THE BOOING OF PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA

Dear Sir

In his recent article in one of our national newspapers, Professor Jonathan Jansen, Vice Chancellor of the University of the Free State, said words to the effect:-

"The ANC have declared they will identify and punish those ANC members who repeatedly booed President Jacob Zuma, instead of doing some introspection to establish why the people were booing."

JZ was booed every time he appeared on the giant screens in Soccer City during Nelson Mandela’s Memorial Ceremony, which I believe happened about eight times. Also, and equally damaging, in every sense, was the fact that large numbers of the crowd began leaving the stadium.

It would appear the ANC don’t realize, or refuse to acknowledge, that, at such a sacrosanct occasion, millions of grieving South Africans, watching TV in their homes or gathering places, experienced similar (spontaneous) sentiments to the ANC members booing in the crowd. With the laudatory speeches from many world leaders in memory of Madiba, we were re-living his memory while we grieved. With the very recent scandals of Nkandlagate, Guptagate, the implementation of the e-Tolling system (which will entail billions of rands going to an Austrian company) and Government’s unaccounted-for billions in uncontrolled spending, many of us instinctively felt it was highly inappropriate for President Jacob Zuma to participate officially at the Memorial. Our sense of decorum, our sense that this was, quintessentially, a ‘Mandela moment’, and very definitely not a time where JZ should stand up in front of us and hundreds of millions around the world sharing this sacred moment with us. Making himself a major participant, being very visible and taking a large chunk of the air time, I believe he incurred displeasure across a broad front - displeasure that people felt instinctively and was spontaneous.

In the same vein, on Sky TV, the senior member of the News team assigned to the event of Nelson Mandela’s passing, had this to say:-

‘The world’s eyes are upon South Africa at this moment. Many are thinking “Can South Africans not see the irony, at this solemn time, of the contrast of the promise and hope of their newly-won independence in 1994 with what’s happening in their country today, i.e. the shooting of mine workers by policemen at Marikana, the Nkandla-gate scandal, the ongoing rioting of the poorest of the poor due to lack of the most basic services delivery, the corruption-tainted e-Tolling scandal, the strong suggestions from overseas countries that their arms manufacturing companies paid huge sums of money in the form of bribes to ANC-linked individuals, as well as the strong suggestions of an inappropriate relationship between President Jacob Zuma and the wealthy Gupta family.’

We have been rebuked through the media by several high-ranking ANC dignitaries for booing President Zuma, saying words to the effect “South Africans should be ashamed of themselves for booing the President”. One of these dignitaries even suggested that a law should be passed making it an offence to boo the President. A letter writer to your newspaper expressed the sentiment which, I believe, resonates deeply within many millions of South Africans across the board, i.e. “The ANC should be ashamed of themselves for making Jacob Zuma our president!”.


Sandy Johnston
Rivonia
Johannesburg

WILL SOUTH AFRICA GO THE KENYA ROUTE?

Dear Sir,

 Having spent a lot of time over the years in Zimbabwe, a question I am sometimes asked is whether I think South Africa is going /will go  the same way as Zimbabwe, i.e.’ the Mugabe/ZANU-PF route’. My response always is “No chance, my friend, our country differs from Zimbabwe in ways which ensure that we will not chart the same course, or suffer a similar fate!”. With such a small economy (the Zimbabwean economy at its height, when it still functioned, was roughly the size of the economy of Pinetown, KZN), the means available to Mugabe to oil the wheels of his ‘patronage’ machine were always going to be severely limited. The crunch finally came when the cost to Mugabe of his political hangers-on increased in number and became more demanding to the point that he started hitting on the private sector more and more, squeezing the very life-blood out of the economy. As a result of this and the resultant loss of business confidence, economic stagnation set in. Consume- spend, revenue from taxes, excises, etc., started to dry up. The rest is a matter of recorded history – privately-owned farms and businesses were taken over, banks were interfered with, mines were ‘nationalised’ and Mugabe’s Reserve Bank began printing money in huge quantities to pay the government’s wage bill.

