We have all been tricked to treat the greedy

Walk the Line column - your local editor's perspective on all things local

Walk the Line column

In last week’s column, it was mentioned how what is happening in South Africa sort of resembles the trick or treat tradition as practised during Halloween.

But this tradition has no entertainment value, neither is it a joke. So let us weave a sordid tale of politicians and businessmen who have wandered this land as ghouls with an insatiable appetite for destruction.

You may wonder what does trick or treat have to do with us here in South Africa, since this is a popular tradition in the land of the stars and stripes.

Consider that the tradition deals with ‘treating’the dead with gifts just in case they would trick you with some or other cunning evil plan or scheme.

Sadly, for a long time in our country of ‘monsters’ dressed in fine suits, and driving luxury vehicles, we have not been treated in any way form or shape, but instead, we have been tricked with cruel intent.

The ones who have been treated are the ones who have also tricked us, leaving us high and dry without any candy, without any joy or very little pleasure.

This is the sad tale of SA’s Halloween plight. Consider for example the latest damning investigation into fraud and reckless business practices at VBS Mutual Bank.

This details how 53 persons of interest were unjustifiably paid R1.89-billion between 2015 and 2018.

This heist might not have been sophisticated, but it might be one of the most brazen in the country’s history, said a report commissioned by the Reserve Bank. So yes, almost R2-billion was stolen to fund an alleged corrupt spending spree.

This latest revelation of shock and horror follows the continuing grim revelations of state capture, which has resulted in a new finance minister being appointed.

The tradition of tricking the nation to treat self-interest is of nightmare proportions, where the ghosts of the past simply do not go to rest as deals and meetings with the Guptas are brought into the light.

Unlike the character of Dracula, which doesn’t enjoy the sunshine, our ‘monsters’ fear not the light but continue to loot any time of the day.

We have all been tricked, and the treats we were handing out has come at a price as the ghosts of Christmas past and Christmas present will most likely leave us with many pennies less this festive season.

We continue to pay ridiculous fuel levies, taxes, and other expenses such as sugar tax just because the greedy continue to devour the candy, leaving us with crumbs to survive.

The trick of our Halloween reality is merciless in design and execution, and the treat received was mischievously extracted from the millions of unsuspecting citizens.

Ten years of trick or treat has left us with a broken economy, with record high fuel prices, record high food prices, and the tale is not done yet.

We still hear the chains rattle of the ‘dead’ – for how else to describe the soulless nature of those who loot at a whim to destroy this land – as they drag our economy deeper into the abyss?

And still, they knock on our doors for more candy, even though we know that our treats are part of the trick.

Yet despite all the treats, the ghosts that haunt, and the monsters that lurk, do not recede, for they are the reality of our nation, and they still shape our today and tomorrow.

It is a sad state of affairs, and despite all the promises of government, back home in Boksburg many continue to suffer, so do businesses, for our pockets are empty, as chills of greater pending disasters creep up our spine.

All the while all those who have tricked us are now enjoying the treats, laughing all the way to the bank, while we have to navigate the shadows of the night that leaves us restless and dreaming of distant shores where candy is still plenty.