The ANC’s dystopian South Africa

Calling South Africa a disaster state would be a form of lexical disrespect for the word “disaster”. This former “wonder of the world”, so called because of its “peaceful” transition to democratic rule almost three decades ago, has been degraded to a post-apocalyptic state that just waits for a madman to take the reins and declare himself master of all, who enter this land.

Wait, I think that claim has already been staked out. Didn’t an ANC employee tell us that his movement would “rule until Jesus comes back”?

Maybe I’ve seen too many films with stories of lawlessness starring power-hungry madmen. But judging by the developments in South Africa, I cannot be blamed for anything. The last 13 years have been hell. You seem like a century. That said, I don’t discount under the incompetent ANC rule for the first 15 years. But the events of the past 13 years suggest that this is a land without hope; a land ready to be taken by any despot hungry for power. However, a new one has to wait its turn. We don’t see (s) anything yet – pun intended.

Several notable events have led me to gnaw my teeth and curse the sun to wonder why this land is not simply being scraped from the ground. How does a country’s legislature burn down and there is no well-founded information other than a story full of sound and anger about a lonely man seen in the one building that is said to have the strictest access control measures?

Last year we watched in disbelief as hundreds of Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill. In case you missed it, there were hundreds of people – not just one. Imagine if the Palace of Westminster or the Kremlin were on fire and the world was told that a tramp was “caught on a tape walking the corridors”? Pity!

Well, it’s our own fault. For years we have swallowed meager excuses and half-baked explanations – or just silence – from our government. We have lived like post-apocalyptic survivors who have accepted every lie, promise, and excuse of the ruling lot.

We have led the government to believe that all they can do is tell us a stupid story and distract us without being accountable – why not open drinking holes until midnight and divert attention from the Commission’s report on the state arrest? Gosh we’re so gullible it’s not funny.

How many people have dared ask questions about how the offices of the former National Intelligence in Durban went up in flames in that “mysterious fire” a few years ago? Yes, the offices of the National Intelligence Service were destroyed in this way and, if I remember correctly, there were no arrests or trials. And that’s not all.

The successor to the National Intelligence Service, the State Security Agency (SSA), let six men enter its headquarters on Boxing Day 2016 and leave with 50 million rupees in foreign currency. Last year, documents and cash “mysteriously” disappeared again at the same SSA headquarters. That sounds like one of Aesop’s fables: The SSA, supposedly the guardian of the country through its intelligence network, has walk-in robberies like those that take place on remote police stations in rural parts of the country.

Does anyone remember the robbery on the Helen Suzman Foundation? The organization that always brought the government to justice? Have the “robbers” who ran away with computers ever been caught? Speaking of nocturnal break-ins, what country is the Supreme Court office broken into, computers stolen and it all fizzled out? South Africa! You guessed right. For some reason, all predators have a thing for computers.

From break-ins, fires and car accidents to organized robberies and everything else from the pages of a Robert Ludlum novel, South Africa has it all. And on top of that, we have to admit that ours can no longer be seen as a country with a functioning government.

The rail infrastructure has been dismantled to such an extent that our stations resemble ghost towns. The energy supplier gradually suffers major breakdowns. Crude oil is skimmed from the transport pipeline and shipped to neighboring countries or sold locally on the black market. Kidnappings and ransom demands are on the rise. A few years ago, for the first 153 days of the year, we recorded a daily robbery of valuables. All of this happens while the ministers appointed by the ANC take photos for Instagram and fight small wars on Twitter – while their cronies and families profit from the devastation of the country.

South Africa is in the hands of a post-apocalyptic gang of ANC thugs, marauding gangs, power-hungry lunatics and we, a gullible citizenry, are at the mercy of the powers that be.

Unlike political group members who will use recent events to court the blood of President Ramaphosa, I blame the broken and creaky door of the brown building on the corner of downtown Pixley Ka Seme and Helen Joseph streets from Johannesburg – also known as Luthuli House. The ANC and its factions, cadres, careerism and greed have broken the government and turned this country into a country where people with dry, chapped lips, without water, without food, without the bare essentials, are forced to pillage one another possible by all means.

I think the perception of our country and its direction depends on where you sit and how close you are to the ruling bandits.

You see, in post-apocalyptic films, those with the resources to trade can make a living by bartering with the marauding gangs as their fortunate position blinds them to the plight of others. It doesn’t affect their lives and they don’t want to disrupt the status quo. Those who have nothing against it are at the mercy of the ruling madman, his band and the lawlessness that they bring with them.

Our country is at the mercy of the power-hungry who do not care about the destruction they leave behind. God save us all. DM

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