Firefighters try to extinguish a burning truck after it was burnt and looted during protests on 11 July 2021 in Durban. Picture: Gallo Images/Volksblad/Mlungisi Louw
In a move which surprised no one on Thursday, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula tweeted a video of a cute kid urging people to “listen and be safe”, while economic terrorists were holding the country to ransom by blockading the N3 highway.
His reaction typified the inept, rudderless way the ANC government reacts to grievous threats to state security.
Last year, when KwaZulu-Natal exploded into what was later characterised by President Cyril Ramaphosa as an insurrection, our security forces were nowhere to be seen and were caught flat-footed from an intelligence perspective.
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The same happened with the latest closure of the N3 at Van Reenen’s Pass, when scores of trucks – apparently driven by members of the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF) – were parked on the highway to highlight the employment of foreigners in preference to South Africans.
The ATDF claims to be apolitical – yet last year came out in support of former president Jacob Zuma, raising the worrying possibility that this may be a prequel to yet more rebellion centred on KZN.
Our government seems unable to use any measure of force to deal with such blatant attacks on our country.
So it is no wonder we’re well on the way to failed state status.
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