Clamp down on lockdown-busting officials, Ramaphosa

Some of us have survived to tell stories about brutal running battles with white security forces, firing on unarmed black civilians.

Stones and petrol bombs were the only defence available for besieged township residents.

Despite our violent past, this week we celebrated Freedom Day to cherish our smooth transition to constitutional democracy – one of SA’s many world-celebrated historical legacies.

Although this took decades of hardship and strife – unlike in other countries – our democracy did not require a full-scale war to attain.

While some aspects of the World Trade Centre breakthrough in the Kempton Park negotiations will forever be up for fierce debates, the foresight of our leaders should be commended.

In its aftermath, a war would have left a massive trail of human catastrophe, with the infrastructure not spared.

While reflecting on this as a positive, apartheid scars will forever remain as a case study for future generations. Think of the Sharpeville, Uitenhage, Boipatong and Bisho massacres, as well as the many assassinations, including the cold-blooded murders of human rights lawyers Griffiths and wife Victoria Mxenge.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni – a man with first-hand experience of warfare in his country – this week drew parallels between the global Covid-19 pandemic and war.

He reminded Ugandans in lockdown that the world was currently “in a state of war – a war without guns, bullets, soldiers, cease-fire agreements, a war room or sacred zones”.

“This is not a time to cry about bread and butter like spoilt children,” said Museveni. “After all, the holy book tells us that man shall not live by bread alone. Let’s obey and follow instructions.

“In a war situation, nobody asks anyone to stay indoors. You stay indoors by choice.

“In fact, if you have a basement, you hide there for as long as hostilities persist.

“During a war, you don’t insist on your freedom. You willingly give it up in exchange for survival.”

Museveni’s message resonated with that of President Cyril Ramaphosa – a commander-in-chief the country so much needed during the crisis – conceding in his Freedom Day speech that the world would never be the same again after Covid-19.

The coronavirus, said Ramaphosa, “has changed the face of humankind”.

He said Covid-19 has “reminded us of our mortality, also how interconnected we all are”.

“If we didn’t realise it before, we know now that our interdependence is key to our very survival as people.

“We have known worse and we have prevailed.

“Keep our arms locked together in a column of defence against this pandemic, as a united people.

“Use it to reaffirm our resolve to fundamentally change how our society functions and emerge a better, more equal country,” said Ramaphosa.

Had they received a heavy dose of political education as part of a compulsory induction, surely some of our new crop of leaders in government would not have found the trappings of public office as a blank cheque to abuse of power – an embarrassment for Ramaphosa.

Despicable actions by the disgraced Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, councillors and mayors, call for firmer sanction.

By virtue of their positions, these government officials who seem to have forgotten our hard-earned freedom, have found it convenient to host dinner parties where the downing of whiskies has become a norm during lockdown.

If the rot starts from the head, how possible is it to hold police officers involved in illegally smuggling liquor or taking bribes, to account?

Brian Sokutu.

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