If we want to improve SA, it simply can’t be business as usual in 2023

When Eskom announced that there would be no load shedding over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, it gave the country hope that even in the midst of all the chaos of continued power blackouts, the utility still had a certain bit of control over its power generation, however limited that control is.

But that hope was very short-lived. Eskom went on to implement load shedding over both days and gave South Africans a taste of what lies ahead in the new year; power interruptions and broken promises.

A new year will never mean that a country’s problems will somehow disappear and hope will replace all uncertainty, but it should mark a chance for a new beginning for those in power. And that new beginning cannot be based on lies and broken promises.

A broken promise over the supply of electricity should not ordinarily represent a major crisis and a bleak outlook for the country, but in this particular case it must sound major warning bells to the government; special intervention is required at the power utility.

Something that has never been done needs to be done to restore the country’s hope in the government.

South Africa had a bleak December. What with a gas tanker taking a route that it should have never taken and getting stuck under a low-lying railway bridge, resulting in the deaths of over 30 people from the subsequent explosion on Christmas Eve.

Also Read: Boksburg tanker explosion death toll rises to 37

Although a tragic incident of this magnitude should never be used to point fingers of blame at anyone, it does expose the chaos that lies at the country’s governance.

The already-bungled arrest and release of the tanker driver indicates exactly how messed up the country’s administration is.

And just as in the case of Eskom making a simple promise of supplying electricity over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and breaking it less than a day later, the ineptitude of the police and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in dealing with such a high-profile case just adds to the country’s bleak outlook for 2023.

It is as though the gas explosion itself and handling of the case were meant to remind the country – nothing is going to change.

Add to the gas tanker incident the ugly racist incident at the Bloemfontein resort and it is clear that very little has changed indeed.

The alleged strangling of kids by an adult over the right to use a swimming pool was a stark reminder of this country’s unresolved painful past. And that past will stay unresolved because the country’s government has refused to take decisive action that will ensure that racism is dealt with in a way that will ensure that no other racist person will ever consider being openly racist.

Also Read: WATCH: Maselspoort CCTV footage shows white people scatter as black teen gets in pool

And that can only happen when racists see other racists walk into jail to serve hefty sentences for racism.

But the country doesn’t deal decisively with racism because those in positions of power and influence see it only as a distraction that does not deserve the government’s full attention.

It has come to be expected that racist incidents will pop up at various points on South Africa’s political landscape and they will be seen as a bit of distraction by others and not a dirty stain in the country’s efforts to forge a common future.

And that’s exactly what President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government must focus on in order to make 2023 a fruitful year; they must refuse to deal with load shedding, racism and bungled police/NPA cases as though it’s business as usual.

They can make 2023 positive by ensuring mediocrity is not a part of government.