LETTER: Stop the blame game

There were angry responses to the reckless statements made last year by minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni claiming that the private sector has been trying for years to collapse the government (“Private sector is ‘engineering the collapse’ of government, says Ntshavheni”, November 20).

The Competition Appeal Court has dismissed 23 of the 28 alleged rand manipulation cases brought by the Competition Commission that provoked her daft comments. We know it’s futile expecting her to apologise for them, and that the president lacks the mettle to fire her.

This fits with the ANC government’s repeated claims that little or none of the mess of state-owned enterprises (Eskom, Transnet, SAA, and so on), the incompetence or bankruptcy of countless municipalities, rampant corruption and crime, the poor state of our public education and health facilities, surging national debt, potholes, or anything else, is its doing.

The governing party protests that these problems are unimportant, caused for other reasons or are legacies of apartheid. Unquestionably, and sadly, there are problematic legacies that persist from the apartheid years. But surely the ANC government must acknowledge that in the three decades it has governed it hasn’t adequately addressed it, and that it has ruined so much?

The economies of various countries in Africa north of us are forging ahead. Tanzania, which has risen from extreme poverty to now being one of the top 10 economies in Africa, provides an interesting lesson. Some years ago, it stopped moaning about the past and blaming the colonial era for its dire circumstances and everything that was wrong. It ditched its rear-view mirror and decided to look ahead and take firm responsibility.

It was a courageous step, and Tanzania’s foresight and decisiveness is yielding amazing results. Our country will continue to meander in the morass we are in until the ANC government (and other political parties) stop blaming everyone else and the past for our woes. It must cease uttering nonsensical rubbish as an excuse for our country’s many failures and accept that having political power is a formidable responsibility. 

Trevor Munday
Via email

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