Lagos shows SA’s good side
THE second Jacob Zuma administration has had a rough time of it over the past few weeks, and the outlook doesn’t appear much better for the foreseeable future.
Civil disobedience in Gauteng over the e-toll system and the government’s refusal to compromise further is starting to have political ramifications within the African National Congress (ANC) as career politicians eye the upcoming local government elections with trepidation. The Nkandla scandal refuses to die down amid indications that Zuma is losing the propaganda war his party has waged on his behalf against a tenacious public protector. And the political opposition in Parliament has gone from being a minor irritation to a festering thorn in the ANC’s side as they team up in protest against its long-standing abuse of its dominant position.
None of these issues is going to go away soon unless the governing party indulges in a bout of serious navel-gazing and resigns itself to eating a slice of humble pie, a pastime that does not come naturally to the organisation. But everything is relative, and even the South African government’s recent burst of bombast pales into insignificance com- pared with the appalling incompetence and unfeeling indifference displayed by its Nigerian counterpart in the wake of the TB Joshua church disaster, in which the South African death toll now stands at 84.
By contrast, the South African response has been admirably efficient and sympathetic to the victims — after an admittedly shaky start that was not helped by the church’s initial attempts to suppress information and avoid having to take responsibility for what appears increasingly to be a case of shocking negligence. Forensic experts and disaster rapid response personnel were dispatched to Lagos, help lines were set up to assist families desperate to make contact with loved ones, and a medical evacuation team brought injured victims back on a special chartered flight.
The good work needs to be followed through to be effective though — pressure must be placed on the Nigerian government to investigate and hold those responsible for the deaths to account. Africa’s two biggest economies have a responsibility to take the lead in dealing efficiently with crises affecting the continent, from Boko Haram and Ebola to disasters such as the church building collapse.