Braving the potholes of state ineptitude
ONLY in South Africa are entire news reports written about potholes. So emotive is this issue that an hour on the radio can be spent discussing what should be a minor issue — a pothole, nothing complicated, just a dent indicating wear and tear. All it requires is for the responsible department to appoint a competent contractor to fix it.
In appointing the contractor, the government must choose one who will give it value for money. It is simple.
I have never looked at a pothole and thought one could become rich from it. But someone did.
In North West, a company was paid R19-million to “upgrade and resurface” a 28km stretch of road. The total cost was R23-million, so the contractor has already been paid the R19-million for “fixing” the road.
And fix it he did. Well, if you consider painting over it fixing. It is reported that a local farmer tugged at the tar with his hands and a chunk of road came away. On some parts of the road, paint was used to cover the hole. Yes, I know, just as in the Nkandla upgrades and 2010 soccer stadiums, it is the corrupt private sector unleashing its gluttony on a trusting and naive government.
Ja, right! As a taxpayer, I am more concerned about the behaviour of those who are entrusted with the public purse. I want to sleep at night knowing that whatever the private sector wishes to do, my government is there to protect my interests and not part with hard-earned money for nothing in return.
Remember the Free State website debacle? It was initially reported that the provincial government paid R140-million for its website. The government came out guns blazing, disputing the amount and assuring the nation that it would never be reckless with the public’s money and, as a result, spent only R40-million.
IT experts were aghast. Even the most fancy and sophisticated website should not cost a million. But “the leaders” thought nothing of financing such an obscene project run by a company that has several tenders with other departments. Obviously, someone in the government enabled this and demonstrated supreme negligence and, dare I say, stupidity. If they had done their research, they would have known that the prices of websites are decreasing because websites are now mainstream and there are many players in this sector.
Last year, we gasped when we learnt of the profligate spending on cutlery and crockery for a government function. A government department hired wine glasses at R200 each, whereas most caterers and event planners charge about R1 a glass.
The truth is that we have had many miniNkandlas and will continue to experience more of the same. The previous auditor-general repeatedly found wastage and fruitless expenditure, and yet nothing changes because those responsible do not do their checks and balances. This explains why it is so easy for them not to be shocked by the crude and nauseating wastage at Nkandla. They are sleeping at night.
It is clear that dodgy service providers working in cahoots with rogue civil servants are swindling the government, yet our ministers do not seem particularly perturbed. Although we should condemn all corruption, regardless of where it occurs, we should not let the government get away with its sanctimonious lecture about the ills of the private sector. The buck stops with the government. It is responsible for creating an enabling environment for unscrupulous businesses to scam the taxpayer. These companies do not appoint themselves or sign the cheques.
This has become an emergency. Is anyone listening?