Letter to the Editor
The Witness
Via email: letters@witness.co.za
Dear Sir:
Whilst addressing the Cape Town Press Club, Mr Moeletsi Mbeki made significant observations about the way this country is being run. He asserted that “all is not well” in South Africa, and I whole-heartedly agree. The tone of his observations can be debated at some other time, but the bottom line is that South Africa is in crisis and is teetering on the brink of destruction.
Seventeen years into our democratic freedom we seem to have started going slowly backwards; regressing into poverty and inequality of the highest order. The ANC is taking us for a ride and really undermining the collective dreams, hopes and aspirations of all South Africans for a better life.
I agree with the observation made Mr Moeletsi Mbeki that, “We have to ask ourselves what is the future of SA. It is not the ANC any more. Like all liberation parties that have been in government, they are very corrupt and very incompetent”. The ANC has deviated from its 1912 founding principles of people-centred development and has selfishly embraced the beneficiation of the elite.
We can no longer sit back and allow things to get any worse. As is, we are en-route to becoming the next Zimbabwe. The ill-conceived advocacy of the nationalization of our mines, and aspects of the Protection of Information Bill, quicken our pace towards collapse and failure. We could become a failed state sooner than we realize. Patriotism calls on all of us to lend our fullest support to government, but that does not in any way mean we should be neglected and left without any real solutions.
We need to urgently address the inequalities in our education system. Schools are under-resourced and teachers are under-capacitated. Healthcare needs to be drastically improved. Crime must be dealt with urgently. The housing backlog must be attended to speedily. Jobs must be created; a conducive and enabling environment must be created for business to fast-track this priority. Labour brokers must be strictly regulated or banned outright. Rural development must take centre stage. We need to fight drug and alcohol abuse. We must deal decisively with teenage pregnancy and up the tempo in the fight against HIV/Aids. We must fight fraud and corruption. The list of what needs to be done is endless.
It seems to me that the ruling party and President Zuma lack the genuine political will to deliver services to all South Africans. With each day that passes, and as we continue to offer our support to the President and his efforts, it becomes crystal clear that we are betting on the wrong horse. President Zuma’s era is most probably our greatest era of failure post-1994.
In his response to the 2010 state of the nation address, IFP President, Prince Buthelezi, rightly pointed out to President Zuma, “We must stop insulting the intelligence of our people, especially the poorest of the poor. We are experiencing social ruptures, widespread protests and ever-rising dissatisfaction because what was promised has not been delivered. This cannot be addressed by promising more, unless we wish to see the social unrest rising out of control into a wave which wipes us all out.” More than a year later, President Zuma has failed to listen, for nothing has changed.
In the IFP, we feel the pain of ordinary South Africans, because their pain is our pain. We live amongst the people and listen to them. We provide solutions that are based in reality and pragmatism, and not on some failed ideological dreams that enrich the few at the expense of the poor.
The IFP remains a credible and viable alternative. We approach 2014 with renewed energy and a lifetime’s worth of experience and commitment to right the wrongs of this country. In its 36 years of existence, the IFP has remained the only truthful and genuine custodian of the 1912 principles, values and beliefs.
MKHULEKO HLENGWA
IFP Youth Brigade National Chairperson
