South Africa will soon be abuzz with all sorts of activities under the sun by politicians.

Politicians will likewise be on the ground going around the country into spaces they’ve last seen five years ago. This is so because the country will be holding the national and provincial elections.

On the one hand, we’re seeing South Africans continuously engaging in one form of protest or another. If you care enough to listen to the needs, the demands are common: People want decent jobs, land, houses, better services such as water supply, stable electricity and proper roads. At various levels of government, political parties made fancy promises to deliver these demands, and yet most often times than not, have failed dismally due to corruption, lack of skilled personnel and deliberate mismanagement of resources.

In a democratic country like SA, citizens should be equipped to ask the difficult questions, such as: seeing that all these political parties are promising the same things and yet throughout the years, you’ve dismally failed to deliver even the most basics of things, why should I vote for your party? What’s your value proposition to me as a South African citizen?

South Africans cannot afford to be abused by politicians any more. A person born in 1994 will be quarter of century old next year so it’s expected that such a person is sufficiently enlightened to derive value from voting.

South Africans should make their priorities right, express them without compromise or apology, and factors to consider would be: Is the political party I am voting for making me a first, second, third-class citizen in my country and land? Will I enjoy equal and rights under this party?

The reality is, a quarter of a century under the ANC government, South Africans have lost their sense of self-love and nationhood. There’s unquestionably a huge gap between the rich and the poor without any sign of improvement.

The question should be: In a country where the majority are young black people, which party logically projects your aspirations as a young citizen of the country? Who will liberate the unemployed graduate, the poverty stricken and mentally reduced-to-nothingness young South African?

It’ll be your sole responsibility when you enter the voting station just months from now. DM

Koketso Marishane is the NDP2030 (Youth) Ambassador; Founder of Marishane Youth Development Forum; UCT Fellow and YALI Fellow among others. He writes as a concerned citizen.