LETTER: No imbizos in the UK, just a smooth transition
Liz Truss's accession shows the incompetence of our politicians and why Ramaphosa should be fired
07 September 2022 - 15:26
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Liz Truss, UK prime minister, departs 10 Downing Street to attend her first weekly questions and answers session in Parliament in London, UK, on Wednesday, September 7 2022. Picture: BLOOMBERG/CHRIS RATCLIFFE
I watched with envy and embarrassment the smooth change of British Conservative Party leadership and seamless transition from one leader to another.
Liz Truss beat her rival, former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak, by roughly 20,000 votes. The race was robust and at times looked ugly when the two former Boris Johnson cabinet members faced off in televised debates. But that’s where the robustness ended.
It took Truss 24 hours to lay down her priorities, appoint a full cabinet and restore trust and possibly credibility to the Tory government. Her priorities appear clear: she will cut taxes and deal with surging energy prices, inflation, industrial unrest and recession. How’s that for efficiency? I really envied this show of urgency in a crisis.
Compare this efficiency with our zombie government. We knew when Jacob Zuma left the presidency that our country was dysfunctional and that corruption was rampant. We had crises in energy, unemployment, inequality and catastrophic crime. We still do not have a full cabinet after two-and-a-half years. Ayanda Dlodlo left more than five months ago and the vacancy still exists.
We know about the rot in our system as the Zondo, Mpati and other commissions and panels have told us. Some of them recommended action. But instead of acting on these crises, President Cyril Ramaphosa organises endless imbizos, lekgotla, workshops, conferences and anything else to kick the can down the road.
Now he says the recommendations of the Zondo commission are not binding and he is setting up other panels to advise him on how to deal with corruption. It is clear that Ramaphosa is not going to act on this report, at least not until after the ANC conference in December.
Boris Johnson was fired for lying repeatedly and partying during the Covid lockdown. Our president has lied in parliament. He allowed some of his cabinet members to dine and booze during lockdown, and he let his cadres loot money intended to fight the pandemic. And he has yet to deal with that Phala Phala skeleton.
Obviously, no-one wants to tell him this, so it falls to me: I’m embarrassed. You’re fired with immediate effect!
Manelisi Dubase Gugulethu
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: No imbizos in the UK, just a smooth transition
Liz Truss's accession shows the incompetence of our politicians and why Ramaphosa should be fired
I watched with envy and embarrassment the smooth change of British Conservative Party leadership and seamless transition from one leader to another.
Liz Truss beat her rival, former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak, by roughly 20,000 votes. The race was robust and at times looked ugly when the two former Boris Johnson cabinet members faced off in televised debates. But that’s where the robustness ended.
It took Truss 24 hours to lay down her priorities, appoint a full cabinet and restore trust and possibly credibility to the Tory government. Her priorities appear clear: she will cut taxes and deal with surging energy prices, inflation, industrial unrest and recession. How’s that for efficiency? I really envied this show of urgency in a crisis.
Compare this efficiency with our zombie government. We knew when Jacob Zuma left the presidency that our country was dysfunctional and that corruption was rampant. We had crises in energy, unemployment, inequality and catastrophic crime. We still do not have a full cabinet after two-and-a-half years. Ayanda Dlodlo left more than five months ago and the vacancy still exists.
We know about the rot in our system as the Zondo, Mpati and other commissions and panels have told us. Some of them recommended action. But instead of acting on these crises, President Cyril Ramaphosa organises endless imbizos, lekgotla, workshops, conferences and anything else to kick the can down the road.
Now he says the recommendations of the Zondo commission are not binding and he is setting up other panels to advise him on how to deal with corruption. It is clear that Ramaphosa is not going to act on this report, at least not until after the ANC conference in December.
Boris Johnson was fired for lying repeatedly and partying during the Covid lockdown. Our president has lied in parliament. He allowed some of his cabinet members to dine and booze during lockdown, and he let his cadres loot money intended to fight the pandemic. And he has yet to deal with that Phala Phala skeleton.
Obviously, no-one wants to tell him this, so it falls to me: I’m embarrassed. You’re fired with immediate effect!
Manelisi Dubase
Gugulethu
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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