President
Zuma replied yesterday to the matters raised during the SONA debate, but not
really. Smiling broadly, and sniggering
as usual, the President assured the country and the world that everything was
fine in the Rainbow Nation, and everything would continue to be fine. He and his fellow Blacks would continue to
love all of their fellow citizens, all of whom are South Africans with equal
rights. Racism does not exist. Blah, blah, blah.
Any
thinking South African, Black, Brown, Yellow or White will know the truth. Zuma and his cronies are in power first and
foremost to steal the country blind.
That has been established as a fact by the finding of the Public
Protector, who stated unequivocally that Zuma had benefitted unduly from the
upgrades to his private residence. Zuma
still owes the public a statement from him personally, not through spokesmen or
‘investigating committees’, and the public awaits that in March, a year after
it was demanded by the Public Protector, without much hope, let it be said,
that it will be frank, honest or adequate.
Numerous members of the ANC have been found to have cheated on the
public or stolen from the institutions which they were entrusted to manage, and
hundreds more will be exposed when a new Government takes over and institutes a
comprehensive investigation into the doings of the ANC members now in charge.
And therein
lies the second imperative of the ANC under Zuma. They cannot afford to allow any other party,
except, perhaps the sycophantic IFP, to gain control of the investigative and
prosecutorial bodies of Government. That
would be a disaster for those ANC members who have been lining their pockets
and their Swiss bank accounts with public money, and who have used their
positions of power to gain shareholdings and lucrative directorships in many of
the companies that were previously viewed by the public as examples of business
honesty. In that regard, it will be
interesting to see how many of the Black directors of listed companies retain
those directorships after the change of Government. The displacing of those men and women will be
a testing time for the companies, as it becomes clear who was appointed
director for his or her business acumen, and who for their political
connections. That will certainly be a
subject for writers analysing the extent of the moral corruption of South
African society under the ANC rule.
The State
of the Nation furore has highlighted the discontent of a large proportion of
the thinking public with the incompetence and corruption that has become
endemic under ANC rule, and which has intensified under Zuma’s presidency. All of the questions raised during the State
of the Nation debate remain open. The
rather stupid speech by Lynn Brown, Minister of Energy, was purposely padded
with meaningless words and asides to enable her to avoid answering questions
about the Russian contract for the nuclear future of the country, a contract
which was vigorously denied when it was first reported but which has been
published on the Russian Government’s website.
The other Ministers, in their speeches of glorification of Zuma were
equally uninformative in answering the many questions that have been raised. Numerous other matters of grave concern to
the country were not raised during that debate, such as the flight of major
South African companies, the withdrawal of investment funds by wealthy and
average citizens alike, the striking off the list of South Africa as a feasible
investment destination by substantial foreign investors, the brain drain, of
Whites and Blacks alike, young people with skills who cannot see any future for
themselves in this kleptocracy and more mature people with skills and vast
experience, who foresee the ultimate collapse of the economy, all people
desperately needed in the country, who now turn their capabilities against the
country, the abject failure of public corporations like Eskom, SAA, SABC and
others, which exist solely by bleeding the public purse, the dishonesty of
SARS, which has been used to promote the wealth of the senior ANC members, the
rise and acceptance of systems like the new Apartheid, the ascendancy of the
South African Communist Party, the radicalisation of the trade unions, which
have no clue about how a modern economy works, the massive increase in riotous
public protests demanding that their concerns and needs be met now.
With all
the smiling reassurances given by the President in his ‘response’ to the
debate, many serious concerns still exist.
The electrical supply remains in a state of crisis. The use of armed Policemen to remove innocent
Members of Parliament remains a serious breach of the sanctity of
Parliament. The use of a cell phone
jamming device in the Chamber is a clear infringement of the Constitution. The arrest of non-demonstrating supporters of
the Opposition outside Parliament can only be an unlawful act designed to
intimidate people and Parties exercising their rights under the
Constitution. The conduct of the Speaker
remains biased and unparliamentary. The
Black Empowerment legislation continues the Apartheid policies against which
the ANC claims to stand. The continuing
high levels of incompetence in the public service and the publicly-owned
corporations continues to waste both money and opportunity. The rate of unemployment remains at more than
three times the level of most Western countries. The list goes on and on.
And through
it all, Zuma shows his glee. He has gone
from insolvent to staggeringly wealthy, at the expense of the public. He smiles through our adversity, while he
plots the next stupidity.
Garfield
said it clearly. Never trust a smiling
cat.