Will we produce a ‘Mugabe-type’ leader? – could a similar sequence of desperation politics occur in South Africa? I don’t believe so. Why not? Our history is different, our demographics are very different. The background and history of the territory and nation now called Zimbabwe are very short in terms of time and transient in nature when compared with that of South Africa. Will the South African ’pillars of democracy’, i.e. the executive, the judiciary, etc., become the personal fiefdom of a Mugabe-type leader? No, I don’t believe so.    

May it be, however, that South Africa represents a closer parallel to Kenya? That nation is a country with a longer history, comprising some 45 million souls, with a broad, balanced demographic spread. Certainly more similarities exist than between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Could we end up with a ‘Daniel Arup Moi-type’ leader? Does this represent a far greater danger? As opposed to the ‘Mugabe’ scenario, is an ‘Arup Moi’ scenario a more clear and possible danger?

According to the Kenyans, the affect of Daniel Arup Moi’s15-year reign as leader of their country was devastating. When he took over from Jomo Kenyatta the country’s infrastructure was fully intact and the economy vibrant. Arup Moi changed all that. Widespread nepotism, corruption and tribalism became the order of the day, infiltrating every facet of national life. The country’s infrastructure, comprising transport, national power grid, education, health services, etc., all but collapsed, and remain in a parlous state to this day. As things stand, unless the dynamics in the political life of the country change dramatically, it’s highly unlikely that Kenya will ever recover – rather, it more likely will continue down the slippery slope. The political hegemony that runs the country has its hand on the jugular vein of the body of the Kenyan nation. When the governing party ostensibly lost the democratic election to Raila Odinga’s party some six years ago, the Arup Moi / Kibaki axis refused to let go the reins of power. What amounted to a civil war on tribal lines erupted – this didn’t bother Kibaki at all. To prevent huge bloodshed, Raila Odinga’s party, the winner of the election on the votes counted, stepped aside by accepting the ‘prime minister-ship’ of the country, i.e. lower in authority to ‘President’ Kibaki.

Our dilemma in South Africa is ‘how do we stop the Jacob Zuma-led express train of corruption, lack of accountability /responsibility and apparent disregard for the welfare of the ordinary people of our beloved nation?’.


Sandy Johnston
Rivonia
Johannesburg

SOUTH AFRICA – A FUTURE ENVISIONED!

Dear Sir,

First of all let it be said that our country is not an easy country to govern. Our difficult history, stemming from the huge migrations of peoples southward, to the clash of interests between tribes and empires, the confusion engendered by differing cultures and creeds, as well as the alarming disparity in levels of wealth and material well-being of our peoples. Our leap of faith as we moved forward from April, 1994 was full of expectation – unrealistic, in some cases, but also realistic and healthy expectations for a fairer dispensation and ongoing improvement in standards all round for the majority of our people.

Unfortunately, for the nineteen years since April, 1994, we have watched, with increasing dread, our governing party battle to rise to the challenge that our beloved country represents. It’s not that the job was, or is, an impossible task. Our nation of people still generates an enormous font of positive energy. We are still a dynamic bunch. Charitable events /causes always evoke huge responses, and there are many organizations comprising people who selflessly devote huge amounts of time and resources to helping those in need.

A vacuum of power, leadership and accountability has arisen because of our national government’s policy of ‘cadre deployment’. This is a self-serving policy employed by an elitist political clique to retain the reins and trappings of power. Instead of ill-suited, inept people being appointed at all significant management levels, dedicated career professionals should be filling key positions in government and the administration. The good news is that most of our tertiary education institutions are producing high-quality graduates and such career professionals will be available when called upon to serve.

