Every year the nation is subjected to the farcical State of the Nation address, and in Ekurhuleni, we are also subjected to the State of the City speech.
It is a time of fanfare for VIP’s who attend, splashing out of fancy outfits and putting on the best smiles as all is well in the Land of Oz.
2019 is, of course, going to be an interesting year, considering the national elections, and all the Machiavellian political tactics and strategies will definitely determine the tone of the budget, and of the state of the nation/city addresses.
After all, politics is politics, and all that you hear in the Rainbow Nation of fading colours must be taken with several bags of salt.
The reality is that not even the great masters of the pen such as Shakespeare of Charles Dickens will be able to write speeches that will cover up the alarming cracks of poor governance.
Not even a rousing speech from Winston Churchill would be able to inspire us to a rally in optimism, for the state of the nation and the City of Ekurhuleni remains bedraggled and shoddy.
Yes, this is the year of the elections, and already thousands of jobs have been promised along with new houses, hopefully, new schools, and a better opportunity for all and a glorious new dawn.
The bravado shown by the ruling government during the election manifesto launch, during which Zuma was pulled into the fold, remains but a whisper in a growing storm of devastation.
All the dancing, singing and cheering is designed to distract the people from the realities that nothing concrete has happened regarding state capture (not one conviction), that all the parastatals are still bleeding the country dry, including the Gautrain, and that we still sit with a bloated cabinet and a public sector.
And by the way, it seems in South Africa no one can drive a train anymore.
Back home, the state of Boksburg is simply shocking.
Cable theft is rampant, and it seems the metro has absolutely no idea how to address such crime affecting the Witkoppie substation.
Now the Ward 22 councillor Ruhan Robinson has taken an initiative to run a petition against cable theft with the aim of implementing change. The petition calls for a solution from the Ekurhuleni municipality’s side to prevent cable theft.
All good and well, but consider how this same metro could not prevent all the tablets and computers being stolen from the new smart school in Tsakane, a week after its official opening.
Boksburg has also witnessed, in the space of several months, three incidents of mob justice, proving the community is growing increasingly frustrated with the levels of crime.
Expect more protest actions in Boksburg this year, as seen at the start of 2019 with residents of Joe Slovo taking to the streets.
The people are tired of a lack of service delivery, this is despite more promises that the metro will prioritise service delivery during the 2018 State of the City address. We are still waiting.
And how about the state of the environment of Boksburg? I’m not even talking about the state of the roads, but rather the non-existent levels of cleanliness of especially in the CBD.
The metro has also thrown partial blame back to the community, urging everyone not to litter and use the streets as a dumping site. Granted this is true, but the reality is that the state of our city leaves us ashamed, and it seems the metro is losing fast its grip of control.
We will not even talk about the state of the public hospitals, which is the stuff made of hellish nightmares.
Such is the state of things in our city and in our land, and no promise wrapped up as propaganda can for the moment enlarge or brighten the silver lining around the enormous dark cloud.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and we have been promised a wonderful dessert. Yet, all that I taste is the dirt of Africa being trampled upon.
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