SA faces a crisis of leadership
The only thing worse than abysmal leadership is no leadership! And that is where SA presently finds itself. Weak and corrupt leadership, bolstered by an uneducated and brainwashed electorate, has led to the chaos we are in.
On the other hand, the opposition, and the DA specifically, are themselves struggling to escape from past stigmas, white elitism and internal squabbles.
And in the next election the EFF will exploit the vacuum to the full and may be kingmakers in a coalition government. That is another terrifying nightmare facing our benighted country!
President Cyril Ramaphosa is in a humongous quandary. He does not rule. He is governed and manipulated by the various factions of the ANC, for whom he is a mouthpiece.
The unbundling of Eskom is its sole chance of recovery and that this will inevitably mean job losses cannot be helped at this stage.
Rational thought would argue that as part of any Eskom remedy, a reduction in the bloated workforce is essential.
However, Ramaphosa’s hands are tied as the concept of job losses is anathema to Cosatu and others. They quite bluntly say their members will not vote for the ANC if Ramaphosa goes ahead.
Redistribution of the land without compensation is another emotive, racial dilemma. Ramaphosa is aware of the untold damage leading to starvation that a harsh enactment of the law without due circumspection will cause. His hands are tied as the extremists in his party hold the power and are hell bent on proceeding without care!
Arguably, the expertise to sort out Eskom and the other disastrous parastatals may still be in the country. However, the black empowerment programme, again pushed through by the ANC regime without proper thought, has deprived this country of thousands of white engineers, doctors, artisans, entrepreneurs etc. who may be employed elsewhere or have emigrated.
That black expertise should be advanced and seen to take place is non-negotiable, but if at the expense of a sick and deprived South African economy, we are committing suicide and can only blame ourselves.
The brain drain escalates as we speak. Ramaphosa knows this, but again he is dictated to by others and is not his own man. Ramaphosa seeks foreign experts and investors to solve the Eskom debacle. Ironically, will the ANC stipulate that whites are excluded from the engineering experts and potential investors?
The present Bosasa, state capture and other festering sores are exposing the depth of corruption that is consuming the ANC now. If Ramaphosa was a strong leader, MPs like environmental affairs minister Nomvula Mokonyane and others would have been placed on special leave pending criminal investigations. Ramaphosa knows that the only way to regain the ANC’s respect is to root out the corrupt members. However, one wonders how many ANC parliamentarians and managers would be left if he were to do so!
Ask yourself, that despite daily reports on corruption, how many politicians have been suspended, never mind brought to trial this last year? Ramaphosa is hamstrung by the power-hungry coterie in his party, who will not have him proceed against those with political clout.
And then there is the SABC, SAA, education, health services, the inadequate police services, the list is endless.
The lights were off, shedding power, last week. The country is lapsing into chaos; The media report killings, university students burning buses and buildings, underground miners dying in illicit mines, miners to be retrenched etc.
To cap it all, in an unprecedented act of bravado, Cosatu strikes and brings what is left of our economy to a halt.
Current events are a blueprint of a country in denial, refusing to acknowledge the slippery spiral it is in. The sad reality is that without leadership we are finally being reduced to our lowest common denominator: another failed African state.
It will take generations to recover ... if ever!