Readers’ Views
WRITE TO: PO BOX 1742, Saxonwold 2132. SMS: 33971 E-MAIL: letters@businesstimes.co.za.
Ukraine stance leaves SA’s reputation in tatters
Behind all the diplomatic language, SA has chosen to lend its support to Russia in a clear and illegal war of aggression.
It is difficult to see how this can be good for SA’s standing internationally, for the reputation of the ANC as a stable democratic party, or for President Cyril Ramaphosa in his efforts to have the country received as a worthy member of the democratic community of nations.
Russia seems set to be a pariah for years to come and SA will be tainted by association. It is like supporting North Korea in the world today.
Whereas there is general relief at China’s abstaining in the UN General Assembly vote, SA’s detractors can point at the party of Nelson Mandela supporting the kind of imperialist venture it claims to stand against.— Paul Whelan, on BusinessLIVE
If the world had not stood together against apartheid, SA would never have become a democracy.
If you cannot see the evil in what President Vladimir Putin is doing, you are going to be on the wrong side of history. — Jonathan Norsworthy, on BusinessLIVE
It is pitiful to see our ANC government acting like a lapdog to dubious dictators and criminals and at the same time standing cap in hand begging for funds and investments from the US and Europe. — Arthur Waller, on BusinessLIVE
As a country that voted to abstain in the UN General Assembly, any hardship arising from the supply shocks of war in Ukraine is well deserved. — Poo Bear, on BusinessLIVE
Rein in the public service
The ruling by the Constitutional Court that the government does not have to implement the last leg of the threeyear agreement reached at the public sector bargaining council in 2018 refers.
The public service has blackmailed the government for outrageous, unearned increases for years and it is more than high time it was reined in.
The service provided by the public service, from the police to home affairs, is utterly disgraceful. — Gordon Smith, on BusinessLIVE
There is no winner here. Workers have lost a salary increase and the government has lost the trust of workers. — Samkelo Fisher, on BusinessLIVE