2024 Elections | The wisdom of Solomon

JOHANNESBURG - In the bible, King Solomon is known for his wisdom.

The story goes that God came to Solomon in a dream and offered him a wish – anything he wanted. Solomon chose wisdom. Pleased, God granted him wisdom as well as riches, glory and a long life. As a result, Solomon became the wisest of all men.

Perhaps the story that best defines the wisdom of Solomon is the one in which two women came before him, both claiming to be the mother of a baby. After hearing each of them, Solomon suggested the child be cut in two and each woman be given half.

One of the women agreed, the other protested and said she would rather give up the chid than see it killed. Solomon ruled that the woman who put the child’s life first was the mother.

Since the days of Solomon, the questions and choices that we are faced with have not become any easier. In the last few days, South Africans have had to make some big decisions.

Firstly, it was whether to vote. About six in ten registered voters decided to do so.

Then it was a question of which party to vote for. Most South Africans opted for the ANC, but sentiment has clearly changed.

For the first time since democracy support for the ANC fell to below 50 percent. The ANC will enter the 400-seat National Assembly with 159 members.

The Democratic Alliance was able to gain slightly and has been allocated 87 seats while the EFF lost traction and will only have 39 seats.

The surprise factor was MK which managed to get almost 15 percent of the national vote. That translates into 58 seats in the 400-seat National Assembly.

Now, the ANC must decide which political parties it will form a coalition with.

There is a push by some for a coalition between the ANC, the EFF and MK. The EFF broke away from the ANC more than a decade ago while MK broke away more recently.

But big business and markets are likely to be spooked by any government that includes the EFF and MK.

Both parties speak of expropriation of land without compensation, nationalisation and a state that plays a bigger and more active role in society. MK goes a step further and plans to do away with our constitution.

It is not the language of business. Their policies, however noble in their intention, will not attract investment. Put simply, nobody wants to invest their money where they’re likely to lose it.

A coalition that involves the MK and EFF will result in big business leaving South Africa, or, at best, not investing in the economy.

The ANC leadership would also realise that isolating MK could prove dangerous. The party has enough support to disrupt parliament as well as society in general, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

The MK leadership also have big decisions to make, chief among them whether the party will send its 58 members to the National Assembly. By not doing so they would have robbed 2.3 million voters of a voice in parliament.

From a business perspective, a coalition between the ANC and DA would be viewed favourably. But other than both parties being champions of the South African constitution, they have little else in common.

If such a coalition materialises, it must be underpinned by an agenda that sets out how South Africa will be transformed.

The reality is that 30 years into our democracy, our constitution is only of value to monied classes. Too many ordinary South Africans have not seen their lives improve under our constitutional democracy.

It explains why at least one out of four people who voted in our recent elections did so for parties who want to drastically change the constitution or ditch it in its entirety.

Both the ANC and DA also need to accept change is inevitable. It cannot be business as usual. The ANC needs to be firmer on the type of person it puts into public office while the DA needs to drop the bravado.

In the coming days there are many important decisions that need to be made. There are no simple solutions. What is needed is a wise and discerning mind - the wisdom of Solomon.

The focus must be on what is best for our country - not personal or political agendas being put first. And, if we make the right choices now, the riches, the glory and the long life that was bestowed upon Solomon could also be ours.

By Aakash Bramdeo, Content Editor at eNCA

The information contained in the article posted represents the views and opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of eNCA.