By, THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA
ALMOST 30 years since South Africa became a democracy with equal
status, rights and laws for everyone, at least as far as the statute
books are concerned, the story of South Africa today lives many at
odds to say the least.
Disturbingly, the country which is among Africa’s three biggest
economies and often described as the most advanced economy on the
continent, remains the world’s most unequal nation.
From a stubborn high crime rate, to corruption, to violence leading to
injury and loss of lives including billions worth of destruction to
property, the world has become accustomed to the negative vibes that
have become the everyday culture that wrongly defines this once most
promising nation with the brightest future in the world.
And at some stage, especially during the Nelson Mandela years the
country was declared by many across the globe as a ‘beacon of hope’
for the rest of the world to emulate.
The infighting in the governing party, the African National Congress
or ANC, who others now call the ‘African Notorious Criminals’, has led
the country to a downward spiral with record unemployment figures
surpassing 40% in a country with 60 plus million people.
The ongoing ‘blackouts’ that have devastating effects in job loss,
businesses collapsing and loss of lives form part of the failures that
the would be ‘free country’ had promised.
For many years now, one has been looking deeper as to what other
alternatives in the leadership and governing of the country could
South Africa turn to in order to create the best life for all its
people.
Specifically, as a practicing Christian, I’ve always wondered why a
country that has the Christian faith as its biggest faith with about
85 percent plus of the population associating with Christianity, is
not led by a Christian party.
With the Black Christians forming the bulk of the estimated 85% plus
Christian community in South Africa.
Yet Christians in South Africa turn to be in a loss of words when the
question of: why is South Africa not governed by Christian party.
Furthermore, the majority of the political parties in South Africa
inside or outside Parliament are pro Christianity, they will attest.
Or it can be said they subscribe to the values and principles of the
Christian faith, regardless which denomination they fall under.
Suffice to say, that since the first all race elections of 1994, a
Christian party like the African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP,
has barely enough Members of Parliament to effect any meaningful
change.
In-fact, in all the elections, be it local or national elections, the
ACDP, can not influence policies that will govern the people. That
includes in the coalitions that it has entered into at local
government level.
As records show, the ACDP says it seeks to apply Biblical principles
“to build a better South Africa.”
Also, the party notes that its platform is based on “the biblical
standard of reconciliation, justice, compassion, tolerance, peace and
the sanctity of life, the individual, the family and community.”
Although it is anti-abortion, it supports the death penalty for
certain heinous crimes. I personally am against the death penalty and
know many others too who don’t want the death penatly to come back.
Now, in a lot of cases these values are shared by Christians and
people outside the Christian faith.
Yet, the ACDP shares 0.84% of the vote since the 2019 national elections.
There are probably different explanations for this poor performance in
the last national polls and other elections.
One such reason for the poor performance in elections could stem from
poor leadership in the organisation’s hierarchy, to lack of resource
and/or the it could be that the Christian majority in South Africa are
applying double standards.
The former is more common with all organisations inside and outside
South Africa.
But the latter could spell out what kind of Christians the country has
and the lack of faith of the majority they have in the Christian
Faith.
The claim that the governing ANC and other parties are pro
Christianity does not hold, as the other parties don’t openly support
and promote “Biblical Principles” in the manner that the ACDP does.
The ACDP was formed and exists merely as a Christian movement and only
supports Christian values and principles.
The official Opposition party of South Africa, the Democratic Alliance
(DA), is advocating for other parties to form a coalition to remove
the ANC from power in the 2024 general elections.
Note, the problem with this approach is that it lacks or has no set
goals and targets of what needs to be achieved in a form of an
alternative ‘New Developmental Programme’ for South Africa, but seeks
to focus on removing the ANC from power as the basis of the mission.
Just like I asserted in certain circles when Opposition parties formed
a coalition to remove former president Jacob Zuma from power during
his tenure, when the mission was accomplished the coalition will die a
natural death, as the parties concerned will discover they have little
to nothing in common.
This has been seen also in coalitions at local government level, when
parties turn against each other due to a various differences in what
they stand for once in power.
This is why a Christian movement and coalition needs to step in.
South Africa has some of the biggest Church in Africa and elsewhere.
Some of the churches in South Africa have national footprints with
millions of members.
What could be stopping this Church groups from joining forces with a
Christian movement like the ACDP and take over power with the numbers
they enjoy and lead South Africa to a new and truly Godly led nation
for the first time.
South Africa just like many African countries and others in the world
from colonialism to democracy today, has had governments influenced by
foreign ideologies like fascism, communism, Marxism and other
ideologies that have brought many countries in Africa, South America
and Eastern Europe to their economic knees with growing poverty and
underdevelopment.
Not that capitalism has been a solution either in many cases.
In all, these ideologies have not worked for various reasons. At the
core is the possibility that these ideologies are controlled by people
with ulterior motives and self serving agendas than to serve the
people.
The question remains for the Christian community and leadership in
South Africa, in Christian dominated countries in Africa and the
world, as to why do Christians continue to vote and put in power
non-Christian parties and parties not prioritizing Biblical principles
and values to lead their countries.
As South Africa approaches the 2024 National Elections, will
Christians in this country choose God or parties of the flesh.
It remains to be seen if the Christian community globally will ‘walk the talk’.
Or will we continue to talk right. And walk left.
Mgudlwa is a freelance journalist
