No need to destroy

The wants and needs of people are many and varied and there are many who cannot distinguish between “want” and “need”. Besides, the people themselves are many and becoming more by the minute, making it nigh on impossible for any government to provide for even the most basic needs of all.

In this era we regard (in no particular order) housing, potable water, food, health care, education, sanitation and employment as basic essentials that no one can do without, but then there are things like roads, electricity, refuse removal and transport that are very hard to do without and would be regarded by some as essential needs.

Any government in power will (hopefully) try all it can to attain the goal of providing the populace in general with its needs, but when the numbers are growing so fast it becomes impossible to catch up. It is imperative, therefore, that we look after what we have and keep it maintained and repaired if necessary, so that we can add to what we have and not face the need to replace it.

It is wholly understandable that people become bitter and frustrated when the powers-thatbe repeatedly ignore them and their requests, which are sometimes very legitimate.

They then feel that the only avenue left to them is to take to the streets in protest as they believe this is the only way that anyone in authority will take notice of their problems.

But to burn, loot and smash everything in sight absolutely destroys all sympathy for them and their cause.

The sight of many of these “protests” gives the impression of an unruly bunch of youngsters who have nothing to do, who incite each other to further hooliganism and are there just for the fun of it, as witnessed in Stutterheim this week.

And what is left afterwards? The municipal and other buildings are badly damaged, equipment and records destroyed, the road surface through the town has taken a beating, businesses have lost trade and the town’s reputation has been dented in the opinion of potential investors, in addition to all the other assets that have been wasted.

When the protest is over, those who run the town will have to look at where to start making good what they once had.

Money that might have been earmarked for housing or to lay on water will, instead, have to be diverted to repair or rebuild the municipal buildings and those who have no houses will have to wait for that much longer, while everything else will have to be moved to the back burner.

Protest by all means, but that does not mean destroy.