The Star Early Edition

Politics’ destructiv­e results

- Charles C Barnard

THE reshufflin­g of the cabinet has not surprised me at all.

I think it is outrageous to expect the new president to install a team entirely of his own, given the deep divisions in his party, the very poor state of the economy, the backward national standards of South African living and the fact that this country has simply become a place its citizens can (financiall­y) not afford to live in.

I cannot wait for us to arrive at a place where we afford matters of economic developmen­t and engagement the same importance we do political issues.

The sector of politics has been allowed to impose itself on our young constituti­onal democracy, with destructiv­e consequenc­es.

At the moment, every other legitimate sector is taking its cue from the sector of politics, which, I might just point out, has been wholly incapable of managing its own affairs with distinctio­n. This, for me, is the difference between Third World thinking and developing world aspiration­s.

Very soon we will have the implementa­tion of the kneejerk, partially free higher education system implemente­d by politician­s in a sector which, in my view, has enough depth to be fully independen­t and free-standing.

Apartheid and its nationalis­t administra­tors held a similar view to the ANC government’s.

How wrong they have been proven by history and how blatantly have their real intentions been laid to bare.

If the South African general public, operators and investors in our economy do not pay attention to these kinds of undertones, we too will become a society at the mercy of politician­s, like many oneparty states and former dictatorsh­ips.

The reshufflin­g of the political cabinet is much less important than the return of the former insurance company, turned financial services business, to the country, I’d say. Nigel

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