[Opinion] Senzani na?

[Blurock]

What have we done? Why is our country in such a mess?

Why are our children more illiterate than ever before? Why do our children have to be schooled under trees? Why are our children giving up hope for the future and dropping out of school and tertiary institutions?

Why are people still living in shacks without access to clean water? Why are only four out of every ten people in South Africa employed?

How is it possible that a once proud army, the best in Africa and one of the best in the world, could be reduced to an undisciplined, dirty, incompetent rabble?

Why is there a substitute for every function of the state; transport, telephones, mail or courier services, security, you name it and there is a private (more competent) alternative.

Why is there so much corruption in government? Why are we killing our own people?

Is it because we have entrusted our future to an incompetent bunch of baffoons who can think only of power and their own enrichment? What are we as South Africans going to do about it?

[Dave A]

I've been chewing over much the same questions myself.

Look, it's not like we're a basket case, but we certainly don't seem to be heading in the right direction.

[tec0]

There is only so much that one can do… Fact is everything comes down to the taxpayer working class person. We have to pay ridicules amounts of money so that the wealthy-elite can stay in power? The system is so messed up you cannot even be sarcastic about it anymore.

[vieome]

You throw a diner party for 5 people, there is enough food and drink for the 5 people. Then 100 people decide to join the party, of the hundred that join. You realise that your 5 Guest will not get what they need so you negotiate with 5 of the new guest and let them pretend it is their party so that they can control and manage the 95. Soon the 5 new Guest realise that they can control everything including you and your original guest. You let them know that you have a food reserve and there will be enough for all. But the control goes to their heads, they live in fear that they might be kicked out of the party so they use the reserves to control the 95. Not sharing the reserve but dangling it like a carrot in front of a donkey. One of your original guest sees the power the new host has, and decides he can use the new host to further his own personal interest, which is the vegatables in your back garden. He gives the new host a gold watch for rights to the vegatable garden, the new host enjoys this new power and starts to look for other guest who are willing to give gifts for rights to items on your property.

Eventually the 95 start to complain and ask what kind of party is it when there is nothing for them to eat, the New Host then starts to blame the old host. The old host speaks to his original guest but two of them are already guilty of giving gifts to the new host and want nothing to do with him. SO I guess to answer your question the new host was made corrupt by the first guest, and having tasted the riches for got his original purpose. The 95 came to the party and found nothing, so their lives remain the same as it was before they got to the party, but they hold on to the dream the new host promises, and that dream makes them keep the new host at the helm.

Notes:
Some shack dwellers actually own houses that they rent out to pay the bond on the house(clever) and then choose to live in the shack. A party thrown for 5 people simply can not expand over night and be expected to cater for 100 and if you are the host to such a party, there is no point in even trying to cater with limited resources for the 100. If it took the original host 1 year to prepare his party for the 5 how long is it going to take to prepare the party for 100. The 95 then dont realise that the original 5 put in hard work to make the party, they instead look to the now new important host and how he got his wealth and that becomes the normal way to make wealth. The knowledge of the old host is killed off and replaced with the corruption, and the value of life goes down.

[Blurock]

vieome, with all due respect. This is not about a party. It is not even about the sharing of resources. It is about people being entrusted to do a job, but they are not doing it. They are doing NOTHING!

They are sitting on their fat bums in soft leather seats in parliament and doing NOTHING! Tune in to the parliamentary channel and see the empty seats. When they do attend parliament, they often sit there fast asleep. They grow fatter by the day because they do NOTHING! Even in local government they are doing NOTHING!

Then they still have the audacity to demand security (at an exorbitant cost) because they fear for their safety due to threats received. Are their constituents maybe threatening them because of non delivery and broken promises?

[adrianh]

@vieome - Wow - you should write a book. There are very few people who are able to paint with words....Brilliant...

[vieome]

@Blurock, the party was a metaphor. For example it is interesting that men who are bald try and get by with a comb-overs, some comb-overs are extreme sort that make a man look as if he's wearing a hat made of his own hair. How does the comber-over not see how odd he looks? And the answer is that he got to look that way incrementally. What began as combing his hair a little carefully over a thin patch has gradually, over 20 years, grown into a monstrosity.

So as to your question why is the country such a mess? The moral and work ethics of our leaders have gradually being combed over by corruption. Who introduced them to the corruption? And It is always about resources be it human, mineral, water air, tax. I agree poor or no managment of resources by the Lard bums. But I think the diner party explains the situation a bit clearly.

We can all see what is happening but understanding the why? is important. Why does a man become corrupt, why does a man choose to sit on his bum.

[Dave A]

One thing's for sure - we've arrived at this point by degrees. The Marikana massacre wasn't an event or an aberration, it's a point we've been making steady progress to - and we've now arrived.

A while ago I suggested what we are calling service delivery protests would be classed as riots in most other parts of the world. Pretending they're "just" protests has not only underplayed the seriousness of the situation, it has also meant that government's response has been less than appropriate too. And so these "protests" continue, getting bigger / more violent / more destructive / ever less peaceful.

