Maybe we should just privatise the whole country

IT PUZZLES me why anybody should want to nationalise anything, when it seems so obvious that state-run organisations work so poorly. I believe there are now far more people working for private security companies than there are working for the SAPS. can believe this. Even our local police station carries a warning sign saying it is monitored by a private security company. I can’t help wondering whether the police budget makes provision for private security. Are our taxes being used to protect the police while they protect us?

Our public health system seems to be in disarray, but new private hospitals and clinics are being built throughout the country. They wouldn’t be going up if there was not a big demand for them.

The same goes for schools. Private schools are opening at an increasing rate.

The post office staff are apparently about to strike again and while we complain about the poor postal service an increasing number of courier companies are taking over the delivery of parcels around the country – and doing it very efficiently.

One of our most underrated commodities is people. I believe we should concentrate on developing this valuable asset.

South Africans of all races are basically a “can-do” crowd. We’re good at fixing things and inventing things. Maybe we should develop this trait and do our own DIY service delivery instead of sitting in gloomy gatherings moaning about the electricity failure and the potholes in the roads and the high crime rate.

We can all help fight crime by signing up to neighbourhood watches. We can all help to make our neighbourhoods a little better by cleaning up pavements and planting flowers in front of our houses.

If a traffic sign in your area has been vandalised by an idiot with a spray can, it might be possible to go there with a bottle of solvent and clean it up as our little contribution to road safety.

Perhaps we could offer to teach classes after hours. Or to do volunteer service at local hospitals.

Maybe we should privatise the whole country.

Dress up

I am often surprised by the columns that attract comments and those that seem to go almost unnoticed.

I recently mentioned my feelings about inappropriate dress – the sad sight of people in torn jeans and vests going to the theatre, for example.

I’ve had screens full of e-mails from readers agreeing with me and saying they always try to dress a little more smartly when attending public events.

Nobody’s suggesting full evening dress, but several readers said they liked to wear a neat long-sleeved shirt and “proper” trousers when going out.

I hope the general standard of dress does improve. I believe it’s a sign of civilisation.

Last laugh

An old man went to a school reunion and when he returned late that night his daughter asked him how it had been.

“All I heard about all evening was my old school pals’ ailments,” he grumbled. “This one had a dicky heart, that one had lung cancer, one had kidney stones and two had bladder complaints.

“It wasn’t a school reunion. It was a damn organ recital!”