by Yagyah Adams
Recently I met a schoolmate at the butcher while buying sausage. He was upset with me as he said that I didn’t know what the butcher adds to the sausage and said he made his own sausage at home.
He is health conscious, so I admire his efforts, despite the fact that he had been a notorious drug addict and thief for decades until he got cancer and decided to repent and repair.
Why am I sharing this cautionary tale?
Often, we witness politicians talk about foreign investment and economic plans, etc. Oddly they fail to understand simple truths.
Generally, people do not trust politicians, as indicated by a 40% turn-out of eligible voters. Instead of talking about “big ideas”, I suggest politicians focus on basic realities.
For example, act against those who make our immediate environment a nightmare with antisocial behaviour. Minimise so-called “human rights activists” who protect criminals and squatters.
Tourism and job creation are tough enough in a milieu where criminals harass business trying to create opportunity.
Nobody wants to invest where criminality and corruption dominate. These are issues of logic and rationality and talking about foreign investment when criminality dictates is a sick joke.
When the majority of state departments, municipalities and parastatals, etc. under the governance of the leading political party fail to achieve clean audits for decades, it shows that stupidity is winning.
When paying clients cannot access electricity and water, the government should not talk about 5G, electric cars or the 4th Industrial Revolution as it sounds stupid. Burdening taxpayers when billions are wasted or stolen has no value.
Why talk about an integrated rapid transport system when fewer trains operate than during apartheid and buses are burnt regularly amidst the endless taxi violence?
When politicians hide cash in furniture, and then talk about foreign investment, it sounds a lot like an old addict talking to regular folk about health and religion. The conversation cannot be taken seriously.
I suggest, no politician or official be allowed to travel when a meeting can be on Skype until our electricity and water supply is stable and the unemployment and crime rate is reduced by 90%.
When 20000 locals are murdered yearly, it is evident that SA is not a safe destination and tourists will be killed. Unless we force politicians and officials, they will not change their behaviour and fix basic service delivery issues instead of endless “pie in the sky” useless pomposity.
* Cllr Yagyah Adams, Cape Muslim Congress.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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