Lamenting our poor state of affairs in this country

Or is that the State of No Action? Maybe we should add an “R” to the whole debacle, because we need sonar to solve the mysterious disappearance of taxpayers’ money.

No matter the government’s promises and no matter how you spin it, the current state of our country, even here in Boksburg, is dismal.

We all know our hugely inflated Cabinet is costing taxpayers untold millions (which could be used to build schools and roads and pay education fees), so again, there is more than enough money to fix the poor and erroneous state of affairs (abbreviated to Persona).

Yet things aren’t being fixed by any persona.

When talking about our state of affairs, we are not talking just about the economy, or SA facing junk status when it comes to investment, but the general state of our towns and cities.

Doesn’t matter where you drive around in Boksburg or in Ekurhuleni, things seem to be falling apart. So much for our tax money being squandered on thickening the gravy.

For example, for months now the Advertiser has been firing complaint after complaint for the metro’s attention regarding burst water pipes, water leaks and blocked pipes.

Of course, hardly a comment was received on what action – or at least lack of action – was being taken to fix the abysmal state of affairs.

And then, out of the blue, the metro issues a statement regarding the reason for all the blocked drains, which apparently leads to pipes bursting, thus water leaking away.

And guess what? Yes, the problem, it seems, is partly to be blamed on outdated infrastructure. No kidding. Einstein was not needed to make such an assessment.

Lack of infrastructure will always equal dismal service delivery to the power of two.

According to the metro, it is sitting on at least R700-million worth of overdue sewer infrastructure upgrades and replacements.

And we have to love the statement by the metro that the implication of having such a huge backlog is that infrastructure that has outlived its usefulness continues to render service, notwithstanding the poor service arising from the use of such infrastructure.

But wait, the metro’s tale – or is that tail of excuses? – is not yet over. An increase in the population has also been blamed for adding extra pressure on infrastructure.

Now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that, since we live in days of load shedding and extreme sexual content on television, we are going to have a population explosion.

Point is, where were the imbizos to plan for aging infrastructure?

Even if the population growth was not as hectic as apparently 2,5 percent over the last 10 years (is that really all?), then surely someone, somewhere, 10 years ago must have realised over a cup of coffee that, in the future, the infrastructure would fail.

But this is the problem in this country, it seems – there is no pre-planning in order for precautionary steps to be taken to prevent huge disasters, such as the tragic waste of water in times of drought.

And now, in 2016, pipes are bursting all over the show because someone, somewhere, chose to ignore the inevitable and chose to live in a fantastical world when pipes will never erode.

Yes, granted, we accept that vandalism has contributed to the problem, but I refuse to swallow the pill that the public is to be blamed for the state of affairs by disposing of solids and plastics in the drainage system.

I have met a man on numerous occasions, who plays a prominent role in environmental conservation and who, I know, has a very good product (in the form of a tablet) that can deal with the stench at the Boksburg Lake and can clear up drainage systems quickly and efficiently.

Yet, this cost-effective tablet is, it seems, being ignored by the metro, leading to our lake still looking like a cesspool and our drainage systems becoming blocked.

So, I have no sympathy for blocked drains, and I remain perplexed as to why there still is no clear action to fix the lake, even though there are viable solutions on the table.

Now, because of the lack of proper planning which might have led to preemptive solutions, the metro might have to fork out billions to fix our infrastructure.

This will, naturally, take time, so the message is to expect many more water leaks and blocked pipes, because this situation will not be fixed soon.

At least the metro has admitted infrastructure needs to be addressed, but again it is a matter of the chicken having flown the coop.

It is the same with our President only now admitting that the Public Protector’s findings on Nkandla are binding.

Maybe a case of too late? After all, a lot of money had to be spent last year to compile different reports to support the President’s claim that the amphitheatre and a swimming pool are safety measures.

It is also sad that Sona is treated like a freak show, instead of being regarded as a serious reflection of our shoddy state of affairs.

The local elections are looming large and, by all accounts, the government needs to fix a lot of issues quickly, unless their entire campaign becomes blocked with all kinds of unsavoury disposables.

The people of this democratic country are, after all, crying out for a personality with a charismatic persona to address our state of sad affairs.