"I'd rather sleep naked than wear an ANC T-shirt even as pyjamas. Besides, they are not going to get my X on voting day."
That is how Zilungile Mzozo from Ntabankulu in the Eastern Cape responded to my question about the value of an ANC T-shirt in 2023.
Some 20 years ago, an ANC T-shirt was a must-have, especially in this ANC heartland. The few who had such T-shirts wore them proudly and on special occasions to mark their identity with Nelson Mandela's liberation movement.
Today wearing ANC regalia links one to a group that is loosely referred to as "amamenemene ka Tambo" (Oliver Tambo's band of liars).
I am reminded of what the ANC used to mean to my people in KwaBhaca, one of the poorest parts of the country where vast communities have no access to tap water, and where pit toilets are the norm.
Today even in this ANC heartland, change is coming. The FF+ is gaining votes here, while the DA's Umzimvumbu branch has grown by more than 300% since the November 2021 municipal elections.
And so I found it amusing when, on Thursday, ANC first deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane and ANC volunteers armed themselves with party T-shirts to drum up support at ward 2, Imvoti Region in KZN ahead of the 14 June by-elections.
Ordinary folks received the manna of free T-shirts but what are they to do with them when they continue to live in squalor, poverty and underdevelopment?
In my experience, I have found a useless T-shirt quite effective in closing the gap under the door that often lets in the winter night chill or water when it's flooding.
Useless things have their uses, I guess. Just like a newspaper rag is good enough to wrap up fried fish and chips.
Affectionately known as Mama Action, Mokonyane told the community they have now forwarded a trustworthy candidate in the form of local church pastor Dan Khumalo.
"What I can say is that we are pleased that everyone in this community, both young and old, knows Pastor Dan Khumalo who is the ANC candidate here.
"He prays for the sick and he leads the local church so we trust that everyone will see through his deeds that the ANC is trustworthy and that it has people who love working for the community."
