OPINION: How much longer will South Africans tolerate being held hostage?

Our beloved South Africa has been reduced by the ANC to rubbish.

Where do I start? Perhaps in Genesis, when the land was void and formless and we were enveloped in darkness. Sounds familiar?

Some provinces experience load-shedding while others experience load-shedding in conjunction with municipal load reductions.

The residents of Ermelo, however, are forced to deal with all of that in addition to the blackouts brought on by our municipality’s failure to keep the lights on, since they are unable or unwilling to pursue individuals responsible for bridging electricity.

Let’s call a spade a spade. Theft.

It would seem that the municipality’s fear of retaliation by those guilty of such acts takes precedence over its obligation to protect its assets and ensuring that the large majority of devoted tax-paying citizens are not left in the dark for anything up to 24 hours in some instances.

Consider Cebisa Secondary School, on which Highvelder reported, where the Sqola informal settlement adjacent to it bridged from a transformer on the school’s grounds without any intervention, despite the municipality’s knowledge thereof. Of how many other incidents of electricity theft are they aware?

On a broader scale, when will South Africans realise that we are being held captive by a government that is failing us daily?

Where is the freedom that so many South Africans, regardless of race, colour or creed, has fought for?

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What remaining investment options are left in this country?

Eskom’s energy crisis has brought thousands of businesses to its knees and forced several more to fold while slowing down our economic growth and increasing costs for companies.

Our government is not renowned for anything other than self-interest, and to hell with the needs of “our people”.

How much longer will South Africans allow this corrupt and failing administration to trample not just their livelihoods, but also the futures of our children?

How much longer will we remain in the dark, clinging to empty promises and hollow dreams, before we recognise that three decades of ANC rule have passed?

Has anything changed? Yes, there are way more deepening financial issues, mismanagement, maladministration and government bailouts of enterprises such as the SABC, SAA, Eskom, Denel, PRASA and Transnet.

Also, consider the deplorable state of the health, education and other failing sectors.

It’s fantastic to have a focus on the positive, but when we consider that our country is falling apart, it’s clear there is way more to be concerned about.

In terms of changes, there have been many that have sparked public outrage, raised tensions and uncertainty, and further contributed to the destabilisation of our economy.

Can we, however, put the onus of responsibility fully on the ruling party?

As South Africans who participated in the 2019 election, we should consider where we crossed our Xs and what we received in return.

At this time, could any other political party perform any worse?

I think it’s long overdue they hand over the reigns.

The ANC has been lining its coffers for far too long despite “our people” suffering, and rather than demonstrating why they should continue to hold power, for 29 years, they have demonstrated why they shouldn’t and why voters need to change their votes.