Carry on Hlaudi, we’ll crumble like Zimbabwe
Newlands West
AS A MEMBER of the DA and a former councillor, my spirits were buoyed by a recent poll showing the DA had gained popularity.
I am, however, disturbed by certain insidious developments that have taken place, especially regarding the PR (proportional representation) list that was recently released by the DA.
First, Haniff Hoosen, chosen as the mayoral candidate, is already a high-ranking MP and has not served as a councillor in recent times. It is a matter of concern as his ambition has no bounds.
DA councillors in the eThekwini caucus have talented politicians who could have the mayoral position in the unlikely event of unseating the ANC.
Hoosen and his wife, Sharon Hoosen, are candidates for the eThekwini caucus. Yet the DA rules are clear: no close family members are allowed to sit on the same caucus. Hoosen recently opposed a candidate because he had a “close family member” who was on the same caucus.
Are the rules in the DA applicable to some and not to others – especially the elite?
Secondly, the “parachuting” of candidates into positions when they have not made a contribution to the party is disturbing.
There are people in the DA who may not have “connections” or who may not be “yes men” but who are real workhorses who have contributed significantly towards the reputation of the party – and have been relegated to “flag waver” status.
Finally, the DA, as has become evident, is obsessed with being politically correct and is embracing racial quotas and relegating merit to the backburner.
Many DA councillors have been cowed into subservience by the performance development management system, which hangs over their heads.
One wonders how the hapless electorate will be served by DA councillors when their priority is the internal appraisal systems rather than service delivery. THE AUTHORITARIAN attitude adopted by the SABC’s Hlaudi Motsoeneng has turned the broadcaster on its head. Such controversial Draconian rules introduced by this chief operating officer will not bode well for the public broadcaster.
First it was all radio stations being forced to allocate 90 percent of musical content to local artists which is far fetched. The next radical change was the editing and suppressing of real-time news content. This means South Africans and the rest of the world will not be able to view up to date incidents related to violence and crime, which is the order of the day .
With the coming local government elections these bold moves of suppressing real-time news will not do the ruling ANC party any favours. Opposition parties will garner many more votes when the electorate are being denied watching a true reflection of what is going on around the country.
A good example is all the carnage involved during service delivery and student protests. The burning and looting of property has to be shown to the people. Hlaudi Motsoeneng has declared that all these dramatic changes at the SABC are non-negotiable.
To think Hlaudi was probed by the public protector for forging his academic qualification and giving himself three hefty increases in one year leaves much to be desired. Zimbabwe had adopted similar suppression and the country is almost bankrupt, with even government employees not being paid. The only way to bring normality to the state broadcaster is urgent government intervention.