Renowned Zimbabwean investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono says the rate at which Democratic Alliance (DA) would see African National Congress (ANC) losing more votes in the coming elections.
He says currently, DA ministers are visible and attending to issues.
Chin’ono says while ANC has been doing remarkable work over the years, they are failing to communicate their success stories.
He writes:
I was talking to a South African friend, who is a professor of politics, about what taking cabinet posts will mean in the new 7th South African administration.
For someone like Gayton McKenzie and the DA ministers, they have nothing to lose if they deliver and are visible to the South African electorate.
The bar was already low according to the dominant political narrative in South Africa which was confirmed by the election result.
They simply have to address wasteful habits, stop them, and tackle corruption, which any sane and ethical person hates!
If the DA and McKenzie continue delivering good news at their current pace, the ANC will get less than 40% in 2029 and will also face significant losses in the 2026 municipal elections.
It doesn’t matter whether the changes by DA ministers and McKenzie are not materially substantial, what matters most in politics is communication and the perception it builds.
This is why good ministers who don’t communicate lose public appeal.
There are low hanging fruits for any minister in a post-colonial government after 30 years of independence, and the DA and McKenzie seem to understand this.
They are the most visible ministers so far, except for the ANC Energy Minister, who spoke yesterday but didn’t capture the public’s imagination.
Communication is an art.
ANC ministers are asserting their authority publicly and marking their turf, whereas the DA and McKenzie are more interested in communicating the positives they have achieved and are delivering for the electorate instead of engaging in bluster and power mongering.
The ANC feels like it needs to keep reminding us that it is the senior partner in this new government, its ministers keep talking about how their previous policies from the 6th administration will be implemented regardless of having a coalition government, the public doesn’t care about that!
In fact the public gets infuriated by that because it sounds arrogant and unrepentant.
I have told my friends in the ANC that they need to tame their evident arrogance and realise that they lost an election.
They must do things differently to regain lost ground or they will lose more if they don’t change. It is that simple.
For DA ministers and Gayton McKenzie, the stakes are low, and the potential for a positive public perception is high.
By addressing wasteful spending and corruption, they are tapping into issues that resonate with a large portion of the electorate, and if they succeed, they could potentially shift the balance of power in South Africa’s politics.
What DA and McKenzie are doing should be what we are seeing from ANC ministers.
What is the new Defense Minister doing about the Congo war?
What is the Trade Minister working on to make South Africa’s economy better?
He is a young, successful and handsome man, he should be visible and should make trade sexy to the public.
What is the Petroleum Minister doing?
He could have capitalised on the fuel price cuts, but do they know how to communicate?
Communication shouldn’t be left to cadres, it is a professional pursuit that should be given to loyal but capable experts.
There are many good things that the ANC has done, but it doesn’t know how to communicate effectively!
If you ask any African which country they would like their own country to resemble, the answer will be South Africa.
This means there are many good things that the ANC governments have delivered, but why can’t the ANC effectively communicate this message?
They can learn from how the DA and McKenzie have performed so far.
Politics is praxis, politics is perception.
If you fail to build a perception that favours you in politics, you need to change your communication teams!
The ANC has been in power for so long that it seems to have forgotten how to effectively communicate its successes and resonate with the people.
Communication is key in politics. It is not just about what you are doing, but also about how you are telling people what you are doing.
Zwnews