There are clear signs that our political environment is starting to change. The days of the power and responsibility vacuum in our national life are numbered. Our people are starting to flex their muscles in terms of increasing service delivery protests (nation-wide, almost one per day), a groundswell of opposition to rampant corruption and maladministration. Opinion polls confirm that the ruling party is losing ground. All of these factors will lead better accountability and responsibility in all vital aspects of governance.

Although the gainsayers are always ready to emphasize the negatives, the greater truth is that wherever South Africans ‘rub shoulders’, one with the other in everyday life, be it in the spiritual or social sense, be it in the work place, in schools, in universities, in sport, etc., we combine well across all the racial and cultural lines which define our rich national tapestry. This is the largely untold story of our beloved country – a story that will never go away. This is a country with a God-given destiny. The vast majority of us who call this country our home, our hope and our future are aware of this - any negative factors or influences which hold true at any given time, or which arise, will not take this away from us.

One of our greatest resources is our people who, more often than not, prove to be an asset wherever they go in the world, in terms of being hard-working and productive members of society. We hear of this daily, on an ongoing basis. In spite of how well they have done, there are many (and some who have done extremely well) that come ‘home’ by choice. They are not ‘in fear of the future’ - they say things like ‘we have come back because we know that South Africa has a bright future’. They return with their positive energy without reserve, willingly, unconditionally.

In the main, we are a well-grounded society with good values. There exists a dynamic between us that is always ready to reach out and give a ‘hand up’ to another in need. I have seen, over and again, people helping, without reserve, those in distress. I have seen ‘disadvantaged’ people helping ‘advantaged’ people, and vice versa - many times. As individuals, as families, and as members of the community we certainly have a well-grounded sense of accountability and responsibility; you only have to ask fellow South Africans who have stayed for any length of time in other countrise - they tend to confirm this. A friend of mine who travels often overseas on business tells me every time she gets off the plane at OR Tambo, she feels the ground vibrate – a tribute to the heart-beat, energy and vitality of our nation. Many are those who have come to our shores and openly declared that South Africa is a special place, and that the spirit and passion of the people are clearly special. Those of us who travel and have the yardstick by which to compare are possibly more aware of this than those who haven’t travelled.

The story of the South African people is more enduring than transient negative factors - whilst these come and go, we will still be standing, whole, with dignity and by God’s Grace.

We are a country which represents the world in microcosm in terms of the spread of races, cultures, religions, etc. We are also a rich mix of the first and third world environments, living in close proximity to one another, unlike other parts of the world where the third world component is confined to sectors of high-density cities. In spite of this, we are, in large measure, working well together, across environments of work, sport, social, spiritual, education, etc.

A number of erudite visitors to our country have expressed their belief and given the reasons why South Africa is pre-eminently positioned to conceive and give birth to the progressive step humankind needs for the quantum leap to a better place, and away from a world becoming ever more complex and dysfunctional. They express the opinion that the South African people have the background, experience and knowledge to remove the complexity and dysfunctionality. In our country this has been a work in progress since 1994. After our first truly democratic election, many of the world media who attended our election called the occasion ’a miracle of peace’ – they had sent their war correspondents, expecting the worst.

And so, this being our untold /unfolding story – let us continue to breathe life into it always. Let us not forget that this is indeed our future. It is time for us all to actively seek the ‘high road’ that Clem Sunter has spoken about so eloquently and for so long.

Our Nelson Mandela has now gone from our sight, but his great spirit lives on in the people. Thank you, Madiba, father of our nation!


Sandy Johnston
Rivonia
Johannesburg

THE OZZIES HAVE GOT IT ALL WORKED OUT !

Dear Sir,

This being my first visit to Australia, I humbly submit that I am in no way an authority on the Australian way of life or the Australian psyche. However, the following was a very thought-provoking potential expose of both, as posited to me by one of the locals over a cold beer in a lovely old Irish pub in Essendon, Melbourne.

