Expats hope for new dawn after polls

INDIAN expats living in South Africa are hoping to see increased growth in the economy, reduced unemployment - especially among the youth, and greater social cohesion in both countries after their elections.

General elections are underway in India from April 19 and continue to June 1. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on June 4. The country has been led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since May 2014.

In South Africa, general elections will be held on May 29, to elect a new National Assembly and the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces.

Currently there are about 20 000 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in South Africa, of whom about 5 000 reside in KwaZulu-Natal.

Amit More, a mechanical engineer and chairperson of the Indian Association of South Africa(IASA), said while they were not able to vote in India, as one needed to be physically present, it was an exciting time for expats and people around the world.

“The whole world is now looking at India - which has the largest democracy. In South Africa, people who I meet have said that they admire the current leadership of India, which is not only firm but also acts and thinks about the country and its people’s well-being first. I believe that this is what is needed globally in terms of leadership.

“I also hope that with the elections in South Africa that we will see the new or current government, if re-elected into power, address some of the pertinent issues such as unemployment that citizens are faced with. Furthermore, India has always held South Africa’s hand. When India gained independence, they were the first to fight apartheid. We hope to see the relationship between both countries strengthen,” he said.

Dr Shailesh Joshi, a scientist and honorary lecturer at UKZN, said over the past decade India had progressed under its current leadership.

“When you are sitting outside of the country you are able to see it. We hope that with the coming government, which is hopefully not going to change, we will continue to see India climb, not only from a Gross Domestic Product(GDP) point of view, but also culturally. We would also like to see India as global leaders going forward.

“We are also looking forward to seeing the leadership role from our South African counterpart growing at the same pace and with a clear vision. The focus should be on the social upliftment and overall growth of every citizen of South Africa. There should also be focus on bringing everyone together and growing them. That is something we hope for, which is on the same line as what the Indian government is thinking and planning to do going forward. I think South Africans can take the lesson from there,” he said.

Atul Padalkar, an entrepreneur and businessman, said once the election process was completed, both countries would need to focus on addressing the social-ills its citizens were faced with.

“The mandate from the people is pretty clear, which is to address issues of unemployment, poverty, and inequality. I think these are the most common problems for both countries.

“The primary focus should be on resolving unemployment, especially in the fourth industrial revolution, where the nature of work and jobs are going to change. If we can resolve unemployment , this will then sort out the issue of poverty and inequality.

"Furthermore, I don't think we are reaping the demographic dividends adequately enough in both countries. We have a large young population and if we don't get them to make their voices heard, as a sense of urgency, we are probably going to write-off our best future potentials in both our countries,” he said.

Rahul Kaushik, a businessman, said: “We have seen the transition and acceleration of growth in India since 2014. The majority can definitely see this and will most probably vote for our current government, who (will likely) regain power. We also hope that the smooth process - as over 1 billion people are going out to make their vote, will set an example to others that there is no need for chaos or riots, especially when the party you want in power - does not win."

Kaushik said they were hoping to be able to register and vote online for the next elections in India.

“A few years ago, the Election Commission of India, had come to South Africa, to find out how many people would be interested in voting. After receiving a great response, we believe the processes have started to make voting accessible to expats - who cannot physically vote. Now that there is a roadmap of what is to come, we are excited and hopeful that we can still make our voices heard - even if we are not in the country,” he said.

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