Injustice - getting better or worse?

[Dave A]

I'm probably going to take some flack here for even daring to compare current institutional injustice to the injustice apartheid meted out to the majority of our population. But I can't help feeling that we're seeing more and more institutional injustice nowadays in areas where it never was a problem before.

Despite all the boasts of a more just society than ever before, are we really getting better? Or is injustice actually on the increase of late?

I've seen lots of discussion on the merits of affirmative action, BEE and preferential procurement, so maybe if we skip those ones as they've probably been discussed to death already. But there are other areas of sharp practice that I have to question - is it really just and fair?

Take unpaid electricity bills by a tenant for example. The contract is between the tenant and the supplier. The tenant moves out while owing money to the supplier and who gets held responsible nowadays? The owner!

Is that just and fair - or are the suppliers (municipalities) abusing their position?

[AndyD]

Take unpaid electricity bills by a tenant for example. The contract is between the tenant and the supplier. The tenant moves out while owing money to the supplier and who gets held responsible nowadays? The owner!

It's becoming gradually more fashionable to hold someone accountable for somebody else s actions like the driver getting fined if a passenger isn't wearing a seat-belt. I think it's just bone idle laziness on behalf of the law and it's upholders. Why would they want to go through the donkey work of trying to trace and ensure the offender goes to trial when it's far less work to hold the pushover with the license responsibe (or property in your example) who is much easier to to pin down and get their pound of flesh.

I also suspect SARS were guilty of this when they made the tax submissions of an independent sub contractor the responsibility of the company employing his services.

[twinscythe12332]

what are our rights in this matter? If the government manages to charge us for someone else's actions, how do we "pass the buck" onto the rightful owner of it =P

[AndyD]

I don't think there is any recourse if it's legislated such as the seatbelt laws, apart from the fact it could by unconstitutional. Maybe with the tenants electricity bill there would be a case but Eskom are holding all the cards and they feel nothing when it comes to invoicing someone else so the onus would be on you to take it to court to stop them charging you as the landlord or property owner.

Nice avatar by the way

[wynn]

If you have a tennant put the property on pay as you go metering, simple!

I hate the fact that even if I am on pay as you go and I slip up on my other services payments they cut my electricity off, rather like victimisation?

In the bad old days when you consulted an accountant they used to show you loopholes in the tax system and if you were being a little dishonest (OK maybe a lot) they didn't have to tell anyone!
However if they see anything untoward today they have to report it, if they don't and are found out they will be disbarred so it's not worth the risk for them.