Letters: Corruption rules

I am both happy and saddened by violent protests characterised by racism and looting. How will “noise making” Fikile Mbalula demonstrate if he will “walk the talk”.
I am happy because this violence is a by-product or spin-off of the “umshini wami” culture whose patron is Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Zuma who lives in a R246m palace and his livestock sleep in a R1m kraal. He reminds me of Mobuto Sese Seko, Maummar Gaddafi, Sadaam Hussein, Czar Alexander of Russia and Louis IXV of France. While there is famine in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe gets medical attention in Singapore. Two brothers of the president each live in a R10m house built by the State.
The sad part is that government is quick to go to rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal but not where people are blockading roads, looting shops and stoning cars due to lack of social services, particularly houses. Due to unemployment, young people easily disrupt a working day because they had nothing to lose, there are no sports and entertaining facilities and Dstv at homes.
This chaos we see does not only emanate from infiltration by “com-tsotsis” but from lack of leadership on the ground. Once elected, comrade’s councillors go AWOL, shift to the suburbs and are worried about their safety. During nominations they visit churches, bars, taverns and engage in endless “handshaking campaigns”, kissing children, visiting old age homes and sponsor beauty contests, sports tournaments, buy school uniforms, abandon bling cars and bodyguards. They become “shop-stewards” against abuse of women and children and talk tough against crime and corruption.
After elections, they become distant from the masses, only available by appointment, always in workshops, seminars and around celebrities. Public representatives embedded on the people are not concerned about blue lights and designer clothing but about the people and tasks mandated by their constituencies. Today the ANC disputes that once they are elected they represent the people not the party. That is why they do not govern according to the ANC Constitution. They follow rules of parliament, not of the ANC.
The Freedom Charter states “the people shall govern”, organs of governance are collapsed, ward development committees, community policing forums, school governing bodies, war rooms and health committee all die and communities are left with a dictatorship culture that states “corrupt leaders shall govern”. The result is “absentee leaders” who are self-serving and at night hunt tenders and deals. That is why we have this ungovernability worse we have a “comrades tsotsis” at the helm of our state. Under his reign, we have seen offices of the Chief Justice broken into, increase in xenophobia, corruption accepted as a norm, academic tsotsis seizing opportunity led by Hlaudi Motsoeneng, leaders defending wealth accumulated by “hook or crook” by his family and ANC killing ANC. For five days the R102 between Groutville and KwaDukuza was blockaded because ANC factions are at each other’s throats for the next elective conference in Greater KwaDukuza Region.
ANC did not condemn ANCYL hired to disrupt memorial service of dignified, humble, trustworthy, moral and ethical leader. With no sanction against the hired ANCYL, the people will see looting, heckling, booing we see in parliament as truly revolutionary if it can be done to an esteemed revolutionary like Kathrada.
President Zuma is highly respected by thieves and looters but despite that he is a pariah, he must not be booed. According to the president “booing is part of democracy”. Nonsense Mr. President, its hooliganism. People loot because like the president, they “don’t fear jail”.
SIYANDA MHLONGO
KwaDukuza