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South Africa goes to the polls this year. By the looks of things, it will be very soon.  The question is who is going to win? and if they do, are we going to blame ourselves or will we truly realize a new administration which will transform South Africa into a country we all have been dreaming it will become since 1994?

In 1994 South Africa captured the entire world, just as America has captured the world with Obama’s Presidency. I consider Mandela’s legacy in the FREEDOM of South Africa destroyed, in that although we are FREE legally, South Africans and a large portion of its citizens remain in social and economic APARTHEID. What kind of freedom is that?


Produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, a new video features dozens of celebrities – television and movie actors, sports heroes, musicians and more – who describe how they will pledge to "be the change" and "be a servant to our president."

When I look back at the Obama campaign, I consider it to be a great campaign based on a person who iS TRUTHFUL and someone who inspires VOTERS and most importantly a LEADER the nation can be proud of.

When you listen to him give a speech, it is amazing how much he tugs at your heart and you wish for a second that he could be your President or someone you would vote for. He reminds me of the interviews and speeches Mandela gave before being elected President.


We need to hope that the party which will either take over or continue in South Africa will implement the changes needed to the South African electoral system. If the current party continues to rule South Africa, we are in trouble. I want to vote for my President, My Minister, My Mayor etc. Voting for my political party has not paid off, I have been cheated by my party and I AM DONE!

This current system is perfect for CRIME and we have seen how effective it has been in breeding useless government personnel and criminals in parliament.

The video opens with a quote from President Truman, "They say that the job of the president is the loneliest job in the world," something the celebrities plan to alleviate for Obama by pledging to pitch in through several causes.


Mandela was the only President who had the power to get the nation to do something as amazing as Obama has achieved. The current ANC administration is very quick to point out the amount of great leaders they have and research does prove that they HAD very good leaders, pioneers if you ask me. But for the life of me I can’t see them now. Because if the youth is what we call the next generation and when you think of that from a political point of view with our current electoral system - VOTE for the PARTY, then the PARTY picks who is the PRESIDENT. We are in trouble.


Not enough people know how the country’s government works, but you continue to vote every election year, yet you have no clue of the kind of power you giving your elected officials or in South Africa’s case, your political party.


Celebrities pledge to support local food banks, to smile more, to be better parents, to work with the charity UNICEF, to "never give anyone the finger when I'm driving again," to help find a cure for Alzheimer's, to meet neighbors, to use less plastic, to plant 500 trees, to "be more green," to turn the lights off and to "free 1 million people from slavery in the next five years," among dozens of other pledge.

HIV and AIDS, Organ Donation, and many other medical conditions are in a crisis mode outside of metropolitan areas. If you plan a road trip chances are, if you have an accident it would take hours for you get medical attention if you are in any area outside metros. If you are in rural South Africa, hospitals don’t have doctors or they don’t have medication, etc.

More and more people loose jobs which means they cant take their kids to school, that means the employment sector cant get skilled labor, which means the economy will suffer or will import skills, which means strikes, which means the rand goes into a mess, which means things cost more, which means people loose their homes, which means.....BAD! BAD! BAD!. It’s a bad cycle which does not get any relief from the very government that gives promises like its free candy.


What Terror Lekota did is revolutionary but does he move me to scream “YES I CAN”? No! When I listen to him, do I immediately want to jump up and pledge to be a better South African. Hell NO! COPE is great and I think what they did is a historical achievement which opposition parties can only envy. It can do with a better strategy.

Does their part stand a chance of changing the country? Who knows. What I know is that if you invite any of the big five political parties and you ask them to sit in their own tables with their leaders. You won’t be able to tell the difference because none of them have something special. They may say things differently with more charisma or charm. But excuse me, charm does not help a single parent working for some Madam earn enough to take her child to school. Charisma does not help a young man from dropping out of university because his family cannot afford his fees anymore.


Neither Charm nor Charisma has helped black people or the poor with no houses live in decent homes. If you look at places such as Bophuthatswana, Transkei, Seshego, Lebowakgomo amongst others I researched, although they were under a very bad government system. These townships still have better housing that the RDP model. Do I think RDP’s are helpful? If it means people get out of tin homes, YES! But do I believe people deserve them after they elect which party goes into government? HELL NO!

Poor people in South Africa are the ones who decide who goes into government yet they continue to suffer at the hands of the very government they elect. The sad thing, which I think is the best way to get an express ticket to hell, is the fact that even though the very parties they elect for government have disappointed them 14 years and counting, they still hold out a belief that some day it will be better.


Whilst they HOPE, the very people they elected are getting richer every day at their expense and all they have to do to calm any tension down is tell them of a grant system or organize a rally. The very grants continue to enrich the same people.

Who administers the grants? Who wins tenders within the grant system? At the end of the day voters can rest assured that the parties they vote for will say "YES WE CAN" screw you.

There is nothing as reliable is POLITICAL GREED!

Do we have good politicians? Yes we do, but they are over powered by the GREEDY ones. Have we had positive changes in our country since 1994?, yes we have! We can also do better. If government prioritized jobs for 80-90% of South Africans and improved wages, 10 out of the 14years, we would be in a different country. Employment gives people a since of self worth and the lack thereof breeds a problem. Any government commitment is never easy, but at some point one leader must take a bold step which will change our country for the better.


We now have over 153 parties registered which the voting public will have to consider when voting this year. The question I have is…what in G-d’s wonderful earth do 153 political parties have to tell us which we don’t already know and what the hell do they have as a plan to make South Africa better? Who is going to listen to 153 manifesto’s?

Actors Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher begin the closing scene by saying, "I pledge to be a servant to our president and all mankind." Near the end of the video, the celebrities took turns looking into the camera and challenging, "What's your pledge?"

Just so you understand, here is the video, it’s a bit lengthily for those who are bandwidth challenged. It is about 4minutes long. Its best if you click play, reduce the volume and continue reading or browsing other articles by TheTVObsever and you can comeback when it has fully loaded to enjoy it without interruptions.

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