Ramaphosa left to clean up the mess
NATURE has such an arsenal of destructive forces at its disposal to wreak havoc on Earth. There’s drought, floods, gale-force winds, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, mudslides and avalanches, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis.
Have I left out anything? At any given time in some corner of the globe, the forces of nature vent their anger on man.
Like nature, there are good men and evil men. Some devote a lifetime to creating masterpieces in art, sculpture, architecture and music. Many sacrifice their lives improving the quality of life of others through science, medicine or humanitarian efforts.
Then you have those who take great pleasure in destroying what others have painstakingly built and preserved for centuries.
Whether they are marauding armies advancing on the enemy or a vanquished army in retreat, they leave a trail of destruction behind.
Then the victims have to pick up their shattered lives and rebuild their homes from the rubble.
Robert Mugabe overthrew white minority rule only to become a ruthless tyrant who destroyed a once-thriving economy.
Now his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has the difficult task of rebuilding his impoverished nation and restoring it to its former glory.
Former president Jacob
Zuma took us to the brink of the precipice. Like a swarm of locusts he and his cronies descended on every government department, state enterprise and municipality, devouring everything before them.
Now Zuma has gone and his successor must clean up his mess. It’s not a pleasant task. It may take many years to recover. Ramaphosa cannot do it by burdening an overtaxed public with more taxes yet keeping a bloated, lazy and crooked public service. He must clean up, trim the fat and dump the dirt in his government if he wants to succeed as a credible leader. THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN
Silverglen