Lawlessness will be SA’s undoing

ONE of the many problems facing us is the fact that far too many South Africans believe that they are entitled to get away with being lawless.

Unless we as a society become responsible and behave within an orderly and legal way there is little chance of improvement.

One of the latest events is the strike by Putco workers who have now been given notice of dismissal by their employer because of their strike affecting tens of thousands of innocent commuters.

There is now an outcry by workers’ representatives, blaming Putco of being unreasonable.

It is not Putco that is unreasonable. It is the workers who acted outside of the legal opportunity available to them in terms of labour law to address their case with Putco.

The burning of trucks to object against the employment of foreign drivers; the frequent blockades on public roads by burning of tyres; the widespread looting in July last year; the endemic corruption in the public and private sectors; the uncontrolled cable theft; the sabotage of Eskom infrastructure; the Dudula campaign against foreigners; the high murder rate and rape rate where people kill at the drop of a hat are all part of the sabotaging of orderly progress and economic development in South Africa.

The government is also complicit in the encouragement of a lawless society.

When state departments owe not only millions, but billions in rates payments to local authorities; when the Department of Home Affairs, either deliberately or by sheer lack of will, fails to ensure legal immigration; when the traffic authorities fail to apply enforcement of road traffic rules, those who are supposed to ensure an orderly society are just as complicit in promoting runaway chaos in the country.

South Africa could be such an ideal country to live in.

Nature has endowed us with so much beauty. There are so many responsible people of all races who are longing for peaceful co-existence and an orderly society.