Government of the people...

Union Buildings, Seat of Government's Executive

"Government of the people, for the people, by the people”, this is a phrase made famous by former US President, Abraham Lincoln. But what did Lincoln really mean by it and is this still relevant in our time? To truly appreciate what Lincoln meant you have to refer to the original phrase by Theodore Parker, which many believe Lincoln borrowed the phrase from. Parker defined democracy as “a government of all the people, by all the people, and for all the people.”

The ruling party (the ANC) won the last general elections in 2009 by a big majority to maintain its leadership of government since the first democratic general elections of 1994. Some of us forget just how young South Africa’s democracy is. When South Africans next go to the polls in 2014, SA would have been a free country for only 20 years. This is a reminder of just how important it is for us to focus our attention on the democratic principles of government, hence the quote by Lincoln.

In my opinion, the people of South Africa really need three fundamental things from our government:

a)basic services of water and electricity, delivered effectively

b) good quality education for all learners across all levels i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary

c) a vibrant economy that can create and sustain jobs, jobs and more jobs

In upcoming blogs, I will focus on each of the above three areas, to see how well the ANC government is doing and opportunities for improvement. The message encapsulated in Abraham Lincol’s quotation is certainly very relevant to the South Africa of today, if we are to make our democracy really work for the general population.

Our Politicians must show willingness to create effective government!!