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Simply not getting it

08 February 2008 Gareth Stokes

If there is one message we can take from the continuing nationwide power crisis it is this. Government is simply not getting the message. They need to come to terms with the fact that a country simply doesn’t run itself. It takes a concerted effort from d

Imagine for a moment how fantastic South Africa would be if it were effectively run. If home affairs, traffic departments, police stations and municipalities operated at even 90% efficiency then the only queue we would have to worry about would be the queue of foreigners waiting to get in. Instead, those with the financial means are trampling each other on their way out. The first thing government needs to do is take senior management of all public departments to task for poor delivery – and that means clamping down on senior ministers too.

We will still meet our growth targets!

And there is no better place to start than with the minister of public enterprises, Alec Erwin. We remember a wonderful Zapiro cartoon which was published shortly after the last energy crisis the esteemed ministered presided over. A that time the Western Cape was plunged into darkness due to an ‘accident’ at the Koeberg nuclear reactor. The picture (a poke at the “putting your foot in your mouth” adage) shows Erwin with a bolt through his lips after he publicly claimed the ‘accident’ was an act of sabotage.

His latest statements deserve a re-print of that cartoon. Erwin has gone on record that the current energy crisis will not seriously hamper South Africa’s economic growth prospects. Erwin told journalists that “the growth of South Africa’s economy at the current healthy levels can continue.” What worries FAnews Online is that newly elected ANC president, Jacob Zuma, repeated Erwin’s sentiment in parrot fashion at the World Economic Conference in Davos, Switzerland. The ANC top brass firmly believe that the current power crisis is a tribute to their success (sic).

But economists disagree. Investment Solutions economist Chris Hart told The Times that “economic growth could even dip below the 3% level.” He warned that Eskom’s power cuts amounted to forced sanctions on the economy. The consensus is that a 2% drop in GDP is plausible – and that government’s optimistic target of 6% GDP growth by 2014 is little more than a pipe dream.

What water crisis?

The current energy crisis should not have come as a surprise. When Eskom was first told about the looming power crunch (as far back as 1998) government shrugged their collective shoulders and pointed to the then oversupply situation, refusing funds for further capacity. Today, with most of the country in darkness, some thought it sensible to remind government that power is not the only infrastructure item that has been neglected in the last decade.

Concerned South Africans are now raising questions about the state of the country’s water supply, including contamination of water tables, ageing dams and poorly managed purifying plants. A collapse in the water supply system poses a far more sinister threat than inconsistent electricity. How is it possible that after living through the power hell of January, the minister of water affairs can simply dismiss these warnings?

Has the ruling party learned nothing about the consequence of neglecting long-term planning? Minister of water affairs and forestry, Lindiwe Hendricks is on record that South Africa does not face a water crisis and that our supplies are safe from contamination. We sincerely hope the minister wakes up before it’s too late.

Dangerous schools or scare mongering

The country’s education system is in tatters too. It seems that learners have absolutely no pride in the education they receive – nor any reason to believe the standards they achieve are worth crowing about. Our schools have become dangerous places for students and teachers alike. And the result is many potential teachers are choosing professions where their service and sacrifice will be appreciated and better rewarded.

The extent of the problem was highlighted in the results of a survey: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. The survey placed South Africa dead last where school safety is concerned. It shows that a mere 23% of local students feel safe at school – a sad reflection on the area of society that should be generating the skills this country so desperately needs to succeed. These results were not intended as an attack on government; but rather a reflection of what South Africa’s school children experience. Yet government’s department of education had hardly paused to consider the evidence before damning the report as sensation seeking journalism.

We have included government’s responses to three recent dilemmas. Quite clearly the senior cabinet ministers and director generals are simply not getting the message. The serious challenges to South Africa’s development cannot be ignored and dismissed. And reports highlighting problems are not attacks on individuals; but rather pleas for help from concerned citizens. So here’s another one from us. “Please get your respective ‘houses’ in order!”

Editor’s thoughts:
The lack of direction, leadership and accountability is on display to the public at every government department. We have been in public services offices in Pretoria where entire departments bide their time playing cards instead of working. Why is the South African public allowing this incompetence to continue? Add you comment below, or send an email to gareth@fanews.co.za

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