Failed Milestones Of The ANC
The view expressed by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa that electricity is becoming a luxury (The Mercury, July 22) should mark another milestone in the terminal descent of the ANC into political oblivion.
Those milestones are in the ANC’s much-revered Freedom Charter. But one by one, the ANC has failed them.
- “There shall be work and security.” Instead, joblessness has become the norm under the ANC. Rampant crime has made insecurity another norm as the Police service has become impotent and corrupt.
- “There shall be houses and comfort; no one shall go hungry.” Instead, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition and informal settlements are hallmarks of the ANC’s tenure. Now with electricity at unaffordable prices—when it is available—cold comfort is the norm for millions.
- “The people shall share in the country’s wealth.” Instead, unprecedented levels of impoverishment prevail, attested to by the dependence of 20 million on social grants. Instead, an elite enjoys obscene levels of affluence. Instead, large tranches of our resources are now foreign-owned.
- “All shall be equal before the law.” Flouting the law does not apply to those in high office. Instead, they are allowed to ‘step aside’ or be redeployed within the corrupt party which prioritises party loyalty above respect for the law and “the will of the people.”
- “The colour bar shall be abolished.” Under B-BBEE and racial quotas, the colour bar has been reinstated and reinforced in ways far more discriminatory than under apartheid.
- “The government shall encourage national talent for the enhancement of life.” Instead, education standards have plummeted and the best talents have emigrated.
To cap it all, the ANC has totally reneged on and failed its own election slogan: “A better life for all.” In a normal society, there would be overwhelming public pressure for a government that has failed so profoundly to resign. But instead the ANC seeks a diversion in the form of a ‘national dialogue’ in an attempt to sustain itself in power.
For how much longer and how much further will this fiasco be allowed to continue?
