It’s hard not to be cynical about any government initiative

It’s hard not to be cynical about any initiative undertaken by the government. It appears everything is done for the sake of being seen to be doing something, not necessarily for effecting real change.

The recent coming together of business leaders and government to discuss among, other things, the electricity crisis, crime and transport is a case in point.

South Africans cannot be blamed for doing an eyeroll at the thought of another round of talks when their lives are impacted negatively every day about the issues that government and business choose to only talk about.

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At issue is the fact that new thinking and a new approach is required to solve this country’s problems and those will not come from a meeting between government and business when they’ve both been around to witness the country sink to the depths that it has and only just talked. No action.

When was the last time government or business looked at the privatisation of certain state functions as an honest option to the current mess that is state-owned-enterprises? The communists, unions and the ruling party will be the first to scream blue murder at the mention of the privatisation of electricity, water and even road infrastructure ownership.

But that is because of the one reason they always allude to, that the poorest of the poor will suffer the most when the private sector only chases profits over the welfare of the poor.

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They will be throwing their toys out of the cot because their one sure source of state money for their comrades will have been shut down.

With Eskom as a state-owned enterprise, the poorest of the poor have not only seen the price of electricity shoot through the roof, but have witnessed the provision of that same electricity drop down from 24 hours a day to less than 16 hours on the worst days.

In the meantime, countless CEOs and other executives have earned millions from taxpayer money and live lavishly while the poorest of the poor continue to suffer.

It has become quite common for rural folk and township residents to buy electricity for as little as R20 at a time simply to keep their lights on at night, not for cooking or warmth in these cold months.

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Anyone who has driven on the N3 or N1 roads recently knows that getting to their destination safely is a tricky endeavour because the number of trucks on these national roads has grown exponentially since the government allowed the theft of rail infrastructure in broad daylight during the Covid pandemic.

But those roads are the best maintained roads in the country because they are in private hands. Although toll fees have become exorbitantly high over the last couple years, South Africans continue to use those roads over the tollfree ones, that are riddled with potholes.

Where citizens are forced to travel on government-maintained roads, dodging potholes becomes a priority.

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So, when President Cyril Ramaphosa chooses to sing the praises of the business community for sitting down to talk to his government, the sighs of resignation that he hears are because the privatisation of these essential services is not even on the table.

And the talks become more about preventing the current situation from getting worse than about providing real solutions for the country. Security, health and water provision is already privatised anyway, with only those that can afford buying them going for them.

People are buying simple drinking water from retailers because government has failed them. Things will only change when unorthodox solutions are put on the table.

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