WOLVES GUARDING SHEEP

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the people gathered in the streets and alleys of their villages and townships, under the trees in the courts of their villages, in the church halls, in the schoolyards on weekends, in the trains and buses on their way to work; they spoke and sang for many hours on end.

Some got off the buses and trains in the stations along the way; others jumped in. They sang and spoke some more, and the newcomers joined in the song and dance. In the mornings on the long way to work in the cities, and in the afternoons on the way to the shantytowns on the edges of the city, the energy was the same. No amount of back-breaking work in the service of the superior race would interfere with the songs of freedom and revolutionary dance.

They sang about the great leaders they would have after freedom had been won. The songs were composed on the spot, modified from church and folk songs so people could sing about the new country.

Then the leaders of the people were released from prisons and others were allowed to return from far-off lands. The leaders started negotiations with the illegitimate government. When agreement was reached, the people voted for their most trusted leaders.

When the time of those people came to an end, other leaders took their positions. But they bought big cars and houses for themselves with money that belonged to the people, who have now tired of singing about the new country in the trains and on the buses.

Among the new leaders were many of those who had left to fight for freedom. After years of drawing fat salaries in the new country, they were still hungry for a lot more money. They told their children and friends to form companies to which they would give business and pay them bloated compensation.

Others just took the money, and told the people they deserved it after spending the best years of their youth fighting for freedom while the people sat idly at home. And they chose their friends to be part of government. But the friends only knew how to steal money. The people suffered.

Among the new leaders were Malusi Gigaba and his deputy Sfiso Buthelezi, who were asked to care for the people’s wealth. But whenever the people heard from them, all they heard was that some money wasmissing in the companies owned by the people. The leaders denied they had helped themselves to the missing money. The people laughed and made jokes about it.

Big words

Even when the people asked the finance minister why his friends were getting so rich while the people suffered, Gigaba did not want to talk about his friends. Gigaba did not even want to tell people if he had a big house and money in another country. When other people said he was corrupt and stealing from the people, he did not talk. He just quoted big words from important books whenever he spoke to the people.

In confusion, sometimes the people clapped and laughed. In other times they just sat there and stared at him. Then he bought new suits that were fitted even tighter. The people admired the suits and the shoes with sharp noses. But he still did not tell the people how he would end the poverty and create jobs.

The people continued to suffer. They had no jobs and they had no money. But the leaders were getting very rich at a dizzying pace. They made importantsounding speeches whenever they encountered the people, telling them the old oppressors were responsible for the current poverty. But the leaders still did not tell the people how they would end the poverty.

Then he bought newer shoes with even sharper noses. The people laughed. But they still suffered.

The people admired his suits and shoes with sharp noses. But he still did not tell them how he would end poverty