Not voting is not an option, vote for morality and justice

I hope that tomorrow we will all wake up and go exercise our democratic right. The better governance we want is on the ballot.

The clean running water we want in our villages and townships is on the ballot. The tarred roads we are looking for are on the ballot.

The important changes we are looking for are also found on the ballot.

Staying away is not an option. Because each and every one of us has the responsibility to make the change. As a young black person, I know that the policies of the DA do not speak to me as rural and yet modern young man.

But maybe it speaks to you, and the many other parties on our ballot paper.

We have to go vote tomorrow. A faultless political party will only be found in a utopian world.

So, the question really is; will I vote ANC or EFF?

The ANC has been in charge of this country for 25 years. In the village where I grew up, Pankop in Mpumalanga, I have witnessed the ANC government give us electricity. We have relatively good schools under a very poor education system.

We were never short of textbooks or teachers. Our village has running water, even though at times the taps run dry (like now).

When I look around, needy people now live in decent houses provided by the state. But there is still much to be done in my village and SA at large.

The economy is in tatters. Corruption is out of control. There has been no growth in creating jobs. Integrity is no more in the fibre of the ANC. There has to be a moral compass in the ANC, as the governing party.

Officials and ministers in the government that's been in power since 1994 are guilty of mismanagement and squander of public funds, stealing and not being held accountable for these crimes.

But to say they haven't made significant changes or progress in the democratic SA will be void of the truth.

Then there is the five-year-old EFF. They are remarkable. There is absolutely no track record to cite them on. However, it doesn't mean that they haven't made any significant strides.

May 8 would have marked the end of the unfortunate second term of president Jacob Zuma. But through the court battles and the robust engagements in parliament, Zuma didn't finish that second them.

We wouldn't know about the Guptas and the State Capture saga. South Africans wouldn't know about Bosasa and that we have ministered that were hired by the Guptas.

It is this significant victories of national importance from a party that only obtained just over 6% that make them the force to be reckoned with.

Malema worries me as an individual, I know that change is scary, and maybe that is what we need. But what really got me so elated after listening to the #ANCSiyanqobaRally and the #EFFTshelaThupaRally on Sunday, I am very happy to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa and CIC Julius Malema talk about gender-based violence (GBV).

Often in political gatherings, social issues such as GBV are not central to the discussion or topical. But to hear leaders who are cognisant of such serious issues is pleasing.

In conclusion, whether a black South African votes for the ANC or the EFF, both parties truly care about them. Not voting is not an option. The why and who you are going to vote for as a black South African is your discretion.

We have to vote, it matters. It is for justice, it is about ending corruption. All that and more are on the ballot. Let's go and vote Mzansi.

*Chabalala is the founder of the Young Men Movement. Follow him on @KabeloJay (Twitter).