South Africans are ceaselessly bombarded with extreme frustrations on a daily basis because of inept governance.
Writing a column, one doesn’t want to add to this doom and gloom state of mind.
Often though, what should be considered serious government matters, sadly turn out comical.
You be the judge.
Briefly, it all started with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to strengthen the capacity of the State and increase accountability.
He signed performance agreements with members of the national executive. In his 2020 State of the Nation Address, the Prez boldly declared these agreements would be made public so that the people could hold those who they elected into office to account.
“We see these performance agreements as the cornerstone of a new culture of transparency and accountability, where those who are given the responsibility to serve – whether as elected office bearers or public servants – do what is expected of them,” he was quoted as saying.
But now there is a big brouhaha as the Presidency refuses to release the performance assessment outcomes for Cabinet ministers conducted between April and July this year.
Unsurprisingly, the Democratic Alliance (DA) seized upon this to force the issue and gain political points.
But its Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application for the performance reviews outcomes to be published has been declined by the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa.
Apparently, the reviews are regarded as classified material, a “veil of secrecy” the DA contests.
A storm in a teacup as far as I am concerned, since the Presidency itself inadvertently gave a clear indication of what the outcomes were.
“The performance assessments of Cabinet ministers will remain confidential because President Ramaphosa does not want the information to be used as a ‘political’ tool to make his colleagues look bad,” Ramokgopa was reported as saying.
That is the comical part. Do they know the meaning of the term “reading between the lines”? Obviously not.
A far better and cost-effective way to gauge performance assessments is to simply consult the South African populace – those with more than two pumpkin pips for brains that is.
With the country staggering from one crisis to the next the public can instantly provide our President leader with a very accurate report card.
With the economy at a standstill, unrelenting loadshedding, port and Transnet crises, crippling cost-of-living, a collapsing public healthcare system and record levels of unemployment and crime, it is one big fail.
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