Behaviour of ‘military veterans’ leaves a bad taste
A WEEK ago, hundreds of unemployed men stormed through Durban’s streets. Dressed in battle fatigues and carrying rudimentary home-made weapons, they intimidated foreign-owned businesses, demanding that they shut down, blaming immigrants for every conceivable crime in Durban and South Africa.
Most of those marching through the streets claimed to be Umkhonto weSizwe veterans, but by the looks of things, they were either age cheats or had for years been drinking from the Fountain of Youth.
Their uniforms were so well kept, that the sceptical among us would have thought that these “military veterans” were a private army.
One of their leaders said they were protesting against “the system” in South Africa which allowed foreigners to come into South Africa and start-up businesses. A very simplistic, but effective argument when dealing with the illiterate; perhaps their sponsors should each hand these protesters a copy of South Africa’s Constitution.
Along with the “military veterans“were also unemployed truck drivers who have, for more than a year, been demanding that trucking companies not employ foreigners. As a consequence, foreign truck drivers, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, have been the targets of violence while their trucks have been torched.
In a report at the weekend, the “military veterans“, in a meeting with Deputy President David Mabuza, each demanded R250 000 for their role in the fight against apartheid, and jobs at state-owned enterprises.
Essentially, they wanted a seat on the gravy train, never mind the fact that the junk status of South Africa’s economy means that soon we will, collectively, run out of track and the ability to pay for government waste.
The violent outburst by these entitled “military veterans” shows the extent to which the ANC politicians, whether in local, provincial or national government, have abused their power.
Now that the taps have been closed on irregular tenders like at the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Department, and the controversial Prasa security tenders, those who were merely getting crumbs have lost the most.
Unfortunately, in the process of cleaning up corruption, more of those who benefited will be marching through the streets and demanding preferential treatment when our battered economy can barely afford it.