Don’t blame Mbalula for truck anarchy

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula is not, as we have often said, our favourite minister… apart from his entertainment value, that is. However, to blame him – as some citizens and commentators are doing – for the war of terror being waged against trucks and their drivers on our highways would be wrong.

Though Mbalula would be out of his depth in a puddle, this crisis is national in nature and threatens the very heart of our democracy and economic stability.

The fact that those behind these attacks have not been identified, let alone been brought to book, shows two things.

First, our national policing and intelligence services are woefully unable to do their jobs.

Second, the chickens of lawlessness unleashed repeatedly over the years by the government are now coming home to roost.

The reason we have such anarchy – and such deliberate flouting of the laws across all sectors of South African society – is that people see evidence every day that illegal behaviour seldom has any real consequences.

So, public violence is tolerated and becomes the norm … but quickly degenerates into sabotage and terrorism, which is what is happening at the moment on our roads.

The government needs to act now to stop this anarchy.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.