EDITORIAL | Political parties should rally around to take out the trash, literally and figuratively

Actions speak louder than words and if the videos and photos showing ANC leaders with bin bags picking up trash after the Mayihlome rally in Durban are anything other than content for social media, it’s a start.

The ANC pulled out all the stops to fill Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday to beat its chest that it remains a political force to be reckoned with and is a shoo-in to win the national elections on May 29.

This meant throngs of ANC T-shirt-wearing supporters descended from free buses and minibus taxis that gridlocked the Durban promenade from 8am.

One would be forgiven for wondering if North Beach had been granted nude beach status for the day, as law enforcement officers battled to control crowds of people in various states of undress along the 5km stretch.

This while lifeguards kept an eye on dozens of women frolicking in the surf with lascivious men clearly harassing them.

Others catcalled and tried to paw some of the women in fits of laughter while drinking quarts of beer and cider from the boot of their cars, taxis and buses, before and after the rally.

At the stadium, a buoyant President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the large crowd, outlining the party’s six promises to fix the country, including creating 2.5-million jobs in the next five years and making the R350 social relief of distress grant a basic income grant.

By evening, the thousands dispersed and hotels, restaurants and bars were boosted by the patronage.

But what they left behind was a corporate company’s social investment litter pick-up dream: plastic packets, KFC boxes, styrofoam takeaway containers, broken bottles and cold-drink cans galore.

No wonder opposition parties mocked the ANC’s manifesto launch as a beach party and dirt fest.

ANC head of elections and campaign Mdumiseni Ntuli took to social media on Sunday, explaining why, after the manifesto launch which outlined the party’s plan to engage supporters on how they planned to change their lives for the better, leaders were armed with bin bags and gloves.

“We are engendering and cultivating the culture of patriotism of us as members and [South Africans to] live in a clean environment for good, healthy living,” said Ntuli.

They wanted to remove the trash left behind by supporters, and leaders working with party volunteers sent out a message that “keeping our environment clean is a collective responsibility”.

A noble gesture which could have reaped benefits 10-fold if it was incorporated as part of the rally, literally and figuratively.

A responsible party would have reminded members to enjoy themselves without polluting the environment. Engendering and cultivating a culture of cleanliness is the basis of eco-politics, with far-reaching affects.

But the issue of removing the trash could be applied, figuratively, to those whose lewd, sexist attitudes and actions towards women enjoying themselves, whatever the occasion, needs to be binned. It is a necessary precursor to helping change societal behaviour.

Addressing male entitlement and other societal stereotypes that contribute to gender inequality are vital social reforms, just as important as economic investment promises to fix the country.

It's what all parties should be demanding every chance they get.