Time to give ANC a royal send-off?

It is ironic that the ruling ANC – which styles itself as democratic, egalitarian and socialist-aspiring – should be constructing a new royalty which would be the envy of any of the past colonial empires.

That royalty is the hierarchy of the ANC and its family and connections, who believe they have a divine right to rule until, as former president Jacob Zuma once put it, “Jesus returns”.

And royalty is entitled to live high and fat off the public purse, is it not? Not only do our ANC “deployees” to national and provincial governments and SOEs (state-owned enterprises) enjoy top-drawer salaries and perks, 200 of them get special “VIP protection”, which costs an average of R10 million per person per year.

For President Cyril Ramaphosa, as he said in parliament this week, this expenditure is quite acceptable.

This, in a country where crime spirals out of control and where the police don’t have enough resources to chase criminals.

Another instance of special, taxpayer-funded treatment for our “royal family” was up for debate in the Free State parliament this week, as opposition parties tore into premier Mxolisi Dukwana for spending R3.5 million of government money earlier this year on the funeral for Free State MEC for education Tate Makgoe.

As befitting a member of the new aristocracy, there were red roses worth R59 000 at the funeral and 20 couches hired for the family and assorted “dignitaries” for R28 000 – not to mention the R1.2 million spent on food and drink to give him a suitable send-off.

With this sort of largesse available for the comrades when it is “time to eat”, it is small wonder that aspirant politicos are not beyond hiring hitmen to bump off competitors.

Perhaps voters need to ask themselves next year: do we need these new nobles, or it is time for a revolution?