.

That can and must change. On the road to 2024 opposition parties must put aside rivalries, policies need to be ingrained into effective marketing, leaders must be elevated to be able to compete with Ramaphosa’s cult of personality.

And, most of all, the parties must be willing to work together. It is highly unlikely that any one opposition party will be able to oust the ANC; a coalition is our only hope. And better it be a coalition of opposition parties than a coalition of the ANC and its minions.

Nicholas Woode-Smith,
Cape Town

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