SOWETAN SAYS | Leaders must put people first

The official announcement of the national and provincial election results has been met with a sense of uncertainty.

This is because the results have produced no outright winner in the polls which has set the country on a path for a coalition government nationally for the first time since the dawn of democracy. The ANC’s loss of its majority after falling below 50% in national elections since 1994 has been hailed as significant and a sign of a changing political landscape.

But the apprehension from some quarters has been heightened by experience of coalitions at municipalities including the big metros which have been unstable and volatile at times.  Starting this week, political parties will be courting one another in a rush to establish a government that will take the country forward for the next five years. The negotiations and horse trading between political parties ought to be about serving the interest of South Africans and putting the country first through advancing its developmental agenda.

However, we have already heard and seen political grandstanding take hold of this new era, with parties making demands that are about self-interest rather than the interest of citizens. These developments are disappointing as they are driven by politics of personality and opportunism.

We accept that political parties are entitled to engage with one another to form a government, but we expect that these negotiations should be about reaching compromises and common ground rather than a display of differences. Our plea with political leaders is to show maturity by putting aside their differences and channel their energies towards a common goal of moving SA forward with economic growth, stability, safety and delivery of basic services to the public. The citizens of this country are crying out for political leadership that demonstrates through actions commitment to serving them with honesty and integrity.

All parties involved in coalition negotiations today must be reminded that they made endless promises to the electorate during their campaigns. The time has now come for all to show their true loyalty by honouring their promises of jobs, service delivery, infrastructure development, economic growth and safety and security.

Fuelling uncertainty by refusing to compromise to form a government that will bring stability to the country for the next five years will have adverse consequences.