South Africa's post-apartheid far left has always been a figment of our imagination

The Herald

23-06-2025

According to these people, my decision not to vote meant that I was part of the problem. I have always been conflicted about voting and participating in politics in a way that would not cause a moral conflict.
By choosing to be affiliated with a particular political formation, this often landed me in a moral dilemma that somewhat haunted me, because as a journalist, how do I meaningfully provide a voice for the voiceless if I exert my emotions and being towards one organisation?
I also decided against casting my ballot as a form of protest, because I had been on the hunt for a political party that would feel like home, in search of a party that was serious about the genuine emancipation of our people.
For as long as townships exist and there are those who have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, to catch two to three buses, taxis or trains to travel to work so that they get there on time, we still have a lot to fight for and the fact that the so-called liberation movement has never earnestly prioritised bringing the economy to the people is disheartening.
But after numerous debates about the importance of voting, I have decided that I will be on the hunt for a political party that seeks to address my pan-Africanist needs. I now understand that one can be a member of a party, but not necessarily hold positions.
I have toyed with ideas of voting for organisations that seemed to mimic the leftist ideology, but non of them have convinced me to give my vote to them.
The recent public spat between axed MK Party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu and his party as well as his former political home, the EFF, has left me believing without a shadow of a doubt that the existence of a true leftist party in South Africa is a figment of our imagination.
Confronted by Biko's startling quote: 'Black man, you are on your own.' These words have never rung truer than they do now.
In South Africa, the black man exists in silos. If you are unemployed, you remain alone until you take yourself out of that ditch and in the event that the odds are against you and you don't find employment, you stay there and wait for the days to go by until your maker calls you by name.
If you are suffering at the hands of a violent man, you will be heard of once your body is found by a passer-by in an open field and you become yet another femicide headline.
I could write about these hopeless situations that are the realities of many black men and women until we all turn blue in the face. If we truly did have a pan-Africanist presence in South Africa, we would not be so helpless and hopeless.