The president of the Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats (AASD), Itumeleng Papie Mokoena, has challenged members and the community to pledge their efforts to make the 2024 election a benchmark for changing South Africa into a prosperous country.
Speaking at the party’s five-year celebration in Bloemfontein on 20 January he said the pledge tied in with the party’s vision of a pathway to prosperity in 2060.
“The 1994 election was about liberation and freedom to vote, but the 2024 election should be about progress, a new development path in the true sense of prosperity,” said Mokoena.
Should the situation be the same by 2060, he argued, then it would mean the people never took the opportunity of the 2024 election to change the direction of the country.
“It is very urgent that we change the course of this country; you deserve better. It is important we wake up on the day of the 2024 election, to go and vote. It is just one day, and your vote will determine the next five years. Go vote to reclaim your dignity.”
Mokoena expressed appreciation for the community supporting his party, crediting it for the one seat the party got in the Mangaung Metro council in the 2021 local government election.
He strongly lamented the rising rate of youth unemployment, the youth becoming a begging generation, and the statistics of voter apathy.
“This is a result of choices we made when we voted for the past 30 years. Can you tell your vote bears any fruit for your children?
“Looking forward to the party’s ten-year celebration in 2029, I am hopeful that for many of us and our children the situation would have improved.”
