Shenanigans cast shadow over Rainbow Nation
Don't we live in exciting times?
In one week South Africa has become a target of Malawi’s wrath, civil servants have been rapped over the knuckles for extreme spending, Diepsloot has become a den of horrors and our SAPS has been dumped into a cesspool of no credibility.
And so, dear citizens of this fading Rainbow Nation, South Africa continues to run the risk of being the laughing stock overseas.
Let us start with our wonderful police force, which is rife with scandal and corruption.
When Maj-Gen Chris Ngcobo was appointed as acting divisional commissioner of crime intelligence in June, last year – replacing beleaguered Richard Mdluli, who still faces possible charges of fraud, corruption and murder – national police commissioner Riah Phiyega said he would bring “stability in the police intelligence environment”.
And now, Gen Phiyega said, it was “with a huge sense of disappointment” that Maj-Gen Ngcobo would be placed on special leave.
This follows discrepancies found between the declaration made by Maj-Gen Ngcobo and official records pertaining to his qualifications.
Ngcobo’s top secret security clearance has been denied and criminal investigations and disciplinary action could follow.
Well, there goes the stability – I now feel like one of those astronauts in the movie Gravity, trying to find some solid ground of sanity.
Let us cast our eyes to another hilarious fiasco, that in which our civil servants are enjoying a life of luxury, while millions of people are starving, without water or homes.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced sweeping cuts to the pricey perks enjoyed by civil servants.
These drastic measures come in the wake of such civil servants racking up thousands of rand for food and millions for vehicles and accommodation.
On Thursday, the DA revealed that, in the Eastern Cape, the government had spent over R87-million on catering, with certain departments spending more on catering than staff development.
Such crazy spending is happening right under the noses of a middle class already overburdened by taxes, who simply have to cough up more, it seems, not to help the poor, but to get the civil servants booked into a better hotel.
I really don’t know how I would sleep at night with my R1-m Mercedes standing in the garage, my stomach full of rich takeaways and my mind wandering towards my next luxury stay overseas, while thousands of beggars are waiting for a meal.
We need to applaud the new measures announced by Gordhan – set to take effect from December 1, this year – which could put an end to such wasteful expenditure.
According to Gordhan, the savings incurred “could be billions”.
But, sadly, isn’t this a matter of the horse already having bolted? The damage has been done and too many drumsticks have been consumed.
For years now the country has been bled dry by such expenditure, while its people are bent double to survive.
But wait, the lavish expenses occurred by government and the poor showing of the SAPS could be overshadowed by President Jacob Zuma, who has caught the eye of an angry Malawi.
When addressing e-tolls, Zuma said that we can’t think like Africans, because we are in Johannesburg, and not on some national road in Malawi.
To some, it seems he was saying that South Africa was superior to other African nations.
This statement has, however, left me confused.
The last time I checked we were Africans, but, according to our President, we not supposed to think like Africans.
If, however, I think like a European, then I will also be chastised and be accused of reverting to colonialism.
If I think like a capitalist, to support the e-tolls, then I might just have to endure the wrath of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
So how must I think when I regard the e-tolls?
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj has apologised for the Malawi comments made by Zuma.
“Firstly, he was saying we need to enforce the user-pay principle for the national highways, because it is not correct that people in the remote parts of South Africa should do the petrol levy and pay for the roads used in Gauteng,” said Maharaj.
He then said the road should not be seen as a local road in a local area, but as part of the transport system at the heart of the country’s economy.
Even though Zuma has been defended, we have to remember that the President was also quoted as saying, in December 20102 that buying a pet dog was part of white culture, while he warned young blacks not to emulate whites, for example, by straightening their hair.
Zuma’s comments regarding Malawi have also been seen as being afro-pessimistic.
This is contrast to Thabo Mbeki, who championed the African Renaissances and the need to put Africa on the map.
So, in this country we must be careful not be seen as a capitalist, an enlightened African, a European or, by all accounts, even a white man.
We must, it seems, be a bunch of mindless robots called to pay our e-tolls and watch as our tax money goes down the toilet (that is if we can find one in the township).
The DA is, of course, furious about the President’s remark.
Mmusi Maimane, DA Premier candidate for Gauteng, said the following: “What the President doesn’t realise is that Africa is actually developing at a faster pace than he suggests. Many governments in African countries have adopted investor-friendly policies that create jobs.
“They are not burdening citizens with double-taxation through an expensive e-tolling system. The President should rather take a leaf out of the books of other African economies that are actually growing faster than us.”
The DA mentioned that, instead of insulting South Africans by saying we are backward when we oppose e-tolls, we should get rid of this backward and expensive tolling system.
Indeed, we, as law-abiding citizens, understand that the roads are to be tolled to pay back the money borrowed to build the freeways to make the economy flow.
But what boggles the mind is that apparently those who could afford a car and petrol, could also afford to pay e-tolls.
I am afraid if one applies any logic, then this doesn’t make much sense.
In the meanwhile, the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) has said they will not vote for the ANC in next year’s elections, because of its involvement in e-tolling.
And so the union is spreading the word among its 30 000 members, that the only way to make it clear that we are not happy with the way the country is governed, is to vote for an alternative party.
And then, of course, to really tarnish SA’s image as a united nation that wants to be a light of hope in Africa, is the Diepsloot murder and rape of Yonelisa Mali (2) and her three-year-old cousin, Zandile.
What is this saying about our land, when we also take into consideration the growing violence in schools, and the ever growing unemployment of the youth?
The media has been chastised by Zuma for being unpatriotic by reporting only on bad news, but, unfortunately, it is needed – no comfort food or good news can cover the harsh reality of SA’s lack of sound morals and judgment.
