Always ready with the stern soundbite

I refer to the article ‘We will enforce laws” (Courier, August 28). Well that headline for starters is a joke since I have heard this very same comment repeated on numerous occasions and in particular by the MEC for transport Willies Mchunu – who is always ready for the sympathetic but stern soundbite but never carries through with it.

Therefore in response to all those quoted by the editor in his editorial calling on ‘authorities to act’, I have the following comment: there has never been any resolve or commitment by the authorities to do anything. This is simply because we have a failure in leadership. I will repeat: our well paid so-called leaders continue to fail us.

I will illustrate this simply by highlighting the most absurd comment in the above mentioned article:

SANTACO provincial chairperson, Bhoyi Zondi states, and I quote: “If we find a taxi to not be roadworthy we ask the owner to fix his taxi. Unfortunately we do not have the power to remove the taxi from the rank without assisting him to get a new one.”

The mind boggles at this statement. In an industry ruled by thugs and murderers, who are willing and able to kill rival taxi drivers and their passengers, Zondi is going to politely request a taxi owner to ‘remove’ his vehicle to fix it? The same driver who deliberately flouts the rules of the road in every conceivable way is asked to fix his taxi. This is wishful thinking and simply absurd.

CLAUDIO FERRI

Zimbali