http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=900601
Youth believe in ANC
Published:Dec 08, 2008
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LION SPEAKS: Buti Manamela, national secretary of the Young Communist League,
says young voters still view the ANC as their home and the party that will
continue the struggle for a better life Picture: ELIZABETH SEJAKE
The coming ‘change’ has its origins in Polokwane
Not all middle-class youth identify with the new party
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Save and Share Young voters will turn out to vote to further their parents’
struggle, argues Buti Manamela
NEXT year’s general election will be dominated by the youth vote. Any youth
formation that takes young people lightly might regret it.
This is why the contest in ideas among youth formations is so fierce.
Hopefully, this will not turn ugly, but will remain in the league of the “pig
with lipstick” remark that Barack Obama pulled on Sarah Palin.
Many attributed this to Obama- mania and are predicting the dollarisation of
our electoral politics.
This argument suggests that the high turnout for youth-voter registration was
inspired by the formation of a new political party led by Mbhazima Shilowa.
Some analysts believe that this represents a breath of fresh air in our
politics, fosters democracy and presents the youth with a new home free of the
baggage of ANC culture and traditions.
These are not the only reasons why the youth will turn out.
When the Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League, under the banner of
the Progressive Youth Alliance, engaged young people within and without the ANC
on why there is a need for change, and that Jacob Zuma should be elected as
president of the ANC, a political youth movement was beginning to shape itself
both in the party and in the country.
I believe that the “change” that is coming actually happened last year at the
Polokwane conference. There are many reasons why young people were driven to
register to vote. However, the two reasons presented earlier are not the
drivers of the envisaged change, but are a consequence of change.
Young people had long associated with the Zuma victory [ at Polokwane].
For them to vote next year will be to complete the objectives of the political
movement they began towards Polokwane.
For us, as the youth, Zuma will be our state president … the epitome of the
change we need in our miserable lives of unemployment, poverty … [lack of]
access to education, healthcare and many other social needs.
Secondly, the formation of the new political party is but a consequence of the
Polokwane victory. Therefore, it is not necessarily change, but a result of
change in the ANC and in society.
To view the formation of a new political party as a driver of change and
attribute youth voter registration to this is misleading.
Thirdly, many young people might have registered because they have simply
reached voting age. And they were driven by the political movement that began
when they were called upon to ensure that Zuma becomes ANC president.
This does not necessarily mean that all the youth in our country are
homogeneous in their preference of who should govern. However, suggestions that
the ANC might win 74 percent of the vote next year show that there is no major
impact made by either Obama-mania (the need for change) or the formation of a
new political party (the consequence of change).
It is suggested that many of the youth are discarding the traditional “ family
vote for the ANC”.
The connection between the current youth and their families is not only the ANC
but also the fact that the struggle against a partheid has been handed over to
each generation. The fact that many young people find themselves in the same
socioeconomic conditions their parents faced means that the struggle continues.
The ANC-led alliance for them is still relevant.
Not all middle-class youth (or the black diamonds) identify with the new
political party. On the contrary, many of them see the opportunistic tendencies
that led to its formation.
They may not identify with my ranting as a youth leader, but they believe it is
better to stay and elect a less ranting individual.
It is upon us, as the youth leadership, to ensure that we drive young people to
the polls and present whichever political parties we support in a positive
light. Beyond labelling people as baboons, we equally have a responsibility to
guide the youth that what matters most is development in their lives. — Buti
Manamela is national secretary of the Young Communist League
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