Essentially his story went as follows: “Way back in the mists of time, when the first of those unfortunate enough to be shipped off to the antipodes began to realize their unenviable plight, it finally began to dawn upon them that there was an up-side to the whole situation. They were living in the opposite of the ‘rat race’, in the sense that they were far enough away that, if anyone in the ivory towers (head office) had urgent instructions, it took six months (plus) for the news to reach Botany Bay (branch office) in Australia - and by the time the instructions actually got there, it was obvious that the emergency had long since passed.
Now, being so far away, we (the Australians) had to become self-sufficient, in a manner of speaking. So, with the passing of time, we made do with what we had, and improvised where we had to.

As time went by, with the onset of better communications, travel, transport, ‘real time’, etc., the world effectively became a lot closer to our proverbial door-step. But we Ozzies realised that we still, by and large, had control of our situation and freedom from interference, due to the fact that ourselves and the rest of the world were /are in different time zones. Realistically, this meant that, if we played our cards right, our historic family, economic and cultural cousins effectively live on a different planet. In other words, while we are awake, the ‘rest of the world’ is asleep, AND, only when we go to sleep do the rest awaken. This means, by and large, we don’t even have to talk to them - their ‘real time’ becomes ‘down time’.

The level of technical expertise we need must only be as good as the systems we have devised to survive - these are relatively basic and only as complex as they need to be. And so, the level of graft (work) need only be as hard as it has to be to keep our way of life intact (carefully crafted by us, for reasonably comfortably survival).

In fact, when the interlopers (those who come from lands whose grasp we shrugged off in our heroic past) come (‘immigrate’) to our country to set up home and work in our Oz industry, try to show how smart-ass they are by bringing us up to date (try to tell US what to do), by changing the way we run our industry and our economy, we put up a common front.

To be frank, our ‘common front’ is our sense of humour. ‘They’ say, ‘the Ozzies are nice people, they just have such a strange sense of humour ! ’. What they don’t realize is that our ‘sense of humour’ is part of our cultural defensive armour. When ‘they’ are not around, we have a good laugh.
They’ say we are lazy. They are totally misreading the situation. You see, we’re light years ahead of them. When the first of us arrived in ye Olde Botany Bay, we realised we were on to a good thing. We got word back to those we knew and loved in the old country. Our system was so well-devised, all one had to do was steal a loaf of bread in full sight of ‘ye olde chain gang’, and, ‘Bob’s your Uncle’ - all good - ‘off to ye olde Botany Bay with ye, scoundrel !’.

Since then we have perfected our way of life in the sense that our education systems and work place culture are geared to ensure that our well-oiled -but not necessarily most efficient and perfect- systems provide sufficient largesse to allow for a reasonably comfortable journey through life AND we have more time to indulge in a our favorite activity, which is sport. And, of course, irony of ironies, we go to the ‘rat race’ and generally beat them in THEIR real time.

“Which is why we are generally a happy, smug, and, dare I say, ‘arrogant’, lot !”, finished off the venerable gentleman, as he walked off into the Melbourne night, with a naughty grin smudged across his face.


Sandy Johnston
Rivonia
..from Melbourne, Australia

E-TOLLING WILL LEAD TO CIVIL DISORDER

Dear Sir,

Regarding the issue of the ‘e-tolling’ of the Gauteng freeways, I believe that the government needs to understand why there will be a groundswell of anger if they go ahead and toll our freeways. When the majority of our poorer citizens realise that the consequential and considerable increase in the costs of basic foodstuffs, travel costs, etc., the tragedy that was Marikana will look like a storm in a teacup. When Moms & Dads all over the country realise they cannot afford to clothe their children, give them a small lunch box for school, etc., anger will begin to abound in the hearths of millions of homes in our country.

The recent announcement that the e-toll system will be implemented on Gauteng freeways has made it clear that the ANC government are committed to going ahead with this iniquitous system.

The ANC government should carefully consider the following:-

1. For hundreds of years, authorities have built ‘public’ roads, travelled on at no direct cost to the user, to stimulate economic growth (‘public’ implies ‘not private’). The costs to the user of this tolling project will very definitely stifle economic growth, as well as having a considerable inflationary effect.

