THERE is something thrilling about the rise of bold leaders who this week showed their utmost disdain for rampant corruption in South Africa by marching to the Union Buildings, the country’s official seat of government.
South Africa’s politics have been dominated by the ANC dynasty. One of its leaders, the iconic Nelson Mandela, was truly born to rule. No doubt.
By contrast, these bold leaders - including Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and former Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi among others - are self-made men who come from humble beginnings.
Despite their modest beginnings, these leaders are likely to emerge as South Africans who will be remembered for deciding to show their hatred of corruption, which the ANC claims to be fighting although the perversion continues.
These bold leaders’ rise against corruption could send a stimulating missive throughout a country where too many people’s chances are still ruined by poverty and class differences.
The leaders' message is that corruption needs to be done away with.
Speaking at a march against corruption this week, Malema told thousands of marchers at the Union Buildings that the building harboured the “No 1 Thief in South Africa”.
“If you are not going to change your ways, your days are numbered,” he said in an apparent reference to the ruling party, the ANC and President Jacob Zuma.
Added Vavi: “We are marching today, Comrades, against a scourge in our society that is truly threatening the future of our country.”
The march managed to bring various groups together, prompting many to believe it has a lot to achieve for the future of activism in South Africa.
These leaders’ anti-corruption messages deserve to resonate well beyond South Africa’s borders, where there are countries facing high levels of corruption because they are also run by party dynasties.
The upper echelons of Zimbabwe’s government are still dominated by the Zanu-PF’s “princelings” – men and women who are descended from President Robert Mugabe’s comrades.
Politics is strongly dynastic in Mozambique, Angola and Namibia. Frelimo, the MPLA and Swapo still rule supreme in these countries.
It will be a welcome change if South Africa could one day be led by self-made men from humble beginnings and not people groomed for senior party positions or tied to the party line.
Deep sense of economic doom and gloom
The outspokenness of people like Vavi and Malema could also provide a critical jolt to this country, where economic growth has run aground.
For occasional visitors to these shores, the deep sense of economic doom and gloom that has descended over the country is startling. This pessimism is not confined to intellectuals and economists.
South Africa’s business confidence fell to its lowest level in more than 16 years on the back of lower domestic economic growth and global financial market turmoil, a survey showed earlier last month.
READ: Business confidence falls to new 16-year low
The Business Confidence Index fell to 84.3 in August, retracting to an even lower level than in June after increasing 87.9 in July, according to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
It will indeed be thrilling if these bold leaders do not lose focus and actually fight the scourge of corruption to improve the living conditions of all South Africans.
*Mzwandile Jacks is an independent journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.