ANC hot air won’t solve SA crises

It’s not difficult to come up with a list of the grave problems confronting South Africa today: Load shedding, crime, soaring cost of living, ongoing corruption and looting. It should be comforting, therefore, that our rulers, the ANC, did manage to consider these issues during its national executive committee (NEC) meeting, which took place between 7 and 10 July.

The fact that the organisation, through its secretary general, Fikile Mbalula, took a week to summarise the NEC’s “firm decisions” and communicate them to the public, underlines the lack of urgency the ANC has in tackling our various crises.

ANC NEC: Tone-deaf praise for grid stability

Even as people were suffering through another bout of stage 6 blackouts, Mbalula praised the “tireless efforts” of all involved in ensuring grid stability and assured all South Africans of the ANC’s commitment to ending load shedding. The soaring cost of living was discussed and the NEC “considered a series of interventions to curb this trend”.

ALSO READ: Mbalula reiterates load shedding can be ended by December

Reflection on crime

The NEC also “reflected on the seriousness of crime in South Africa and how it erodes the fundamental freedoms and hard-won human rights of individuals and communities as enshrined in the constitution”.

Reference was made to strengthening community police forums, the “construction mafia” and its disrup-tion, while condemning the “anarchist behaviour” of those burning trucks around the country.

ALSO READ: Malicious damage to property? No! Nail truck arsonists with terrorism

ANC integrity commission dragging feet on corruption

As far as corruption is concerned, we will all have been warmed by the ANC’s commitment to “consolidating the terms of reference and general operational issues” of the party’s integrity commission, appointed five months ago. So – no rush there, then…

ALSO READ: South Africa was greylisted due to endemic corruption

Words simply won’t do

The ANC seems to think that throwing words at something constitutes a solution and clearly, in the minds of the party’s leadership, that should be enough to satisfy our citizens. It is not. People want real efforts to deal with the matters which are turning South Africa into a failed state. Hot air won’t do.

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