DEAR Editor,-
Don’t take thirst for change for granted. Quite often in our country, we find ourselves discussing the political phenomena and possible outcomes. One would think that all in South Africa, no matter what the race group, are quite fed up with our leaders and want desperately to see them go. An interesting discourse ensued between my colleague and I. According to black culture, elders must be respected at all costs. So the ‘barking dogs’ of the DA in the guises of Lindiwe Mazibuko and Mmusi Maimane are in stark contravention of this age-old tradition.
So my question to this person was how can you respect elders who are enriching themselves and portraying themselves as very poor role models? And their response was that the behaviour of young politicians was coarse and belligerent. At this point, I noticed that this person represented the vast majority of our country who generally make emotional decisions rather than looking at the facts.
In my humble opinion, I think that there are certain aspects of culture that are an ‘Achilles’ heel’ to significant progress in this country. Nothing wrong at all with respect for elders as a value, but should it not be earned or deserved respect? Some people treat civil servants like gods when they walk into a room and the happy incumbent prances around like it’s their entitlement.
We forget the power of our vote that put people in these positions. Positions that were meant to serve the people, particularly the less advantaged in society.
Backlogs in service delivery and corruption abound and the usual rhetoric that is put forward is that we must acknowledge the progress and good that has been done so far. Really?
Civil servants are paid to do a job and quite handsomely at that. I cannot commend you for achieving only 50 percent or less in the targets of your job. Usually in the private sector, fractional achievement or impropriety means you lose your job. Quite a simple concept but murky in the political landscape of South Africa.
I was quite optimistic about this year’s election, which could have brought balance to the power of political parties, but it seems that voter education has not improved significantly and once again the ruling party may get away with all the last minute delivery of services alongside the food and T-shirt politics.
My message to people out there is that struggle credentials just don’t cut it anymore. We are now in an era where we should be very critical of our leaders and we must own our government. Vote wisely to ensure that our country reaches its full potential whilst being able to adequately sustain every citizen in a productive manner.
VANI PATHER
