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South Afrika is a very tricky situation post apartheid. As much as progress continues to be made in redressing the issues of the past, many black people are uneasy of their continued support for former liberation movements. It is not that many black folks no longer identify with what these movements stand for, it is just that many of these movements have either failed to identify with the changes of the many black folks or have failed to change with the times.

As much as many are proud of our black history and struggle heritage, it is becoming increasingly difficult for many to support a party solely on struggle credentials and nothing else. While we acknowledge and admit the crucial role of struggle in our present, using the struggle credentials as the basis for support is fast loosing appeal.

Many black folks have since identified other areas of interest for themselves following the 1994 elections. This resulting in many of us seeing politics as no longer an area of priority. Our primary focus and occupation being creating a better life for ourselves. This done in he harsh realities of corporate South Afrika where race still play a crucial role in determining ones acceptance and growth. While many legislative guidelines were passed by government in trying to redress these imbalances, the reality remains that of prejudice for black people. Though many of us forgive the government for this lacklaster in enforcing these laws, many black folks are doing their best to thrive in this environment despite the challenges.

This independent thinking seem to be the unfortunate defining factor in the split between black folks who used to be comrades in the liberation struggle. One side believes the struggle continues while the rest believe black people must start defining who they are outside of body politics.

This stance seem unacceptable and hence unforgivable to those who remain staunch political players. In their eyes black folks have betrayed the liberation ideals. They see liberation as being synonymous to black suffering and sacrifices. While everyone agrees the struggle continues, the difference in opinion is more on how the lives of black people must be turned around. Those in politics believe black people must be protected through laws such as affirmative action. While these laws are widely supported by black folks, the problem lies with how black people see and define themselves in the context of affirmative action. Black folks who are progressive and ambitious want to define for themselves what role they must play in the economy of South Afrika. The political folks want a predefined agenda about black people, mostly in the context of blacks as employed workers highly regulated by labour movements.

Unfortunately the labour movements are way too ancient to even represent the majority of professional black people. By labour movement's view, black folks are not support to progress beyond a certain point which makes them influential. They also fail dismally to represent the interest of black folks in specialist professions such as engineering, medicine, technology and the like. It is even worse for the interest of black folks who start own companies as these companies are seen in the same light as any employer in the country.

It is these unfortunate clashes of viewpoints that segregate the black folks past 1994. The political players now see themselves as the rightful protectors of black interests, while the rest of them blacks are regarded as right wingers and capitalists. This hard stance has divided people because it seems now that being successful, a specialist in your profession and being in business is counter revolutionary in the eyes of the labour and former liberations movements. And neither side is willing to give in in these debates.

Like many black folks, I felt that our exclusive interest in politics is compromising our chances for change and progress in our black societies. This political focus enforces the notion that black folks must remain public servants and perform low jobs that are traditionally reserved for black people. These are the areas highly protected and contested by the labour movements. Having been a member of the labour fedaration since I started working, I felt my interests were ignored in favour of the interests of the majority in the labour movement. The majority of which happen to be unskilled and semi-skilled personnel. In principle, this is not a problem, until the labour movement policy positions are directly against my progress as an individual. Until my development and growthin the public service was seriously hampered by the same labour movement I held membership to. When the labour federation I was party to started telling me that I was regarded a fat cat.

Many of us find ourselves alienated in many ways by the same movements we supported in the past. When the political movement started simmering its ties with the labour movement in an alliance, this had the consequence of many of us feeling even further alienated. The policy positions pushed by the alliance are in direct conflict with what many of us feel passionate about. Especially when they publicly declare that the black middle class is undesirable. Most of us black folks are trying our best to establish ourselves in our own businesses.

Our principled view must be seen in the light of the majority of black people who feel alienated. Affirmative action and black economic empowerment have benefited only the few highly favoured individuals in the movement. The rest of us, while we aspire to build businesses, are doing so entirely outside the confines of BEE. It is in this context that we are disillusioned with BEE and affirmative action. Affirmative action, just like BEE, favours a few known personalities while rest of us see no change in our professional lives.

While we continued voting for the liberation movements, we no longer held membership nor identified with them for the most part. Our differences are not so much ideological as they are on policy positions.

It is all these conditions that saw me taking an interest in latest developments in the country when our state president was fired in October 2008. Resulting in the formation of the new political party, The Congress of the People. While many things did not jell with me about Cope, especially their neo liberal stance on many issues, I was more at ease identifying with them which led me to taking up a membership with them. I argued that I could lobby against the things I disagreed with from within. But the general atmosphere was receptive to me as an individual.

While I continue to identify things I am not particularly happy about with Cope, I am generally happy to give my support. This done at the realisation that without Cope there isn't really any political party in the country that I can identify with. While Cope's obsession to look truly liberal with different faces is making me uneasy, for we still have a long way to go in South Afrika before a true liberal society can be realised, I am keeping my eye on developments with the hope that Cope will build itself into a truly solid and representative movement.

The views and aspirations of many black people are acutely captured by this article: Found Wanting - Black Souls in Modern South Afrika.