The ‘feeding at the trough’ has served the governing party well, however, the game is now up
12 May 2023 - 13:22
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.
The electricity and water riots that recently closed the N4 highway should be read as a warning to the governing party. The ANC has shown no inclination to adopt the Zondo state capture commission’s findings and place value for money ahead of race.
We have reached a tipping point, where the benefits to the ANC of cadre deployment (essentially, the facilitation of plunder just to keep ANC supporters sweet) are outweighed by the pain of the collapse of infrastructure and the very fabric of society.
People in the street — many of them ANC supporters — are marching towards anarchy. They need and demand reliable electricity and reliable public transport — and jobs. They don’t need ANC cadres in government.
The use of competence in place of party loyalty when appointing managers or awarding contracts need not necessarily translate to installing white candidates. Cadre deployment — placing loyalty ahead of competence — discourages black as well as white or other minority applicants.
The tragic consequence is that competent black people, as well as competent members of minority groups, leave SA for a better life abroad. Nor is it difficult to ascertain the degree of competence in candidates for jobs or contracts. There are a multitude of aptitude tests that can be applied.
SA has now had over a quarter of a century for individuals of all ethnic groups to have demonstrated their skills and track records in leadership, managerial and technical positions. Clinging to party loyalty as the criterion for appointment or contracts in government and the private sector must now be serving a hidden agenda.
This agenda is not hard to guess: cadre deployment (masquerading as “transformation ") is being used to spread largesse throughout the web of ANC supporters. The ANC is extracting money to buy votes. It has placed its political survival ahead of the lives of 60-million South Africans.
This “feeding at the trough” has served the governing party well up to today. However, the game is now up. Multitudes of our people, tried beyond endurance by the collapsing fabric of our society, will soon push us over the edge into the abyss of anarchy.
Willem Cronje
Cape Town
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: SA has reached a tipping point
The ‘feeding at the trough’ has served the governing party well, however, the game is now up
The electricity and water riots that recently closed the N4 highway should be read as a warning to the governing party. The ANC has shown no inclination to adopt the Zondo state capture commission’s findings and place value for money ahead of race.
We have reached a tipping point, where the benefits to the ANC of cadre deployment (essentially, the facilitation of plunder just to keep ANC supporters sweet) are outweighed by the pain of the collapse of infrastructure and the very fabric of society.
People in the street — many of them ANC supporters — are marching towards anarchy. They need and demand reliable electricity and reliable public transport — and jobs. They don’t need ANC cadres in government.
The use of competence in place of party loyalty when appointing managers or awarding contracts need not necessarily translate to installing white candidates. Cadre deployment — placing loyalty ahead of competence — discourages black as well as white or other minority applicants.
The tragic consequence is that competent black people, as well as competent members of minority groups, leave SA for a better life abroad. Nor is it difficult to ascertain the degree of competence in candidates for jobs or contracts. There are a multitude of aptitude tests that can be applied.
SA has now had over a quarter of a century for individuals of all ethnic groups to have demonstrated their skills and track records in leadership, managerial and technical positions. Clinging to party loyalty as the criterion for appointment or contracts in government and the private sector must now be serving a hidden agenda.
This agenda is not hard to guess: cadre deployment (masquerading as “transformation ") is being used to spread largesse throughout the web of ANC supporters. The ANC is extracting money to buy votes. It has placed its political survival ahead of the lives of 60-million South Africans.
This “feeding at the trough” has served the governing party well up to today. However, the game is now up. Multitudes of our people, tried beyond endurance by the collapsing fabric of our society, will soon push us over the edge into the abyss of anarchy.
Willem Cronje
Cape Town
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.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
LETTER: Is the job as SA president too much for Cyril Ramaphosa?
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.