ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula criticises Malema’s remarks as inappropriate and off-topic

No, Fikile. Your analysis is flawed. Democracy is not maturing; people are losing patience.<br><br>South Africans are sick and tired of corruption, the constant looting of public money and politicians becoming so comfortable and disconnected from the very people they are supposed to serve.<br><br>It&#39;s clear that you don&#39;t know what hunger feels like. You don&#39;t lie awake wondering how you&#39;re going to pay the rent. You don&#39;t have to choose between putting petrol in your car to get to work or putting food on the table for your children.<br><br>You don&#39;t sit in darkness wondering when the electricity will come back. You don&#39;t worry whether the water coming out of your tap is safe to drink. You don&#39;t lie awake worrying about school fees, rising food prices or how you&#39;re going to make it through another month.<br><br>Ordinary South Africans live these realities every single day.<br><br>This isn&#39;t democracy maturing. It&#39;s voters holding those in power accountable. People are tired of promises without delivery, excuses without consequences and leaders who seem to have forgotten what life is like for the people they represent.<br><br>**That is why the ANC lost votes. Not because democracy is maturing, but because people are demanding accountability, dignity and a government that actually works for them.