2. Our ministries of transport have been allocated budgeted amounts, year after year, to maintain existing roads. It is a matter of record that these budgets constantly remained largely unspent. Why ? Where did the money go ? The then incumbent Gauteng Minister of Transport, Ignatius Jacobs, offered the response that they couldn’t find the suitable people to do the maintenance !

3. Historically, a large component of the fuel levy we pay is for road maintenance. Where has this money gone ? If someone changed allocation of fuel levies, who made the decision ? –and why were we not advised of this ?

4. The fuel levy we the public (bus/taxi users, commerce & industry, private individuals) currently pay comprises over R3 per litre.

5. If 20cents is added to the fuel levy this will yield R27billion, we are told.

6. The transport /road authorities have said that an amount levied nationally on fuel to fund Gauteng freeways ‘is not fair’ is patently not true. This ongoing levy will benefit roads nationally.
Various authoritative sources, have suggested figures of an additional 16 cents and 36 cents per litre (depending on how the cost is amortised) on the fuel price would have covered the entire cost of the freeway improvement project, with negligible collection costs and greater accountability. These amounts, in terms of
an average size passenger vehicle (10k/litre), would translate to a cost of between 1 cent and 4 cents per kilometer of freeway travelled (instead of the 40, now 30 cents our government is legislating) – and all the money collected via the fuel levy would go directly to funding the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, as well as ongoing maintenance on national roads.

7. An Austrian company has been ‘appointed’ to administer the project. Why ? What selection criteria were used ? Why should we be paying the billions in outflow to a foreign country that this arrangement entails ? Was the decision made because it would then be easier for a corrupt government / individuals in government and/or the governing party to have part of that money re-directed back to themselves, without the citizens of the country knowing ?

8. Most importantly, the inflationary effect of e-tolling Gauteng freeways is, even to the simplest of minds, very obvious. Every goods-bearing truck will be paying heavily for use of the ‘freeway’. According to our country’s professional economists, the inflationary effect will be significant ! This will also result in increased costs for, amongst many other commodities, basic essentials. Whilst the very wealthy can survive inflation without any real problems, the vast majority of South Africans families, including middle, lower middle income and lower income, are adversely affected by it.

9. It is a fact that lower income families are already financially stretched to breaking point. The inflationary effect of the government’s grand scheme of Gauteng’s e-tolling project will lead to increased wage demands across the board, leading to widespread strikes across industry & commerce. Is there any wonder why COSATU is standing steadfast against the project ?

10.The fact is that the cost-effect of the Gauteng freeway improvements e-tolling project on inflation is much greater than it needed to be. Why is the answer to this question still not forthcoming ?
The tragedy of Marikana occurred because of poor management of an explosive situation –with tragic results- from the side of organised labour, company management and government.

Think again Jacob Zuma and the rest of you in the ANC - you who are supposed to be the caretakers of our nation’s future ! The writing is on the wall and you will stand alone on this one.

You provoke the righteous anger of our people at your peril !


Sandy Johnston
Rivonia
Johannesburg

LET YOUR SPIRIT JIVE AND SURVIVE!

Dear Sir,

When we are involved in things which require effort and creativity, there is always a spiritual component at play.

When we play our music, be it the blues, classical or pop, or go to the movies, theatre, and so on, all of these have a calming, uplifting /rousing effect on our spiritual beings. I believe we often tend to underestimate the beneficial and restorative effects of such activities.

This being the case, should we not make it ‘non-negotiable’ that part of our time, on a regular basis, includes (in one aspect and /or extent or another) listening to music, doing recreational reading, singing, dancing, laughing together and at ourselves, talking with and listening to those we love and care for? All of this speaks to our ‘inner being’, our spiritual self. Our spirit is as much a part of us as is our mind and physical being. The problem is that when our minds and bodies are constantly engaged, without break, in our headlong rush to survive and (over/) achieve, our spirits recede into a sterile backdrop, getting smaller and weaker, and then, even smaller still. As a result, our spirit is not in the forefront with us to do what no one else can do, i.e. to restore to us the energy, the inspiration, the ‘joy of life’ that sustains us for the unfolding, multi-layered and multi-textured personal journey of life that lies before us.

