Amid power games, let’s not forget SA

MANY stories are eroding my peace of mind. The dreadful images and stories coming out of Rafah serve as yet more gruesome evidence of the genocide in the Gaza enclave.

The news about the death of 10 teachers from Bochum cluster, Limpopo, who died in an accident on their way to work, and the headline, “Baby girl dies and several missing in Eastern Cape floods”, deeply distressed me.

Then, of course, there was the biggest story of them all: the South African elections, the election results, the alleged vote-capture discrepancies and the governing party losing its parliamentary majority and needing coalition partners to surpass 50% of the votes to form a government.

Most political analysts believe coalitions do not work and are unstable. I agree. The evidence is in the Johannesburg metropolitan and other smaller municipalities.

While political parties will be engaged in and preoccupied with negotiating around power dynamics and who will get what positions, politicians must take the Constitution, Bill of Rights, the needs of South Africans, especially the working class, and the best interests of the country into account.

The next few days and weeks are going to be challenging.

Politicians and citizens will have to be reasonable, responsible and mature, for the benefit of all who live in South Africa.