Contagious madness harms SA’s growth
Let us not beat around the bush - South Africa is in a bad state.
You just have to look at the rampant crime, slow economic growth and a crisis in the mining sector.
Yet despite all the negativity, even while the Rand keeps on plummeting to new lows against foreign investor confidence, President Zuma says the country has not gone down.
He recently told parliament that South Africa is “being governed very responsibly”, dismissing accusations that the country has gone down under his rule and that the country is moving ahead.
These comments come amidst a crisis in the mining sector which will see massive job loss.
Looking at the economy, South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) only grew by 1.5 percent in 2014, down from 2.2 percent in 2013.
South Africa also saw a steep decline in foreign direct investment over the last year – down 31 percent from 2013 to 2014.
The country’s murder rate is up, while robberies with aggravating circumstances and hijackings have also increased.
We are clearly not moving forward, but the question is, should we be laying the blame of the country’s poor performance squarely on the shoulders of Zuma, keeping in mind the fiasco of Nkandla?
While the President serves as an easy scapegoat, there are more than enough people in this country who are making a total mockery of SA’s image, breaking down trust in our ability to function according to effective standards.
Take for example that commercial and white-collar crime is on the rise in South Africa, especially among senior to top management. Such corruption is apparently costing South Africa an estimated R930m a year.
So there are more than enough white-collar criminals who find no qualm in sticking their hand in the cookie jar, and while they feed their greed they are destroying the economy.
Gillian Wolman, head of litigation at Risk Benefit Solutions (RBS), independent insurance and risk specialists, has warned that as economic conditions tighten, more South Africans are struggling to meet their financial obligations thereby increasing temptations of such crimes.
Clearly, Zuma’s vision for a country moving forward is being hampered by constant greed in the form of corruption, be it white-collar crime or tender fraud.
And what about the shocking news that the Gauteng Education Department has accused Glenvista High School officials of squandering millions of rands.
Yes that is right. MEC Panyaza Lesufi revealed what he called shocking findings from an investigation conducted by auditing firm, KPMG. Members have allegedly been guilty of using school funds for personal benefit.
It seems we are constantly dipping lower morally, not even ashamed of stealing school funds that are ultimately harming our children’s education.
We know that Zuma has blamed load-shedding woes for the country’s poor economic growth.
While the government tries to find solutions, even entertaining a nuclear power deal, the fact remains that poor management is at fault for SA’s electricity woes which have impacted the economy greatly.
Zuma cannot be blamed for our power outages and a surge in candle purchases. SA’s economy is crippled because of poor management, something which is becoming very evident among parastatals including the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
And then, we have other shocking developments that befuddle any rational mind and makes you think that we are truly in a deep crisis of insanity.
Firstly, there has been an outcry that the Springbok squad is too white and heading for disaster at the World Cup. Yes, because the squad is too white, even though players are chosen on merit, we head for defeat.
What irrational and ludicrous remarks! To say that SA will fail because it is too white just shows how many have remained stuck in the past, digging up skeletons that should be left buried.
I often wonder what is the argument over Bafana Bafana’s racial make-up? If we apply the same argument, we might as well say the national team’s poor performance is due to a lack of white players!
And then we have the continuing insanity of a pastor in Soshanguve who recently told his congregation to start chewing the weave of a journalist because it is food.
The same ‘pastor’ is known for making his congregation eat anything from grass and leaves to paper, live rodents and snakes.
Such people make a mockery not only of South Africa, but also of faith. They tarnish our good name and yes, eventually such shenanigans, do harm investor confidence.
We would love to place the blame on our President, but there is enough contagious madness going around, worse than Ebola, from stealing cash from schools to eating a weave.
Steadily, this country is falling into a black void of embarrassment (and this has nothing to do with load-shedding or the apparent looming meteor disaster).
