Another week has passed under the African sun and here in Boksburg not much has changed.
We are still living in times of violence, as is evident in the shocking death of a newborn baby right here in the city.
It seems there is no end in the downward spiral of moral depravity as someone actually stabbed a baby to death. The motive is unknown, but how barbaric can we become?
Farm murders, mob justice and daylight robbery have all become the norm of our lives.
In Joe Slovo informal settlement, residents are refusing to vote if their service delivery complaints are not attended to urgently.
This saga has been ongoing for months now, and it speaks of a much larger crisis in the land and in the city – a crisis of a lack of service delivery.
After all, Scribante still has no lifts, so the elderly and the frail are forced to navigate the stairs.
In the Boksburg CBD the streets remain dirty, roads are still not being maintained and yes, cables are still being stolen.
Judging by the reaction on the Advertiser Facebook page, residents are now really getting sick and tired of this cable theft nightmare. One can only hope that the local government is taking note since this is the year of elections.
An interesting comment has been raised concerning the debacle of cable theft – how do these criminals know where to dig?
And it seems they know where to dig for cables where apparently security is non-existent. Food for thought indeed.
So yes, another week has passed, and nothing has changed in our land and our city. South Africa’s economy is still teetering on the edge of a dark void of recession.
In the meantime, political parties are gearing up to win votes, yet I wonder who can really solve the R450-billion debt crisis of Eskom, never mind the other parastatals?
We have heard more damming evidence from the commission into state capture, but still not one has been prosecuted.
And on the note of corruption, we have learned South Africa is in the top 10 of the least corrupt sub-Saharan countries with figures that are stable, according to a survey.
Please don’t fall off your chair laughing at such news. I know, it is hard to swallow, since the country has been brought to its knees because of years of extensive corruption.
According to the survey into corruption, South Africa continues to languish with a score of 43 (out of 100) – the same as the previous year.
Seychelles’ score of 66 put the island nation at the top of the list for the sub-Saharan region, while South Africa came ninth out of the region’s 46 countries.
Worldwide, SA ranked 73rd out of 180 countries, with Somalia taking the honours as the world’s most corrupt country, and New Zealand is the least corrupt.
Corruption Watch CEO David Lewis said strong democratic institutions like the media, the courts and civil society organisations have held up “pretty well” and have prevented SA from sliding further down the ladder.
We just don’t know how sturdy this ladder is, because this ladder might soon become a victim of SA’s corruption.
At the end of the day, life remains tough for us here in Boksburg, as we deal with constant power outages and fluctuating fuel prices.
At least we can look forward to a year of the Rugby World Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup – or maybe not.
ALSO READ:
In the dark about a solution to cable theft |
Empty political promises will not cover up the cracks
Follow us:
For more #hyperlocal news at your fingertips, visit Benoni City Times, Springs Advertiser, Brakpan Herald, African Reporter and Kathorus Mail.
