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Opinionista

2019 elections: Resistance, disruption and the voice of the people must be heard by every politician

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Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar was born in Cape Town and raised by his determined mother, grandparents, aunt and the rest of his maternal family. He is an admitted attorney (formerly of the corporate hue), with recent exposure in the public sector, and is currently working on transport and infrastructure projects. He is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, and a WEF Global Shaper. He had a brief stint in the contemporary party politic environment working for Mamphela Ramphele as Agang CEO and chief-of-staff; he found the experience a deeply educational one.

Now that we have closed the doors on a tumultuous 2018, we must be reminded that more South Africans than ever are willing to define their own sense of community. South Africans are beginning to set the scene, empowered by their own growing confidence and return to activism. An important consequence of this is that we will demand more accountability.

South Africans have the right to be exacting on those who seek to be our public representatives. The activism is not new; it was demonstrated and articulated throughout the lost decade of Jacob Zuma, but also during the HIV/AIDS denialism during the Thabo Mbeki years.

South Africans have never simply been observers in their own country. It was through our collective efforts at home, in exile and abroad that apartheid was forced into collapse. Citizens from all walks of life have a revolutionary voice and it is not surprising that South Africans are once again returning to the streets, the community halls and to the town squares (physical and digital).

South Africans have been able to resist those who have failed to serve the people. After all, they were entrusted with power and authority only to act in service of the people, and their failure to do so should be called out at every turn. However, the power to mobilise in a fractured world is far harder. Mobilisation and collective efforts are difficult in the wake of the unravelling social compact — unity has been eroded systemically and in many instances by the clear design of those seeking to hold on to power and privilege.

The Bo-Kaap is a vibrant community. A community that is home to many of my own family — who have their roots in the Cape Malay culture, the story of District Six and in the fight for freedom. There can be very little doubt that the community of Bo-Kaap does feel under attack. Brick by brick, the community has been changing and shifting, with continued pressure in the form of rising property prices, the fraying of the social fabric and the collapse in some cases of community and family.

The Bo-Kaap is often thought of only in the sense of its aesthetics, its colours, the sights and the sounds. A spot for tourists and visitors to go to with the sole focus of finding the perfect shot. It is not accidental that a broad alliance has sprung up in Bo-Kaap to confront the neglect of their local government, the lack of interest of their provincial government, and the inaction of their national government.

Bo-Kaap is in Ward 77 in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, the site of recent protests around a large property development in Lion Street. The suburb is in a voting district where only about 1,700 people voted in the last local government election in 2016 (compared to the 11,000 people that turned out in Ward 77. The numbers should remind us that the margins are tight, and the efforts of resistance across our country must be converted and articulated at the ballot box. We have an opportunity to vote for a different type of politician. We have an opportunity to make sure that our elected representatives begin to understand that power will always reside with the people.

South Africans must begin to seize back their power — and do so by mobilising their efforts for and electing those who will serve the people, and not ignore them or worse still, ride roughshod over their interests and needs. The question residents of Bo-Kaap should be contending with is why their public representatives have failed to represent their interests? Why has the city council failed to deliver the promise of protection? Why has the City leadership allowed development to trump heritage and community? Who is responsible for the unravelling of Bo-Kaap?

These questions must be answered by the provincial and national government. The finger-pointing has already been initiated, but the community of Bo-Kaap has not been provided with the answers that it deserves. Instead, and in the face of this failure of leadership, the community of Bo-Kaap, young, old, male and female, has come together to stand against the interests of private developers, supported by state actors, to protect their sense of community and the fabric of their society. The community of Bo-Kaap will continue to mobilise, focus its efforts and energy because they have been reminded about their power.

Daily Maverick Editor-in-Chief Branko Brkic, in his Person of the Year piece, reminded us all of what “a difference 179 votes made”. The stakes are high as South Africans have a unique opportunity to define what the next 25 years of our democracy will look like. South Africans must resist. Communities across this country, from Bo-Kaap to Xolobeni, must continue to stand together so they can articulate people power. We must never be fooled into believing that the electoral map is wrapped up. The polling taking place some five months before the 2019 elections may be indicative, but South Africans themselves need to articulate what type of country they want to live in. We need to begin demanding that public representatives deliver that South Africa for all.

The 179 votes for President Cyril Ramaphosa made the difference for South Africa at the end of 2017, and we are again presented with an opportunity to begin shaping our future as we look towards the 2019 elections. It is our collective duty to make sure that resistance, disruption and the voice of the people is heard by every politician hitting the campaign trail. If South Africans are able to do that, we can truly begin undoing the consequences of patriarchy, colonialism, apartheid, structural inequality and poverty.

We can then start building a country that is willing to protect and serve the people of Bo-Kaap and Xolobeni, and the many other communities across the country that must be heard and accounted to. DM

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