Joshua Apfel
Joshua Apfel of Sydenham, Johannesburg writes:
Register to vote – it’s crucial to future of our democracy
I, together with my fellow South Africans, Jews and non-Jews alike, note with concern the signing of the highly controversial and much maligned e-toll system into law by our ANC-run government.
Notwithstanding the procedural and substantive irregularities surrounding the implementation of e-tolls, it is acknowledged that the implementation of the e-toll system by Sanral, will impose a further increase on the ever-spiralling cost of living and burden those already mired in poverty.
It is time that we, as South African Jews, who have a history of being responsible citizens, fighting to uphold democracy and against society’s ills, make our voice heard.
I am, by no stretch of the imagination, advocating that Johannesburg Jewry participate in the next Cosatu march through the streets of Johannesburg, or that we withhold payment of taxes; what I do suggest, is that Johannesburg Jewry protest the ANC-driven e-tolls by registering to vote on November 10 and 11 and by voting at the upcoming elections in 2014.
This is even more imperative, given the recent loss of the Opposition Against Urban Tolling Alliance’s case in the Appeal Court which, barring an appeal to the Constitutional Court, paves the way for the implementation of the e-toll system.
Whichever political party one votes for, participation in democracy through voting, is the strongest tool in the hands of the ordinary citizen. It is also vitally important that we educate the youth regarding the importance of the vote and encourage them, as parents and teachers, to register to vote. The time is now to save our democracy from the ANC, which believes that it can enact policies such as e-toll without heeding the voice of the public.
