The challenges we face

Siyanqoba! Indeed we are a winning nation. In what country of the world could you see people patiently waiting to cast their elecion votes?

Professional pessimists (that is journalists) found our electoral process “boring”. They wanted doom and gloom and they experienced a credible free, fair and peaceful election process. Political parties suspended their ego and put the interests of our country first. The efficiency and the professionalism of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has put South Africa’s democracy on the world map.

Election politics are over. By the time you read this, the hangover will be gone. (I wish someone could claim the political posters for recycling and make our country clean.)

Let us heed the call by President Thabo Mbeki: “Aluta continua. For too long our country contained within it and represented much that is ugly and repulsive in human society. Victory is certain.”

We started positively. Women now make up almost half the cabinet, apparently the highest figure in the world. They are neither minors nor objects. These changes affect only a few women on the upper strata. Real transformation must touch the grassroots where most women live: in villages, townships, churches, factories, street corners, hospitals.

The scourge of HIV/Aids is still a big challenge. We need to come up with prevention strategies that are dynamic, realistic and achievable. It is crucial that we see cooperation between Church and state in the HIV/Aids struggle. Issues of poverty and unemployment cannot be ruled out in this project. People do not live on medicine alone, many sick people need basic foodstuffs for survival. We cannot continue to blame the president or health minister if we fail in our attempts. Only a comprehensive and united plan can stop unnecessary loss of life.

Popular participation in our democratic culture is critical. I commend politicians for going to people’s homes during the electioneering period. They got it from the horse’s mouth. Government policy also encourages imbizo gatherings to let people evaluate the delivery machinery of the state. The participation envisaged must be ongoing and progressive. And I am confident that structures such as the Justice & Peace Commission can make a difference.

We had half a million spoilt votes in our last elections, probably because there was no voter education. Illiteracy is one of our social ills. Is this not a challenge to the Catholic Institute of Education?

Every Sunday, “two or three” will gather in the name of Jesus. Such occasions may encourage Christians who are the salt and light of the world to be involved in the political and economic life of their country. We cannot risk putting the future of our land in the hands of few individuals.

In a documentary on Africa the SABC reported that many Catholics in Rwanda are joining Evangelical communities and Islam because they feel betrayed by the Church they once were prepared to die for. The Rwandese Church is accused of being silent and indifferent during the genocide. People come to Church expecting the faith community to guide Christians especially in times of strife and confusion. And since Christians are considered the majority of the populace, the informed voice and contribution of the Church cannot be underestimated.

Let us avoid being reactionary. South Africa belongs to all who live in it.

God the Creator charged us to be stewards of all creation. Victory is indeed certain!