Services delivery is South African political fatigue
Article
presented by Lubungo Tafadhali Ngwy
Next year 2014, South
Africans will celebrate the twentieth year of their freedom which will be
observed with mix reactions as there is a section of South Africans who believes
it has came along way ending dark days of apartheid and it should continue
owing the current ruling party as liberation movement, this is what we are
about to witness in next year elections as the opportunity will be to support
the party to win once again elections which will make it fifth consecutive win
since 1994. The question which remains to be asked is who are those electorates
who are willing to secure a win for African National Congress (ANC)? Surely they
may be counted among millions of South Africans who were disadvantaged with
immorality laws making it criminal for a person to be married to the person who
is not of his/her race, using facilities which were not to be used by the
person of inferior race, being in areas which are not designed for people of
your race, etc. On the other hand we have a section of South Africans who will not
be of such a view as the result of political fatigue they endure: the slow pace
the country takes for its transformation and empowerment process, dissatisfied people
who believe the government is not doing a good job and those who are in the
positions of power are well connected whether by comrades they have met in
Robben Island or in exile, or dedicated members of the ANC who are deployed as reward to their loyalty and party
credentials.
The fact is the South African
ruling party is fortunate to have a huge number of electorates who are consumed
by their sense of naivety over the role of their party and its leaders in the
new dispensation, as the third term in office suppose to be the last time
electorates express their appreciation to the liberation movement and try to
move on and assess its works so that merit could prevail over fanatic
affiliations; as the country deserves better leaders able to deliver services
to achieve good life for all.
National auditor office
publishes on year basis shocking reports about failure and inability of
government departments to deliver public services not because there are not
funds allocated, but available funds to departments are not spent due to lack
of skills managers and every year national treasury rollover 40 percent of the
entire budget without counting unaccountable funds due to mismanagement or
purely corrupted officials.
This state of affairs has
angered former South African president Thabo Mbeki who recently lashed out on
government to consider public needs in terms of services delivery as protests
continue nationwide over lack of services delivery while we are heading next
years general elections. Mbeki is known as a leader who has lifted up South African
economy to the level it has never been since hundred years ago and who has left
office as an angry man when he was defeated by his former deputy president Jacob
Zuma who he sacked over corruption, but who was still his party deputy
president; unfortunately Jacob Zuma defeated Mbeki as party leader during his bid
to secure the third term as ANC president, making it difficult for him to serve
as president of the country without being president of the ruling party (ANC).
Only now in June 2013, when
the former president Nelson Mandela was hospitalised for lung infection in
Pretoria Medi Clinic Mbeki breaks his silence after he distanced himself from national
politics for years while occupying different roles on the continent such as
conflict negotiator between Sudan and South Sudan as negotiator under African
Union. His remarks was about failure of the government to address service
delivery problems, only later to hear that he was actually irritated to hear
that Nelson Mandela was stranded in ambulance for more than forty minutes on his
was to hospital as the ambulation broke down followed by delay it took for the
next ambulance to reach out the sick former statesman.
