January 22 2004
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January 22 2004 |
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Conspiracy, the ANC government and the SABC - the national TV broadcaster got away with it again.. Opposition parties lodged a complaint with ICASA (the communications controlling body) about the SABC's broadcast of old Thabo's speech a week or so ago. The SABC broadcasted the complete speech, which they claim was supposed to be a "state of the nation" address when it turned out to be pure canvassing for ANC votes in the upcoming elections.
Promises, promises and more promises amongst which 1 million jobs are to be created if the ANC wins. Now if anyone should be fed-up with ANC promises it should be the black people in this country - the poor black people. Understand this, the ANC government has done a lot since 1994, and ten years later, despite a lot of positive news and a better life for the top echelons the countries people are still suffering. Those who struggled to adapt has left (or are suffering in silence). Those who tried to adapt (count me in) are also suffering. Is this a world-wide trend? I'd say so.
So we're not so unique. With international competition in trade and industry certain sectors are doing exceptionally well. Look at the influx of visitors. Understandable if you know this country. But with numerous cases of tourists (or the latest an exchange student from Holland) being attacked and killed, surely the business is taking a knock. And what has one Thabo to say about it? Not much. Ask him about Aids and Zimbabwe? Not much either. The HIV/Aids issue has been "resolved", much to the president's dismay with drugs being distributed all over. And our honorable health minister? Her "African" diet to fight Aids has also come to none, except for promoting her to the top comedian in political circles. But then again, she's always been the undisputed king of comedy in South Africa (it would've been seriously funny if people didn't die because of it).
I said before that this year is the year of being positive, of starting a-fresh, of new beginnings. Then you open a newspaper and you read the horror stories. People unceremoniously being thrown in jail for failure of paying speed fines (here we go again), people being murdered for a cell phone, kids being dismembered for "muti", grandmothers being raped. Are we lucky, is someone watching over us or is our turn coming? Why haven't I been hi-jacked? Why haven't I been shot at? Maybe it's because most of us are trying to keep a low profile, drive a crappy car which is not in big demand on the black market, have a house with no big walls and gates (so they can see that there is absolutely nothing of great value in there). What is Mbeki doing about that?
So many questions with no-one prepared to give a straight answer. Then again, which politician has ever been known for giving straight answers? The workings of government in running a country is a complicated matter, any country. But it should be similar to that of running a company. Business men should run countries (keep Enron and Parmalat out of this). Government employees should be treated like those in the private sector - you don't perform and you're out of here. As with the old National Party government, if you could not find a job (for whatever reason) and you were white, government will give you a job. The same is happening now with the blacks. And where the white enjoyed preference when standing in a queue, now the black enjoys that privilege. Fair? Sure it's fair - not according to our world renowned and applauded constitution, but that's what's happening in the real world.
Why did we have to spend so much money on silly hearings such as the Mo & Mack show? Pure vindictiveness from these two to try and discredit the Scorpions boss. Because the man was doing his job? The Hefer Commission was a waste of time and tax money. Thank goodness that circus is over. And like every new year the burning issues are road deaths and the matric results.
The World Health Organisation claims that road deaths are second only to HIV/Aids, globally. According to their studies there are more fatalities in developing countries than in developed countries. South Africa being a prime example. Every Easter and every December / January. And sad to say, it's not getting any better. As said before, if a person does not perform, fire him / her. It's time the transport minister gets fired!
And tomorrow, as with every day of my life, I'll wake up, get ready to go to work and think - what a wonderful world we live in. Take solace in nature, in human ingenuity and in being alive. We've got so much to be thankful for..
