I make a point of not writing about politics very often. This is because so many other people are doing it and also because I don't feel like depressing myself on a regular basis. But recent events have driven me to wonder about the leadership of our country. Normally, when faced with a devastating global pandemic, a country's government would try its absolute best to preserve the economy while also dealing with the disease itself. But our government's actions lately have left me with but one facial expression:
If the smooth and efficient running of a country is likened to the cogs of a well-oiled machine being exquisitely maintained by an experienced and precise group of engineers, then the intellectual giants running South Africa are akin to immature chimpanzees playing with hand grenades. Sooner or later one is going to find a pin, extract it thinking it the best thing ever and then be extremely surprised when it finds itself spread all over the playground.
I'm convinced that the powers that be in this country develop selective amnesia when it comes to handling funds that are earmarked for Covid relief. Funds get allocated and immediately spent on personal endeavors because "Money! Yay!" Corruption is at an all-time high because self-enrichment is more important than dealing with economic fallout.
Another example of the major intelligence of those in power is the ban on cigarettes and alcohol. While I don't smoke and only on occasion enjoy a drink, I still don't get why this ban was implemented. The sales of cigarettes and alcohol boost the economy in a big way. The massive financial losses incurred by this ban boggles the mind! The loss of income for restaurants, wine farms, pubs, liquor stores, micro-breweries etc is catastrophic. Many establishments that have been open for decades have been forced to close due to overheads and low income. Thousands upon thousands have lost their jobs because their employers can't afford to pay them.
When asked about its rather unique and inexplicable decision making, the government always responds with things that just don't make sense. Some of the ministers have even resorted to pulling out and dusting off the trusty Apartheid-argument when addressing shortcomings in the economy. I'm convinced that one of these days they'll blame the fact that the sky is blue or the existence of Casper de Vries for the continued financial decline in South Africa, because that is how much thought they are currently putting into their responses.
Please bear with me while I mangle another metaphor, but currently the ANC is like the big guy in the back of the class who likes joking around and bullying the smaller kids around him. For the time being everyone grudgingly puts up with him in the hope that sooner or later the teacher will walk to the rear of the class and smack him against the head with a ruler. While everyone is afraid of taking matters into their own hands for the time being, that time is coming. A bully only gets away with it for so long...
