New Dawn? Time for Ramaphosa to show his mettle

SA is a very violent country. We belong in the same league as warzone countries like Afghanistan and Somalia.

In only one week six-year-old Amy’Leigh de Jager is kidnapped by four men for a ransom.

Nineteen-year-old student Uyinene Mrwetyana is raped and murdered by a man twice her age in a public space.

Taxi driver Jabu Baloyi is shot dead in the City of Tshwane, allegedly by a Tanzanian citizen, while he was confronting drug dealers. Taxi drivers looted foreign-owned shops in retaliation for their colleague’s heroic death.

During the free education protests at the Union Buildings, I and other innocent people were shot with rubber bullets.

The Marikana massacre has left an indelible mark on post-apartheid democracy.

You can rest assured that the government, led by the ANC, will not respond to your grievances unless you resort to violence. The majority of South Africans are resorting to extraordinary tactics because this is the only language that state authorities know.

In times of trouble people run to religious institutions for solace. But spiritual leaders are no longer safe for women. Violent sermons and scriptural quotations are unleashed weekly against women. Paedophile pastors prey on innocent boys and girls.

Money from unsuspecting followers enriches unscrupulous “reverends”. Our legislators in parliament use violence and vulgarities instead of intelligent debates.

Women and girls do not have the security detail enjoyed by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his privileged crew. Is it not surprising that Ramaphosa had to be forced by social media commentators to issue a statement after his silence was becoming louder?

But the most violent crimes suffered by the majority of South Africans are inequality, unemployment, corruption, lawlessness, rape and murder.

President Ramaphosa, we voted for you to solve our problems. Stand up and be counted as you did in the state of the nation address promising the “New Dawn” inspired by the “Thuma Mina” spirit. For once just be presidential and solve the post-apartheid institutional violence.

Fr Mathibela Sebothoma, Pretoria

Let’s save this great land

“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.” — Nelson Mandela.

Yet we are experiencing horrific mass attacks on foreigners which have shocked people across the world.

After the horrors of apartheid and the massacres in Rwanda, we would never have expected such things to happen here. It is true that times are tough and jobs are scarce, but let us not exaggerate the threat by others and loot our fellow humans.

Investors who could build factories and create much-needed jobs are afraid of such instability.

Burning parts of this great land will not help anyone. If our grandchildren ask one day what we did to protect the foreigners, will we be able to look them in the eye? Martin Zagnoev, Sunningdale Ridge

Stop SA’s ‘three ugly sisters’

William Gumede has it right in his column (September 1) — “the economy of SA will not flourish while the corrupt among us, especially those in leadership positions, enjoy impunity for their malfeasances”.

Grand corruption, state capture and kleptocracy are in effect unchecked, though well known through the activities of various commissions which have no power to take action themselves in respect of that which they uncover.

No local or foreign investor is likely to end the current “investment strike” while impunity for the corrupt continues.

What is needed urgently is an independent specialist unit of well-trained investigators and prosecutors who enjoy security of tenure of office and are properly resourced. Their dedicated focus on the “three ugly sisters” of grand corruption, state capture and kleptocracy will be able to bring the guilty to book in a manner that the limping National Prosecuting Authority and all but useless Hawks have been unable to achieve thus far.

The necessary draft legislation has been prepared, the presidency and the politicians have been lobbied and all that remains to do is to generate the necessary political will to establish an integrity commission. While the corrupt continue to get away with their shenanigans it will simply not be practically possible to revive the economy. That alone should spur the authorities into action.

Paul Hoffman SC, Director: Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa

Tito’s GEAR jalopy going nowhere

Tito Mboweni’s and the National Treasury's new growth strategy document up for discussion is meaningless when the arsonists (African National Crooks, Cosatu and Communist Party) are still in charge of the fire brigade (the state). I will not even read it since it will be an exercise in futility.

A necessary condition to pull SA out of the hole is to remove the arsonists from power. Until then we will be trapped in a paradigm of corruption, patronage, socialism, communism, sudden transformation, entitlement, impunity, strikes, burn and toyi-toyi. Proof? Ramaphosa started his “New Dawn” with the CR17 fund by buying votes and patronage. His “New Dawn” is stillborn, as will be Mboweni’s attempt at driving the SA jalopy at a higher GEAR. The engine is misfiring and a higher GEAR will break the gearbox too.

Naushad Omar, Athlone

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