If we experience a breakdown, whether it’s labeled ‘nervous’ or ‘emotional’, we can still get up and walk (physical being). We can also still think and speak (the mind, or ‘mental being’). The problem is, we actually don’t want to do anything - we also don’t particularly want to think, speak or ‘get involved’. So, although our mental and physical selves are clinically ‘intact’, our spirit has been disempowered. A quick look in the eyes of a person who has suffered a breakdown reveals the emptiness of the core within - the spirit‘s ‘not at home’.

I have lived long enough to have witnessed (in myself and others) the loneliness and the heartbrokenness (substitute ‘spirit-brokenness’) this brings.

Without intending to be ‘religious’ (but without apology), there is a scripture which quotes as follows “Be still and know that I am God.” In the God-Spiritual sense, the context is obviously sacrosanct. Complementary to this, in my own understanding, I have always regarded this as a strong reminder from God to us, that, in our head-long rush, we must not leave our spirit out of life’s equation in general. As part of our daily walk, we need to allow our spirits free-rein to walk ‘shoulder to shoulder’ and ‘arm in arm’ with us.
A small personal example: In my professional life, there is a good deal of interpersonal activity as well as hard work. I sure do enjoy my work, but, at times, it does take a toll on me. During the course of my working day, in between times, I am in the car. This allows me to play music that quickens my spirit (I am blessed with a broad taste in music). Even during particularly difficult days, when ‘on the road’, music fills my cabin, the spirit breathes, soars and I am revitalized no matter how ‘tough’ the day.

Is my spirit restricted to a love of music ? No. I enjoy reading, watching sport, wildlife programs, keeping up with current events, mentoring younger friends (mostly ‘upwardly mobile’, but some going through hurt and tough times) with daily SMS-d, motivational meditations - in all of this, my spirit is deeply involved. My creative side is writing - about the country where I live and which I love, and about the human condition. Writing can, at times, be hard, draining work, but, you know what? –somehow it makes me stronger, because my spirit ‘jumps out of his skin’, flexes his ‘muscles’ and we become immeasurably stronger.
Even those whom I know who say “there is no god” will freely confess that they have a spirit. Isn’t that profound?

One day, when the outlook seemed bleak indeed, out of nowhere something tickled my funny bone. In that lonely, dark place, I laughed spontaneously, thinking ‘how bad can things get? – something had stirred within me. Was it a sense of self-preservation? Yes, indeed, it was! Our humorous spirit was included in the ‘build-model’ as a suit of armor – it is, undeniably, one of the greatest stress-relievers!

My initiating spirit when I sat down to put pen to paper was the strong desire that we ensure that we keep well away from the ‘slippery slope’ of spiritual breakdown. In addition to this, we also need to increase awareness, generally, so others who, unknowingly, are edging closer to the ‘slippery slope’ can pull themselves firmly back on track.

It also true to say that those going through a spiritual breakdown must begin (and then accelerate) the healing process by using as crutches those activities that quicken, uplift, strengthen, inspire, motivate and/or challenge their spirit. When this happens, although the spirit is going to gym for a workout, without these specific crutches, healing is well-nigh impossible. With them, the spirit-healing process can begin and then continue at an increasing pace - and the lessons learned are learned forever!

For each and every one of us, in our daily walk, we need to remember that we have a spirit that needs to walk beside us, pro-act and breathe freely.

Alright, Bro – what’s it gonna be? Jazz or Pucini? Whatever, my man, as long as it’s something, and as long as it’s real cool!

Go for it!


