So the ANC plans to spend R700m of taxpayers’ money on a national think tank? Such expenditure is horribly profligate when, for a tiny fraction of this sum, the president and his acolytes need do no more than buy and read the Sunday Times, where South Africa’s best brains and most committed patriots share their thoughts on how best the nation should be managed.
All that is required is a careful reading of columnists like Barney Mthombothi, Peter Bruce and William Gumede for guidance from people of exceptional insight.
The R700m should rather be directed towards fixing our broken railways, our crippled health system and an economy severely damaged by BEE.
— John Spira, Johannesburg
A new dawn is coming
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reign is swiftly coming to a close. Who will be his successor and what may we expect from such a new leader?
First the new president will have to acknowledge all South Africans and not shun minorities as if they do not exist. Only a united South Africa will do. The rule of law is our bastion and only uncompromised, ethical judges should be appointed. Our new president should have no blemish of corruption and thus not tolerate corrupt ministers and officials.
Furthermore he has to have a sound understanding of modern economics. Here the brilliant economist Ludwig von Mises comes to mind: “Every government intervention (in the marketplace) creates unintended consequences, which leads to calls for further government interventions.” No sir, the state-owned entities’ days are numbered and we all know it. The rightsizing of the government sector cannot be delayed any longer. It will uplift the poor. The free market with sound competition will certainly create employment for all and thus a prosperous South Africa will follow. Obviously the labour unions’ feathers will have to be clipped.
With 80 murders a day crime is out of control. It seems the crooks are mingling with the top brass of the SAPS. What a disgrace! “You are dismissed” will be the new buzz word.
Private ownership is a pillar of our democracy and no fiddling will be entertained. Government owns 22% of the land and this has to be made available to qualified black entrepreneurs. Finish and klaar!
Above all our next leader will have to be ethical and wise. A hands-on approach, harmonious and in tune with the aspirations of all South African citizens. To accomplish this he only has to keep his feet on his desk with AI in front of him sipping coffee and the taxpayers will gladly supply the rusks. A new dawn is coming.
— Marius Krige, Hermanus, via email
Questionable decisions
The decision by national commissioner Fannie Masemola to place Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya on leave pending an internal investigation raises serious questions about transparency, leadership accountability, and the timing of such moves within the SAPS.
While it is within the commissioner’s powers to initiate disciplinary processes, the lack of clarity around the allegations and the department’s communication strategy only fuel public speculation. In a country battling crime, instability within the SAPS’s top leadership undermines confidence in law enforcement institutions.
I urge your publication to continue probing this story, especially regarding the nature of the alleged misconduct, the procedural fairness of the move, and the broader implications for police morale and public trust.
— Keseabetswe Khuduga, Decode Communications
Let the judges judge
I have to say Makhudu Sefara’s column last week has restored my faith in him as an objective commentator. It reaffirms that we are a country with a constitution, a bill of rights, a country of human rights. All these kinds of disputes should be resolved by an independent authority, like a judge, not through press conferences, marches and shooting unarmed youths.
I can say without doubt that it makes the godfathers of black journalism — Percy Qoboza, Aggrey Klaaste, Mathatha Tsedu and other greats — very proud. Their commitment to nation-building should never be betrayed.
Sefara’s column reminded me of an article by Tsedu saying that Steve Biko’s death was a catalyst for reform in our justice system — people no longer die from slipping on a bar of soap, or flying out of the window at John Voster. Today, if you get arrested, you get checked every morning, you appear in court within 48 hours and so on. These rights are applicable to Senzo Mchunu as well. He should be judged by a competent court, not in a press conference.
— Raymond Khamandisa, by email
Managing the masses
The most humiliating aspect of post-independence and post-colonialism in Africa, or even Latin America, is that the former struggle stalwarts never won a war against the former colonial powers.
It is possible that they won against colonial militaries that were already preparing for independence. Many countries gained independence through a series of events that occurred concurrently. Proof of this is that none of the African nations liberated as early as the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s were able to unite against the white apartheid regime (supported by the West), let alone match the SADF. Instead, the SADF went on a rampage, bombing neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Angola, and Botswana.
Nowadays, South Africans don’t appreciate this, especially when there is ferment. However, one thing that struggle veterans accomplished is the ability to treat fellow Black people with the same brutality of colonialism and apartheid. And don’t think the comrades didn’t admire many of the Nazi and apartheid police tactics on “managing the masses”; whenever they sip on those expensive whiskies, they can never give up on mqombothi and Cuban cigars — true managers of their own, but only to their demise.
It’s easy to predict the sarcastic behaviour of these individuals when they lose touch with “our people”. Typically, after looting the nation, the comrades begin to focus on “identifying threats”, not like Nato or the IDF, but within the oppressed, and this is almost always where they excel. As geniuses and war veterans, the comrades create separatist groups to divide and rule themselves, similar to how they were treated.
Similarly, the ANC is directly responsible for the stupidity of Operation Dudula. The goal is to capitalise on the masses’ desperation without addressing the root cause, which is the failure to govern effectively. The entire point is to hold on to power for dear life. However, these old dogs are unwilling to go down with the masses, preferring that the masses go down on their behalf and bear the brunt of sanctions, debt, and CIA-led coups and military operations while they, like parasites, sink their claws into the last vestiges of colonial glory.
The masses, like their leaders, are largely unconcerned and only have each other and foreigners to vent their frustrations on. And so they act and believe they are heroes, but heroes of lies, murder, theft, and self-destruction, which they will realise with great and foolish pride only when nothing remains!
— Khotso KD Moleko, Bloemfontein
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