When did our country become too expensive for us to live in?

The cost of living in South Africa has truly become unbearable. On my new year, new me vibe, I decided to head down to a car dealership to get me a new SUV… Safe to say, that dream is sadly on ice.

There is just no way I can part with that sort of money for four wheels, that I must still fill up with the R600 million petrol, to insure it at R100 million a month and still pretend that I enjoy the new whip when I can hardly breathe.

It is not just the costs of vehicles, it’s everything. From housing to education. It is food to security. It is just everything. I remember setting my eyes on the school of my dreams for the five-year-old – at R6 000 a month.

When did our country become too expensive for us to live in?

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If anything can go wrong with the functioning of our country, it is surely, going wrong. Political parties have zero to nothing to offer us, we are held in the firm and unwavering grip of the crime.

Keeping the lights on and water running in taps is so expensive it should be considered a luxury purchase, albeit we are lucky to have if the lights stay on throughout an entire day. We basically pay for services we do not fully use, but our monthly bills remain the same.

Each year, the ANC hosts its anniversary events, resolutions promised to the country are hot air. It has become repetitive, and expected. The opposition parties have no function if they do not hinge their argument of what the ANC has not done … silence from the ANC leads to their silence.

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And because of this, civil society has stepped in where government and politicians have failed. While politicians are always camera-ready, the unsung heroes of neighbourhoods are feeding the homeless, cleaning the litter filled streets, fighting crime and forming community watch groups.

This is what we are living, it all just seems hopeless being here. We live to work, just for us to pay for real Third World living – something has to give; we honestly deserve better.

The ANC and the supporting acts are diminishing the hope of enjoying our own country.

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