Sandy Johnston
Rivonia
Johannesburg

SOUTH AFRICA SHALL SURVIVE & THRIVE!

Dear Sir,

Events that led to Bishop Desmond Tutu coining the phrase ‘The Rainbow Nation’ started with the release of Nelson Mandela. Many thought that the run up to and the event of the first democratic elections would be a time fraught with danger. History shows that it was, in fact, a peaceful transition. Some overseas media organisations sent their war correspondents to cover what they thought was going to be a violent chapter in South Africa’s history. The vast majority of our citizens, from all walks of life and from all creeds, cultures and races went forward from that point in time with hope and with an optimism fired with a determined spirit.
I do believe today that the hope, optimism and determination are still largely intact and vibrant in many important respects among our South African men, women and children. I see it and experience it in my daily life. Due to the nature of my work and everyday life, I get to meet many people from all walks of life - in family, social and business situations.

As does every nation, South Africa has problems. Due to our history, we have a combination of circumstances that makes us fairly unique:-

- We are the largest commercial and industrial entity in Africa by some measure.
- We have the clearly defined mix of first and third world.
- In terms of cultures and religions, the main ones have a definite and vibrant presence.
- We have the extremely rich and the very poor, and all the stepped off levels between the two.
- We are living, working and socialising together in a way that does not happen in anything like the same scale or extent (in proportionate terms) anywhere else.

Given all the foregoing, we have problems, some of which are serious - most of us have a pretty good idea what they are. Some appear intractable. However, at the level of the person in the street, I perceive that the critical mass of people are making a go of the concept of our ‘Rainbow Nation’ – they are putting their hearts and their substance on the line.

Some South Africans (by no means the majority, I believe) have become disillusioned and then cynical. Cynicism is no respecter of race, socio-economic level, creed or religion.
An important part of the global economy is the need for capital to develop the means of production. In this regard, capital is a global resource, and it generally is attracted to those nations where economies have the necessary supporting environment / infrastructure and political /business stability to allow for successful outcomes.

A very real problem we have is that our political elite are letting us down. It is the single biggest problem, as it reverberates through the fabric of our national life like a demolition ball. We, as a nation, are, in many ways, going forward. The effects and consequences of the deeds and failings of our political governing class are like strong chains that hold us back. It’s as if we are doing an obstacle course, with the occasional patch of quicksand, the occasional sinkhole and, apparently, no clear path ahead.

Because our political leaders are high profile people and because their behavior and policy decisions have far-reaching consequences, when they mess up, the results can be cataclysmic. In terms of poor governance and rampant corruption, many of our essential services overseen by government agencies and civil servants are imploding. Health, education and the police services spring to mind immediately. We have lost 80% of a generation of school children due to lack of facilities and abysmal teaching standards and the recently discarded ‘outcomes-based’ education system (which has left large numbers of our children innumerate and illiterate). Horror stories are constantly coming out of our government-run hospitals. In our recent past, of two heads of the police force, one was jailed for corruption and the other is suspended for not following due process in lease deals worth over R1b for police headquarter premises in Pretoria and Durban. Our crime intelligence services have been /are being used by politicians to settle old political scores and to ensure their grip on power.

In spite of the fact that the situation looks dire, I do believe that as a country, as a people, we deserve better. And because we deserve better, I also believe we will achieve a better situation in the political realm than the one that now constrains us. The spirit and the will of the people will prevail to the extent that the present malfeasance in government will not continue unchecked. I believe that people will increasingly use whatever means at their disposal (including the judiciary, all the way to the Constitutional Court) to obtain justice from a government that is flagrantly disregarding our constitutional rights as a nation of people and individuals in many areas. In many of those ‘areas’, the government is under-achieving and in many others it is completely delinquent - and they (government) don’t appear to give a hoot ! I believe that people will change their voting patterns. I believe the nature of municipal, provincial and national politics will change because the will to change is in our hearts and souls.

Sandy Johnston
Rivonia,
Johannesburg