Butthead’s Beat: Who’s the boss?
Thanks to all those who put their lungs and livers on the line to help swell South Africa's coffers (not coughers).
AS a loyal (and sort of non-begrudging) taxpayer, it really irks one when politicians take all the credit for spending ‘our’ money.
For example, MEC Ravi Pillay took a swipe at the Herald last week and accused us of being ‘DA agents’ for reporting about the sorry plight of an ailing grandmother who lived with no basic services in a builder’s shed, trying to care for her two orphaned grandchildren. We were ‘tipped off’ by the DA… and ‘ticked off’ by Mr Pillay for not giving him the opportunity to comment the same week the story appeared.
To be fair, we concede we might have erred there, but an irate Mr Pillay went off pop the next week and ranted in his lengthy written reply about what ‘his’ ANC provincial government department had done to build so many RDP houses in the Ugu district, apparently outshining his ‘DA’ counterparts in the Western Cape by far.
Whether that’s true or not, we really couldn’t care as we don’t live in the Western Cape.
No mention of the poor grandmother, only the fact that the DA spokesman had hogged the headlines. Mr Pillay is now demanding our telephone records to show that we actually tried to get hold of his spokesman. Either way, the Herald is being bullied, used and abused for petty political gain.
Well, hello! If politicians – ANC or DA – want to have a pissing contest over who builds the most RDP houses in their backyards… use your own damned money!
Whichever party has its hand on (not in) the till, it is only thanks to the generosity of us – the ratepayer/taxpayer – that you can even build RDP houses.
‘We’, the voters, put ‘you’ in positions with a directive to spend ‘our’ money wisely. We also pay ‘you’ handsomely – through ‘our’ rates and taxes – to do the job properly.
Mr Pillay certainly seems to be one such politician who is stepping up to the plate. Please keep up the good work.
However, thank you (the tax payer) for contributing a large chunk of your earnings that enables the government of the day – national, provincial or local – to strive to edge towards making our Rainbow Nation just that little less unequal.
A particular pat on the back should go to all those who even put their livers and lungs on the line to cough up the additional ‘sin tax’ for cigarettes and alcohol. Not only do your selfless contributions contribute millions to South Africa’s coffers (not ‘coughers’), but you also create thousands of jobs in the hospitality industry. (Hic! With you, bros.)
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