The ANC is no more inept and corrupt than a month or even a year ago, but it took a traumatic event to unleash an unparalleled national wave of revulsion and resistance.
It is a reaction not only to what happened last week, it’s a culmination of years of frustration with poor governance and corruption and crippling poverty.
The downpours in KwaZulu-Natal had barely stopped before the ANC leadership showed its true colours. Premier Sihle Zikalala ordered a water tanker to his own home and lied about it before apologising, and ANC eThekwini councillor Themba Mkhize answered a taxpayer who asked for his help on WhatsApp with “ f**k you”.
From across SA, the message was loud and clear: We can no longer trust the ANC with our tax money and to help in times of need.
President Cyril Ramaphosa obviously shares the suspicion that emergency money may be stolen. He asked the Solidarity Fund to help administer the disaster fund.
“It will be critical that all the resources we mobilise are used for their intended purposes and reach the intended recipients. There can be no room for corruption, mismanagement or fraud of any sort,” Ramaphosa said.
But Cyril as the -exception no longer works. He has, after all, been ANC leader since December 2017 and president since February 2018. Still, SA is backsliding. The country finds it increasingly difficult to believe his promises and explanations.
The floods coincided with an electricity crisis that left some places without power for up to three times a day and a dark mood that the wheels are coming off.
The enormous pressure on Eskom CEO André de Ruyter showed when he criticised government delays in allowing new power sources and cutting out red tape. His uneasy relationship with minister of minerals and energy Gwede Mantashe is likely to have been set back further, and Mantashe’s circles are openly calling for De Ruyter’s head. It would have catastrophic consequences for Eskom if government gives in to this pressure.
To add insult to injury, sporadic looting started again in and around Durban.
What else is to be expected from a province and a city where a politician who stands accused of corruption totalling hundreds of millions of rands, Zandile Gumede, has been elected to power and a former minister who left under a cloud of corruption, Zweli Mkhize, is campaigning for the national leadership?
ANC hit by a landslide, plus 5 highlights from ‘Vrye Weekblad’
Here’s what’s hot in the latest edition of the Afrikaans digital weekly
Image: Rogan Ward/Reuters
The ANC is no more inept and corrupt than a month or even a year ago, but it took a traumatic event to unleash an unparalleled national wave of revulsion and resistance.
It is a reaction not only to what happened last week, it’s a culmination of years of frustration with poor governance and corruption and crippling poverty.
The downpours in KwaZulu-Natal had barely stopped before the ANC leadership showed its true colours. Premier Sihle Zikalala ordered a water tanker to his own home and lied about it before apologising, and ANC eThekwini councillor Themba Mkhize answered a taxpayer who asked for his help on WhatsApp with “ f**k you”.
From across SA, the message was loud and clear: We can no longer trust the ANC with our tax money and to help in times of need.
President Cyril Ramaphosa obviously shares the suspicion that emergency money may be stolen. He asked the Solidarity Fund to help administer the disaster fund.
“It will be critical that all the resources we mobilise are used for their intended purposes and reach the intended recipients. There can be no room for corruption, mismanagement or fraud of any sort,” Ramaphosa said.
But Cyril as the -exception no longer works. He has, after all, been ANC leader since December 2017 and president since February 2018. Still, SA is backsliding. The country finds it increasingly difficult to believe his promises and explanations.
The floods coincided with an electricity crisis that left some places without power for up to three times a day and a dark mood that the wheels are coming off.
The enormous pressure on Eskom CEO André de Ruyter showed when he criticised government delays in allowing new power sources and cutting out red tape. His uneasy relationship with minister of minerals and energy Gwede Mantashe is likely to have been set back further, and Mantashe’s circles are openly calling for De Ruyter’s head. It would have catastrophic consequences for Eskom if government gives in to this pressure.
To add insult to injury, sporadic looting started again in and around Durban.
What else is to be expected from a province and a city where a politician who stands accused of corruption totalling hundreds of millions of rands, Zandile Gumede, has been elected to power and a former minister who left under a cloud of corruption, Zweli Mkhize, is campaigning for the national leadership?
Only R10 for the first month!
The naked truth is that the ANC’s political machinery is oiled with tenders, bribes and kickbacks. While KwaZulu-Natal is not the only province collapsing, the ANC leadership there appears to be in bigger trouble. Senior members of the evidently dominant RET faction were undoubtedly part of the anarchy last July in Durban and surrounds, and yet they are all sitting comfortably in their positions.
It wasn’t the ANC’s fault that 400mm of rain fell in such a short period. But those affected by the floods know the municipality and province failed miserably in their duty, and they blatantly ignored the recommendations of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGOS).
PGOS stated: “The public sector faces persistent challenges at an operational level, including declining public confidence and trust, weak accountability and a general lack of consequence management, uneven service delivery, persistent and escalating corruption, a leadership deficit and poor governance resulting in missed opportunities and efficiency gains.”
Leadership deficit indeed.
Read the full article and more in this week’s edition of Vrye Weekblad.
Must-read articles in this week’s Vrye Weekblad
>> Browse the full April 22 edition
CONSTITUTIONAL THREAT | It is becoming clear those who are ready to occupy the political space left open by the retreating EFF (due to the party’s goodwill toward immigrants) are not necessarily defenders of the constitution. In fact, they are normalising violence in formal politics.
PLAN YOUR END | A conversation about death is actually a conversation about life, Anneliese Burgess realised when she had to decide about resuscitation, her funeral and a special message to her daughter. It is not only quite easy to make a life-end plan, it is also a great relief.
SMALL TOWN SHOP | This is the story of Uncle Eppie with his neckerchiefs and pastel safari suits, and the orphan Abie with the fast fingers who was a buddy within the borders of a small town.
FIVE BOOKS | This week we read a feminist book that will make you think about science, gender politics, religion and workplace dynamics, Hanya Yanagihara’s book in three parts that reminds us of books from the olden days, as well as recreational material, better known as chicklit with a kick.
THE CHINESE PUZZLE | While a suspicious West often suspects everything that happens in China is part of some big scheme, the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Shanghai showed President Xi Xinping is not as firmly in the saddle as he thought.
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