Quaanita Hunter, a senior journalist at News 24, in an interview with Mike Sham of the State of the Nation podcasts made some interesting observations concerning the country’s prospects, going forward.
She observed that not only the country, but the ANC under Ramaphosa in particular, are going through a transition period whereby they are gradually coming to a realisation that they can no longer rule this country as an all-powerful autocratic group who can dictate policy, solely in the interests of protecting the cadres and the party faithful.
They now have to, at the very least; take part in a democratic process, whereby many other parties have a say in how the country is run and governed, and they can no longer use PATRONAGE AS A MEANS OF GETTING THEIR WAY. They also now have to deal with criticism from all sides, as opposition ministers have the right to demand accountability for government ministers and deputy ministers’ actions.
Thus; every government official, from the President, down through all the levels of government, including municipal officials, as well as corporate leaders and officials in the private sector, have to deal with scrutiny of their actions and policies; according to the dictates of the Constitution.
Ms Hunter observed how the ANC had ruled the country by sowing discord and mistrust. They achieved this by appointing incompetent corrupt people into high positions and moving them around like pieces on a chessboard when they failed to perform their duties. In fact, they were being AWARDED FOR INCOMPETENCE! This strategy; in some kind of lopsided way, together with rampant patronage, was what allowed the ANC to remain in power for the last 30 years.
Of course, the other factor that the ANC employed very successfully was keeping the masses of poor people in the country DIRT POOR, due to their persistent maintenance of the WELFARE STATE WHICH TRAPPED POOR UNEDUCATED PEOPLE in a persistent cycle of putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way of entrepreneurial endeavour, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of unemployment, and a totally inadequate education system which made them totally dependent on social grants.
Now that the GNU appears to be settling down, and as the inevitable squabbling takes place, as happens in all multiparty coalitions, it is becoming very clear that while the new government appointees get down to performing their duties, there is a stark difference between how the merit-based appointees perform; compared to how the opposition parties, such as the EFF, and the MK fail to do so, as the latter are focused on fomenting disruption, making racially discriminatory comments and Marxist/socialist type utterances.
Likewise, leaders and department heads in SOEs will have to stop depending on massive government bailouts, which only seem to lead to even more corruption and will have to knuckle down and focus on making merit-based appointments, based on leadership skills and talent and on innovations that lead to real growth in the economy.
Now, as the Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers tackle their new portfolios, they seem to be getting on with the job of making the country work better, by removing impediments such as excessive bureaucracy, and red tape, improving infrastructure, fighting criminality and fostering a climate for job creation and service delivery.
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