Be civil and earn your free lunch

Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment Barbara Creecy may have been referring to municipalities in Limpopo and Mpumalanga when she said that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But the message should resonate with all those charged with providing government services.

Creecy handed expensive new equipment to the Collins Chabane municipality – and she made it plain she expects them, and other municipalities, to get down and start doing their jobs properly … and that work includes ensuring that the entrances to the Kruger National Park no longer look like giant rubbish tips.

The park is not only a national treasure, it is a renewable natural resource because, if cared for properly, it will continue to attract tourists for decades to come and, in the process, provide income and jobs for the communities around it.

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It is sad that a minister has to point out the obvious to people who are supposed to be civil servants – but who are often not civil and do not believe their job is to serve those who pay their salaries.

Your salary – whether you work in a municipality, central government or a state-owned enterprise – is not a free lunch. Go out and earn it.