"Corruption" used to be "the arms deal". Now it's endemic - absolutely everywhere - part of "business as usual." We've even made one of the role players our President.

Just as we didn't arrive at this point overnight, I'm sure the road back is going to be by degrees too. What troubles me is just like any bad habit, it takes something drastic to pursuade one to change course.

Given recent events, just how much more drastic an event are we going to need before we wake up and actually start making those changes we ever more desperately need?

[Blurock]

How many of us are prepared to confront a litter bug and point out that he has "lost" something and aught to pick it up?

How many of us refuse to accept poor service, from business as well as local government? Do we make a fuss when goods are faulty or service is lacking?

How many of us are prepared to report corruption?

How many of us are prepared to change our ways and work towards a better South Africa?

This is my country which I love dearly. I am prepared to fight these lazy, corrupt thieves and will do everything in my power to make this a better South Africa for us and for all future generations.

[vieome]

@vieome - Wow - you should write a book. There are very few people who are able to paint with words....Brilliant...

I could but who has time to read these days

[vieome]

How many of us are prepared to confront a litter bug and point out that he has "lost" something and aught to pick it up?

How many of us refuse to accept poor service, from business as well as local government? Do we make a fuss when goods are faulty or service is lacking?

How many of us are prepared to report corruption?

How many of us are prepared to change our ways and work towards a better South Africa?

This is my country which I love dearly. I am prepared to fight these lazy, corrupt thieves and will do everything in my power to make this a better South Africa for us and for all future generations.

Blurock if just 10% of South Africans had the same attitude you have or love for SA that you do, then we could alter the downward trajectory, but history repeats itself, and we only have to look at all the other African countrys that obtained independence and it becomes clear, that things will only get worse.

I cant think of the name of the writer of the thesis I once read by a German Student. And in the thesis he argued that if you took say all the British and put them in Zambia, and took all the Zambians and put them in Britain, with 20 years the Brits in Zambian would get Zambia to the level of the Britain they left, and the Zambians would reduce Britain to a Zambia.

[Blurock]

Blurock if just 10% of South Africans had the same attitude you have or love for SA that you do, then we could alter the downward trajectory, but history repeats itself, and we only have to look at all the other African countrys that obtained independence and it becomes clear, that things will only get worse.

I cant think of the name of the writer of the thesis I once read by a German Student. And in the thesis he argued that if you took say all the British and put them in Zambia, and took all the Zambians and put them in Britain, with 20 years the Brits in Zambian would get Zambia to the level of the Britain they left, and the Zambians would reduce Britain to a Zambia.

I can not agree more. The key word is attitude.

I can remember when I grew up, the major and councilors did not receive a salary, but were elected to serve the community. They did not get fancy cars or millions in pensions and benefits. There were no pot holes, blackouts or water problems. Service delivery was not an issue. Problems were dealt with promptly.

Now the elitist ruling class want to drive in million Rand SUV's and think that we, the citizens of this country are there to serve them. Compare that to the major of London who cycles to work.

[vieome]

Having lived in Zambia and Zimbabwe, a friend of mine once remarked, that the President of Zim was once a cow herder living in rural town, so to the Pres a pot holed tar road was an improvement to rural dirt roads, a shack settlement with a single running tap was an improvement to having to walk miles for water. A 4 hour a day electric supply was an improvement to no Electricity. On the one hand some are aiming for full service delivery on the other for some that partial is an improvement. So south africa is trying to find a balance between these two different expectations. The new elite are essentially in a GOLD RUSH like wild west America, black wealth no matter what the cost to society. sumed up in this good book Capitalist Nigger

[tec0]

The Cost of living…

It is incredible to think that a simple trip to the local doctor will cost over R1000 per visit excluding your medication. Also the medication will set you back R500 for 30 tablets and you need to be on those tablets for the rest of your life…

Our fuel will go down but it will go up more and more and down less and less. Now this is blamed on the scarcity and wars surrounding this product. And thanks to the failed e-tolling they will push the prices up even higher to make up for their losses. It is strange however that there isn't any real progress on a replacement product?

But the domino effect is now in effect and the dominos are tumbling… Higher water cost results in higher food prices… Higher power cost results in higher food prices, living costs and fabrication costs. Higher fabrication cost makes us less competitive and as result companies retrenches thousands. This results in investment losses "loans that cannot be repaid" and liquidations. Now fuel will make us even less competitive and we will end up with more job losses. Well so much for job creation…

To add to the strain slavery is in an incline in undeveloped arias and we are facing the biggest drug problem we ever had. To add to the misery property costs are at an all time high and job creation is at all time low thus feeding the drug and slavery problem.

So where will it end? Can we still justify the elitist system? I fear as that we will soon find ourselves in a real mess and I don’t think there is a way out anymore. Investors are already at the point where they will pull the plug and if that happens I fear the worst is yet to come.

I fear that we are finding ourselves in a landslide and there is no stopping the outcome. Anarchy devastation may well be a fact of life very soon.

[adrianh]

It's very simple....the one with the most cheese wins....don't even think about moving my cheese - touch my cheese and die....