Our politicians wear masks of excuses

Our politicians are experts in self-isolating themselves from reality and, from the comfort of their palatial homes or Range Rovers, blame everything but themselves for the woes of contemporary South Africa.

But they will have nowhere to hide when it comes to the coronavirus. Their mask of excuses will do little to protect them from the truth, which will become more and more apparent as the contagion wreaks havoc on our country.

Simply put, decades of service delivery failures – caused by corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement – are about to be thrown into stark relief as the government tries to impose its will on a populace who have lived through a litany of failed promises.

After 26 years, this country still has a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots (and those in the former group are no longer dominated by whites, it must be said). Many of the areas in which the majority of South Africans (who are black) live do not have decent housing and running water.

These conditions of squalor are exactly where a pandemic like the coronavirus thrives.

The problem now is that the very structures and departments responsible for this abysmal state of affairs – the cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) ministry and our inept municipalities – are the ones who are on the frontline of the fight against the virus.

And Corruption Watch, the non-profit organisation working to fight corruption in South Africa, puts it starkly: “Make no mistake: lives that would have otherwise been saved will now be lost as a direct consequence of corruption.”

Sadly, when the deaths start spiralling, someone will seek to put all the blame on “apartheid” or “privilege”.

That heritage of inequality does not, alone, explain why we are heading to become a failed state.

The ANC’s legacy will be determined by the outcome of this crisis.

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