Person of integrity needed to stop corruption
I ATTENTIVELY listened to President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the nation.
As a senior citizen of this country, and having contributed as much as I could and still doing my bit, I profoundly reflected not only on what he said but on the general status quo in our country.
In reality, the coronavirus is not the only factor that has contributed to our economy performing at less than 1%, unemployment rising to more than 30%, and the debt to GDP ratio projected to hit the 80% level.
All these disconcerting factors manifested before March 2020. Consequently, South Africans should not hide behind the pandemic and blame the status quo on it.
The reckless and avaricious pillaging of state-owned enterprises, the incompetence of comrades posted to manage, and the dislocation of the criminal justice apparatus are but some of the reasons for the situation we find ourselves in. One would have thought
evidence of depravity and venality reported in books, and lately, corroborated verbally under oath in the Zondo Commission, would result in politicians and friends refraining from their nefarious acts.
Instead, to our surprise, the orgy continues unabated to the extent that it has even reached the highest office in the land! All this takes place because there are no consequences. The best punishment we have seen is people being told to stay at home while getting full benefits at the end of every month. It really baffles the mind over the recent outcry concerning tenders for PPE. The recklessness has been going on for more than a decade.
The president talks of an urgent endeavour to grow the economy and to drastically reduce unemployment.
Mr President, you have Eskom that is limping and providing intermittent power supply in perpetuity. What will drive factories, hospitals, mines, and encourage intra-regional trade to fire up the economy? To me, this is just a wild goose chase.
Finally, my earnest and sincere view is that to fix this country and extricate it from a failed state, we need a man or woman with high moral, ethical and unflinching resolve to occupy the Union Buildings. A benevolent despot, yes, I mean a Thomas Sankara.