LETTER: Ministers clearly don’t have load-shedding: it’s time they do

In the technology world where tech teams need to build new systems, one of the principles that is often followed is that the team that builds a system is responsible for its maintenance.

Practically, this means that if a business critical system breaks after hours, the software developers that built it get the call to fix the system. Even at 1am or over your weekend braai! 

The principle results in good-quality coding, which results in more stable systems, all enabled by the will to have an uninterrupted braai.

Anyone who has recently spent time living or working in a place where there is backup power will quickly slip back into forgetting the troubles of load-shedding. While you have access to power, the impact of load-shedding is effortlessly shifted to the back of your mind  as you just resume “normal living”. Our “esteemed” ministers apparently do not have load-shedding in their homes.

Our president would be well advised to revoke this privilege. Our esteemed ministers should be reminded of what they can do to fix the country’s power woes: at breakfast, when their Nespresso machine doesn't work; when their spouses get stuck in the garage; when their gardeners can’t enter the house because the bell doesn’t work; and when their kids whine because the WiFi is slow or down.

There's nothing like a gentle reminder every few hours of why exactly we need them to act with urgency.

Mia Sevenster
Via email

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