That Juju cares for the poor is just trash

Had an intrepid journalist not dug up the dirt over Julius Malema’s self-indulgent and luxuriant partying, the communities he serves would have still believed he was sensitive to their cause.

We can only hope the bottles and uneaten food were placed in blue recycling bags, that ironically, and without Juju’s knowledge, could have helped street people in some measure.

But he probably doesn’t know about “blue bag” day, when recyclable items in distinctive blue plastic bags in some cities are put out for collection that weekly line the streets for municipal pick-up trucks.

But before the trucks’ arrival, street people attack the bags for leftover food, probably their only meal for a week.

And for extra cash, they dig for glass and paper, stacking them in supermarket trolleys, wheeling them to recycling depots, an agonising long way away.

You see them sweating and manhandling the unwieldy trolleys on busy streets and coping with unsympathetic motorists, who force them onto sidewalks not built for wheels.

There must have been a good dollop of leftover food in Juju’s bags – partygoers prefer liquids above solids – so the street people would have had a ball tasting foreign food – to them, that is – like caviar, flame-gilled rib-eye steak, French fries (not slap chips for our Juju) and Camembert cheese.

He could’ve instructed his idle bodyguards to make up parcels of these delicacies and place them in the blue bags, ready for hungry mouths to savour.

His credibility as a caring person would’ve been assured.

Sadly, he lost an ideal opportunity, proving he isn’t your typical lying politician who promises the world with smart rhetoric, but in reality suffers memory loss at crunch time.

Not once did he consider the ramifications of wasting a load of boodle on luxuries and getting sozzled on the most expensive liquor.

Maybe, just maybe, he has learnt a lesson and before partying up a storm next time, he’ll keep the poor in mind – even launching a special fund for street people, administered by NGOs, to prevent the dehumanising practice of foraging.

#BlueBagsMustFall a good call.

And, Julius, Klippies is tastier than Glenlivet. And cheaper.

Cliff Buchler.

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