Citizens have obligation to fix their state
We need a compact to cleanse SA of the rampant cancer of corruption
We see and read almost on a daily basis about the shenanigans of some thugs in suits who are looting state coffers and those of stateowned enterprises (SOEs).
They have formed an unholy alliance with the thieving Guptas, who never stop shocking us with their wily and devious schemes. The governing party has been turned into a devastating wrecking ball against the state and its citizens.
International corporations have joined the fray and are preying on us, ably assisted by our predatory leaders in government. We are indeed extremely vulnerable.
Most of us are so punch drunk with all these blows raining on us that we have not realised how far we have been impoverished by these greedy crooks. Others among us are now inured or fatigued by the revelations of wrongdoing on the part of those in leadership.
But the presentation of the medium-term budget policy statement by the minister of finance two weeks ago rudely jolted us: we are almost broke. Very soon we might not be able to pay our civil servants, our bills related to education, health, security, social grants and similar obligations that fall on the shoulders of the state.
The budget provided a clear sobering moment.
As citizens, we have protested against state capture, but the crooks simply ignore us. They won’t even comment, confirm or deny the accusations.
Having denuded and castrated the criminal justice system, they are secure in the knowledge that nothing is likely to happen to them.
It is critical that as citizens, we should debate the dire implications of this impending bankruptcy with a view to taking decisive action to safeguard our future. We need the unions, higher education students, academia, political parties, business and civil society organisations to join hands and rid our country of these marauding forces of skullduggery and sleaze.
Universities demand higher subsidies from the state while students are pushing for free education.
Civil servants will soon hold annual salary negotiations and there is talk of double-digit percentage increases demands by their trade unions.
The SABC is struggling to pay salaries and, apparently, increases are out of the question. Its workers have since gone on strike demanding the money be found for pay hikes.
One wonders why they did not strike against the looting by Hlaudi Motsoeneng and company that took place under their noses.
Learners at the basic education level, grants recipients and patients in hospitals, who among them take quite a big slice of the national budget, are not organised to be able to take action against the state.
They will be the silent victims of mismanagement of state resources.
We are a middle-income country well-endowed with a variety of minerals and other riches that should not be facing a financial crisis that is now upon us.
The solution will certainly not come from different sectors of society making demands from the state that cannot be met. You can’t get money that is simply not there. We all know that you cannot get paid by a debtor who is insolvent.
In this case, however, we are dealing with our own state. We collectively own it. No one is going to fix it for us. We have to bend together and get it right.
We need a citizen-wide compact geared at ridding our country of the rampant cancer of corruption and looting. First and foremost, we should remove the politicians involved in state capture. That should be followed by clearing out the incompetents and captured elements in the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority), Hawks and the police service.
The SOEs must be cleansed of rotten elements in their governance and be given to competent professionals to nurse them back to profitability.
We will not get anywhere through disjointed and disparate demands on a state that is tottering towards bankruptcy. A good tone might be set by the cabinet and other high-earners in the state taking a salary cut or at least getting no increase.