We must do better at polls

When will we stop handing our fates to people who are long on promises and short on action?

For too long, our politicians, from every side of the political divide, have been more concerned with the points they could score off each other, instead of actually doing something.

In about four and a half months, it’s August – and time for municipal elections. And while we wait for the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to finish twiddling its thumbs as it decides on how the elections will be conducted, it’s time we started looking at how our municipalities are being run.

We also need changes to the space in which ward councillors operate. If they are from a different party to the one in control, getting work done is a nightmare.

At best, they can call or e-mail to say, hi guys, there is a pothole on Pothole Avenue in Pothole Suburb, please send someone to fix it. And all that can happen after that is a waiting game, followed by the follow-up game, followed by the waiting game as the responsible entity drifts from pothole to pothole.

Not too long ago, someone planted an aloe in a street which had developed a pothole, then turned into a crater.

For months, it stood with a few tatty, faded traffic cones and ratty warning tape, with the grass growing in it. Three days after the photo with a well-planted aloe appeared on Chris Yelland’s Twitter feed, it was gone and the crater filled in with gravel.

Two days after that it was back to a crater again. I know, because I made a point of driving past the aloe. It was smile-worthy and, of course, once it was gone, it was just like any other black hole for happiness.

Of course, it was so apt because of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s wont for carrying around his representation of the economy.

PS, Minister, do you think the SSA was only watching you recently? We did the story in 2019. You were being bugged… I digress. He knows what I’m talking about.

At least the aloe planted in the street was a glorious 1.5m tall specimen, diametrically opposite to our economy and the minister’s own little aloe.

Nonetheless, it proved, once shamed into action, Joburg Roads could get the job done.

But why did it need to be shamed?

I have little doubt the order to fix it came from on high, because it showed local government was falling down.
Much like City Power which, at any given time, is apparently sending hordes of technicians out all over the city to attend to outages.

Some are undoubtedly caused by theft, others due to planned maintenance but for the most part, who knows why.

Yesterday, Marshalltown, Lenasia and Dainfern areas were affected in a quick snapshot. And I do feel sorry for the media account managers. They take an incredible amount of abuse for something they are not personally responsible for.

And it shouldn’t be.

Local government should be operating in such a way we don’t notice it. It should be smooth, unobtrusive and effective. It’s not happening and it’s our fault because we keep drinking the Kool-Aid the parties keep offering us.

It’s time we did better. We owe it to ourselves.