The past few weeks, Mr Neil Diamond and a good friend of mine, Sipho Masigo, have written so eloquently about the great work the ANC-led government is continuously doing for various communities. However, in their respective pieces, they failed to highlight the challenges our people continue to face.
Take for example the water crisis most of Gauteng residents had to endure. Instead of highlighting the faults we need to address, Mr Diamond was quick to point out how quickly the problem was attended to. Yes, there was something done to help communities affected, however, Gauteng residents should have never been exposed to such inconvenience caused by lack of planning ahead.
Instead of upgrading resources when they had the opportunity, Rand Water chose not to. Instead, they would rather get into crisis mode compared to admitting they failed.
Although it may be premature for me to point fingers, I think we need to realise that the water crisis is only one of the many failures the government refuses to admit.
While Mr Masigo made some compelling arguments about how Johannesburg has become ‘a world class city’, we have to also consider that it is a city where some of its people are without jobs; their services are not attended at the level they deserve and housing continues to be one of the major issues faced daily.
It was good to see in one of his tweets, a few days after his ‘good story’ piece, Masigo cited old infrastructure as part of the problem causing the water crisis. Unfortunately, he is not a decision maker.
The water crisis is only an example of the ANC’s failures. The people of Tembisa, one of the three biggest townships in South Africa, can testify to their struggle with poor services – more especially housing. After taking to the streets and boldly stating that they want Gungubele out, the mayor of Ekurhuleni failed to address the issues they face during his speech in council.
Although the mayor did apologise to the residents for the inconvenience caused by the water shortage, he needed to also address the issue of housing in Tembisa. Many of the residents claim to have been on the housing waiting list since 1996.
It all sounds good and well when we are sold the 2030 National Development Plan, however, if our young people continue to suffer without sustaining jobs, great policies and plans mean nothing. As much as we cannot fault the ANC on long-term planning, we need to look at delivering much needed services today.
As much as we have to look after the future by taking on what we call economical transformation, we need to remember the challenges we face today and actively address them.
It is time for government to care, a government that instils hope, not a government that exudes arrogance. It is time for South Africans to believe in democracy again because we deserve better!
