There is nothing surprising about the living conditions and the standard of education and healthcare endured by the poorest of South Africa's citizens.
Yet hardly a day goes by without one or another senior government official expressing shock and despair at the lives lived by the poor.
Most recently, the alarming statement by the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga - that problems dating back to last year in crisis-hit schools have not been resolved - added yet another voice to a growing chorus of politicians who have spoken with horror of government's failure to deliver.
Multimillionaire and minister of human settlements Tokyo Sexwale slept over in a shack in Diepsloot and declared the conditions "inhumane".
It took a crisis of tragic proportions to get the Department of Health galvanised into sending a task team to investigate baby deaths.
President Jacob Zuma himself was recently shocked to discover that many South Africans live in appalling conditions. His visit to a shack in Orange Farm almost brought him to tears, and he could not find any words - not even along the lines of an admission of culpability - to explain why people were living "like pigs" after nearly two decades of democracy.
Perhaps the hostile reception that Zuma received from residents of the Siyathemba township in Balfour, where he was heckled, indicates that there is some understanding of, and anger over, his government's inability to change the lot of South Africa's poor.
But it apparently took only a few lines of Umshini Wam to get most of the crowd behind him again, a reflection of the power of public relations and an appeal to nationalism to gloss over the real problems faced by his followers.
It is inconceivable that these leaders had not been aware of the conditions they saw. Their response shows either that they are completely out of touch with their constituents and with the realities of the country's economy and society, or that they are attempting to hide the reality of their ineptitude and align themselves with the downtrodden to deflect accountability from themselves.
But these injustices have been perpetuated, and in many cases have worsened, on their watch. A year after they were installed as leaders, what have they done?
And in the weeks or months since their public displays of dismay, how many heads have rolled? What resources have been allocated to change conditions? How much money has been rerouted from the pockets of bureaucrats and consultants into bricks and mortar or the training of teachers and health workers? Have emergency plans been rolled out to stop any more babies from dying?
The government has proved itself ineffectual in improving the lot of its people. The lack of accountability is only entrenched by these public displays of empathy, which should be replaced with public promises of action, and visible proof of the results.
Yet hardly a day goes by without one or another senior government official expressing shock and despair at the lives lived by the poor.
Most recently, the alarming statement by the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga - that problems dating back to last year in crisis-hit schools have not been resolved - added yet another voice to a growing chorus of politicians who have spoken with horror of government's failure to deliver.
Multimillionaire and minister of human settlements Tokyo Sexwale slept over in a shack in Diepsloot and declared the conditions "inhumane".
It took a crisis of tragic proportions to get the Department of Health galvanised into sending a task team to investigate baby deaths.
President Jacob Zuma himself was recently shocked to discover that many South Africans live in appalling conditions. His visit to a shack in Orange Farm almost brought him to tears, and he could not find any words - not even along the lines of an admission of culpability - to explain why people were living "like pigs" after nearly two decades of democracy.
Perhaps the hostile reception that Zuma received from residents of the Siyathemba township in Balfour, where he was heckled, indicates that there is some understanding of, and anger over, his government's inability to change the lot of South Africa's poor.
But it apparently took only a few lines of Umshini Wam to get most of the crowd behind him again, a reflection of the power of public relations and an appeal to nationalism to gloss over the real problems faced by his followers.
It is inconceivable that these leaders had not been aware of the conditions they saw. Their response shows either that they are completely out of touch with their constituents and with the realities of the country's economy and society, or that they are attempting to hide the reality of their ineptitude and align themselves with the downtrodden to deflect accountability from themselves.
But these injustices have been perpetuated, and in many cases have worsened, on their watch. A year after they were installed as leaders, what have they done?
And in the weeks or months since their public displays of dismay, how many heads have rolled? What resources have been allocated to change conditions? How much money has been rerouted from the pockets of bureaucrats and consultants into bricks and mortar or the training of teachers and health workers? Have emergency plans been rolled out to stop any more babies from dying?
The government has proved itself ineffectual in improving the lot of its people. The lack of accountability is only entrenched by these public displays of empathy, which should be replaced with public promises of action, and visible proof of the results.
- Sunday Times Editorial
No comments:
Post a Comment