There is a war of attrition going on in South Africa.
This war of attrition is between the ANC and the DA.
And this war is real, unlike the imagined “genocide inflicted on white Afrikaaners.”
Both the ANC and the DA are launching onslaughts against each other with the hope that the other side will tire of the conflict and capitulate.
But those who have studied attrition warfare or have been involved in one, would readily attest to the following factors:
1. A war of attrition can be costly and ineffective.
2. It leads to long drawn-out conflicts. 3.Both sides suffer significant losses.
Now looking at the above-mentioned factors regarding the consequences of attrition warfare, it is neither the DA nor the ANC that is going to suffer here.
It is the people of South Africa that are going to suffer because instead of Cabinet Ministers in the GNU concentrating on coming up with innovative ways to tackle a plethora of issues bedeviling this country, they will now be engrossed in mapping out sophisticated strategies to outwit “the enemy.”
As they say, it is the grass that suffers when two elephants fight.
The ever-occuring incidents of a stand-off between the ANC and the DA are not welcome at all as they are an unnecessary sideshow that deflects attention from burning issues which must be addressed by all Ministers who are in the GNU.
The DA always alludes to the fact that the voters of South Africa are the ones who have determined that the ANC and the DA should govern together and by extension this means they are in some form of a “forced marriage.”
Now in cultures where forced marriages are a norm, there is no divorce!
The DA must therefore stay put in the forced marriage (GNU); perform tasks that are expected of a loyal wife and stop threatening to pull out of this forced arrangement.
By its own admission the DA has been put in this situation by the voters and not its party bosses.
Some opinion makers have already pointed out that by staying in this “unhappy marriage” while continuing to criticise the ANC, the DA wants to continue enjoying the perks of being in government while at the same time trying to be seen as an adherent of moral rectitude as opposed to the ANC’s abhorrent moral principles.
Perhaps the DA’s indecisive behaviour regarding its participation in the GNU can best be described in terms of the following idiomatic expressions:
1. Running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
2. Have your cake and eat it too.
3.Have the best of both worlds.
I rest my case!