Personal Ambition Superseding Collective Strategy: The Quiet Sabotage of South Africa’s Democratic Promise

Mahnaz Yazdani

Personal Ambition Superseding Collective Strategy

The Quiet Sabotage of South Africa’s Democratic Promise

By Lisu Khuzwayo | 19 June 2025

“Amandla Awethu” — Power is Ours.These days, it’s just an echo — bouncing off the walls of Parliament and dying before it reaches the street.

Introduction: The Liberation Dream Deferred

Three decades after apartheid’s demise, South Africa was meant to stand as a beacon of postcolonial renewal — a constitutional democracy built on justice, transparency, and collective empowerment.

Instead, we as a nation are circling the drain.

Greed has replaced principle, and power is hoarded, not shared. Ordinary South Africans — especially the youth — are left to sift through the wreckage of a dream betrayed.

This isn’t just another think piece; it’s a reckoning. A challenge to a political culture that rewards self-interest and silences accountability. And a reminder that it’s not too late — but it will be soon.

1. Corruption: The True Currency of Power

Let’s start with Phala Phala, where the sitting president was caught with foreign currency stashed in his furniture, as if it were an action movie.

And what happened? Nothing that stuck.

We didn’t forget. We got numb.

According to Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, South Africa scored a worrying 43 out of 100 — a blunt reflection of how deeply distrust has set in.

In the Free State, where EFF-aligned leaders preach economic freedom, 89% of RDP housing is backlogged. Youth dropout rates are pushing 30%. You can’t eat slogans.

Every stolen rand means a kid out of school, a broken clinic, and a family waiting ten years for a home that will never come.

“When public office becomes personal profit, the social contract is broken.”— Dr. Susan Booysen

2. A Generation on the Brink

Remember #FeesMustFall? The energy, the clarity, the hunger for justice — we lit a fire, but the system poured cold water on it.

Now, more than half of young South Africans are unemployed, with a staggering 60% — the highest youth unemployment rate on the continent.

And yet we’re told to stay patient.

A 2023 Afrobarometer survey found that only 42% of South Africans aged 18–29 trust the government. That’s not apathy. It’s alienation.

With no real political platforms and no seats at the table, young people are being told — quietly but clearly — that this democracy was never really for us.

3. The Left’s Unforced Error

Now, instead of building something together, the left is tearing itself apart.

Floyd Shivambu wants his own party. The ANC is splitting. The EFF and MKP are fighting for the same voters. Independents are everywhere.

Meanwhile, the issues we all say we care about — land, inequality, jobs — are getting lost in the noise.

This isn’t politics; it’s pure ego.

If the progressive bloc actually sat down and built a coalition, we could change everything. Instead, we’re too busy playing power games while the ground slips out from under us.

4. Xenophobia’s Bitter Harvest

We love to call ourselves the Rainbow Nation. But how we treat African migrants says otherwise.

From the violence in Alexandra in 2008 to the attacks in the townships today, the cycle hasn’t stopped; it has just become more “normalized.”

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: some of our leaders are feeding it.

Instead of fixing broken systems, they blame foreigners. It’s easier. And it works — until it doesn’t.

Meanwhile, the migrants being blamed are running shops, working jobs, starting businesses. Many contribute more to the local economy than the politicians who scapegoat them.

We can’t claim Pan-Africanism while treating fellow Africans like trash. That’s not Mandela’s vision. That’s a betrayal of everything he stood for.

5. Toward a New Social Contract

Enough mourning. It’s time to move.

✅ Real Accountability: Not just statements. We need full asset transparency, real-time public audits, and corruption courts with teeth — and speed.

✅ Youth Power: Civic education in every school. Fund youth parliaments, community hubs, and internships that actually lead somewhere. Protest is power, but policy is leverage.

✅ Left Unity: If you say you’re for the people, prove it. Share a platform. Draft a common agenda. Sign pre-election coalitions. Voters deserve more than recycled promises.

Conclusion: The Ink Is Still Wet

South Africa’s story isn’t over — but it’s close to being hijacked.

If we don’t fight for what’s left of this democracy, we’ll wake up in something else entirely.

We need leaders who serve — not loot. And we need citizens who organize — not just agonize.

“Amandla Awethu” has to mean something again.Not in a speech. Not on a poster. In real life. In policy. In action.

The pen is still in our hands. What are we going to write next?