9 : 9
EARLIER this week I was woken up by a commotion outside my place of residence. Upon investigation, I noticed three men arguing with another over the contents of wheelie bins lined up on the street.
The argument quickly escalated into a savage beating of the lone man by the three. They used planks and sticks to prise gaping, bleeding cuts in his head and arms.
The three cowards ran off as nearby residents came out to help. They left behind their carts that they use to collect recyclable waste material.
From what I could hear as the trio were shouting, the lone man was an outsider who came onto their territory to threaten their monopoly. These are our dustbins. Who are you to come here and take out garbage? they bellowed at the poor soul.
A few hours later, and 50km away, a council meeting of the Tshwane Metropolitan municipality was disrupted, allegedly by official opposition ANC councillors.
The chaos that unfolded in the capital city reminded me of what I had seen in the morning. The two incidents reminded me of words by author Robert Kiyosaki. It is this entitlement mentality that is eroding the foundations this country was built upon. The entitlement mentality is bringing down the American empire and the world.”
It was precisely this notion that led the recycleable collectors to think no one else was entitled to what was in those bins. Not once did they think that, like them, whatever the lone man salvaged would translate into his next meal.
How about striking a deal to offer him glass and paper while they amass the used plastic bottles they normally collect? How about working as a team to cover more neighbourhoods? That kind of progressive thinking is hardly part of the narrative when people feel entitled to the entire pie.
The ANC was a ruling party in Tshwane until August 3 local government polls. losing largely due to mistakes of its own.
Now that the DA has been given a mandate by the residents of Tshwane to administer their rates and taxes, some ANC scoundrels in the council truly believe that they are entitled to rule until Jesus comes back.
That is dangerous and should not only be condemned but discouraged at all costs.
In strengthening our democracy, we need to teach our children that the decision of those who queue at the polling stations to cast their ballots is the highest decision a nation makes. The results should be respected and jealously guarded as part of discarding our culture of solving our problems through violent means.
A choice made by the people who pay taxes and oil the wheels of the economy cannot be hijacked by a bunch of losers who feel the same people are their voting cattle whose sole purpose is to hand them unfettered power to loot and plunder.
Recent reports about allegations that the ANC tried to strong-arm the Independent Electoral Commission following its dismal showing in August are part of this script. It is obvious that after enjoying power for 22 years, the ANC feels entitled to votes.
The sooner the ANC casts a quick eye over the recent post-colonial history on the continent the better.