Baubles of gratitude: good wishes for South Africa’s bright future

For as long as I can remember, my family has followed an annual Christmas Day tradition inspired by the long-running American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (my mom and sister were fans). A strange place to spark a Christmas tradition, but can you really choose your muse?

And so every Christmas Day, after lunch and before gifts are opened, one by one each person (even invited guests) is handed a bauble with their name on it to hang on the tree. Before doing so they must say a few words of thanks, reflect on the year that’s been and cast forward to their hopes, dreams and prayers for the year ahead.

In the beginning, there was much grumbling – the shy wanted to avoid public speaking, the teenagers rolled their eyes and the younger kids were just about exploding at having to wait for presents.

Now, though, it is something we all look forward to. It’s a moment to hear what our kin have navigated over the year and their future plans. Sometimes there are tears, but more often laughter and encouragement.

This got me thinking: what would I say if I were hanging a bauble for South Africa on the tree this Christmas Day?

It has been a year of elections, with voters in 74 countries going to the polls in what turned out to be tough outings for many incumbents, even where they won. In South Africa, it was no different with an election that left the foundations of our political system shook, to use Gen Z terminology.

The writing was on the wall for a decline in ANC support – you can only take your supporters for granted for so long before frustration sets in and a message has to be sent – but the bruising loss of the majority (it only won 40% of the vote) has been hard for the party to swallow.

This has been especially tough since a key cause of the loss was the emergence of former ANC president Jacob Zuma’s MK party, which, to be fair, not only upset the ANC’s apple cart, but also stole any thunder the EFF hoped to have.

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall in those on-again-off-again-on-again post-election negotiations that gave birth to the committee animal that is the government of national unity (GNU). Never mind the machinations that brought us here, we can be grateful that peace won out, especially when you cast your gaze to our neighbours in Mozambique or further afield to Georgia. We can be thankful that some kind of political maturity by leaders and party supporters prevailed.

But the road ahead will be potholed.

The DA has to figure out how it plays an opposition role while being a member of the GNU. Can it? Will Helen Zille and John Steenhuisen be able to put ego aside in the long term for the greater good of the country? Will the ANC be able to navigate its internal politics while still serving the needs of demanding GNU partners?

The MK party, caught by surprise by its own success, will need to find its footing quickly if it is to play an effective opposition role in Parliament. And what of its future after Zuma’s leadership?

Julius Malema’s EFF is on the ropes as key members jump like rats off a sinking ship. Malema’s stranglehold on the party, once its strength, is now its Achilles heel.

South Africans have grown weary of spectacle politics and will demand better accountability and service from elected officials. This is especially so as we still grapple with the triple threat of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Add in high levels of crime and it’s a toxic mix.

As I look to the year ahead, I do so with my daughters in mind and ask: what kind of South Africa do they deserve? The answers come easy. A country where they are free to be who they are, love whomever they want, wear what they feel comfortable in, walk safely on the streets of Mzansi.

A country where there are opportunities for all, not just the connected few, where my girls recognise their privilege and use it to lift others as they lift themselves.

A country where value is placed on the sum of your character, not on the balance in your bank account.

A country of hope.

To achieve this country means each of us must ask, what can I do to make this a reality for all the children of South Africa? Instead of moaning around the Saturday braai about the state of the nation with people that look and sound like ourselves, what can we do to broaden our understanding of each other and our lived experiences?

What can we do to make our neighbourhoods safer for all? What can I do to feed a hungry child? Ensure they are in school?

We cannot leave it to the politicians alone. Let’s all roll up our sleeves and build the South Africa that we want to see for our children. I am ready to do so in 2025. Are you? DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.