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I WISH something similar to the US shutdown could be visited on the lazy South African workers one finds in the public and private sector.
I think they should one day be asked to take a long unpaid leave and be made to feel how terrible it is to go from month to month without any form of income.
In that way, they will learn to value their jobs, perform appropriately, come to work with a purpose and improve the level of service in South Africa.
This week, the US government began shutting down its non-essential services.
Hundreds of thousands of workers woke up to the news that they were on unpaid leave and they did not know how long this would last.
The shutdown, activated on Monday in the middle of the night in the Washington time zone, forced a wide range of services to a halt throughout the world's biggest economy.
The US president, under the country’s constitution, may not singly introduce laws of the country.
And in spite of weeks of talks, Republicans have continued to include “cuts and delays” to Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in the budget legislation they sent up to the Senate.
The House of Representatives is coordinated by the Republican Party, whose Tea Party crusade stays intensely opposed to Obamacare.
They have attempted to employ the budget as leverage to “crowbar” alterations to the act. The Senate, which is under the leadership of Democrats, has refused to budge.
My concern should be indicative of the level of frustration most South Africans have reached at this stage.
Most people, particularly government officials, seem to think that those white people who dislike the black dispensation are the only ones feeling frustrated with many things that are happening in this country.
But that is not true. All self-respecting South Africans are frustrated at what is unfolding in front of our own eyes.
Most South Africans wish the worst can befall this country’s economy, so that strong leadership can emerge and come with better solutions for the country’s problems.
Look, if people are asked to take unpaid leave, they won't spend money in South African shops. They may be incapable of meeting critical financial commitments, such as credit card payments and mortgages. This means this economy and financial markets will collapse.
Why are South Africans so frustrated with the country?
The sense of good service and urgency seems to have died in this country. Nowadays you go to a big retail store to pay your bills and you are simply told that the computers are “offline.”
Worse still, nothing is done to fix this urgently. And no one at the shop seems concerned about the negative impact of this on the profitability of the business.
This in some instances goes for days on end without being fixed. It has made me want to crawl up the wall - and I know I am not the only one.
Workers will not even attempt to ask their bosses what is being done about the matter. They will just be happy to utter the “offline” phrase to everyone who comes to the till. It makes their jobs easier, after all.
Then there is one JSE-listed insurance company that purports to offer legal assistance to clients who pay premiums of about R161 a month.
Try calling this firm for legal assistance and you will be put through a lawyer who would do everything in his/her power to find reasons not to help you. I have personally seen this happen.
Visit any government office at any given time to seek assistance, and you will be confronted by arrogant and incompetent officials who are only there because they are members of the ANC. They will do everything in their power to frustrate and not help you.
South African workers want to be paid huge salaries every month for doing nothing.
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is a freelance journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
I think they should one day be asked to take a long unpaid leave and be made to feel how terrible it is to go from month to month without any form of income.
In that way, they will learn to value their jobs, perform appropriately, come to work with a purpose and improve the level of service in South Africa.
This week, the US government began shutting down its non-essential services.
Hundreds of thousands of workers woke up to the news that they were on unpaid leave and they did not know how long this would last.
The shutdown, activated on Monday in the middle of the night in the Washington time zone, forced a wide range of services to a halt throughout the world's biggest economy.
The US president, under the country’s constitution, may not singly introduce laws of the country.
And in spite of weeks of talks, Republicans have continued to include “cuts and delays” to Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in the budget legislation they sent up to the Senate.
The House of Representatives is coordinated by the Republican Party, whose Tea Party crusade stays intensely opposed to Obamacare.
They have attempted to employ the budget as leverage to “crowbar” alterations to the act. The Senate, which is under the leadership of Democrats, has refused to budge.
My concern should be indicative of the level of frustration most South Africans have reached at this stage.
Most people, particularly government officials, seem to think that those white people who dislike the black dispensation are the only ones feeling frustrated with many things that are happening in this country.
But that is not true. All self-respecting South Africans are frustrated at what is unfolding in front of our own eyes.
Most South Africans wish the worst can befall this country’s economy, so that strong leadership can emerge and come with better solutions for the country’s problems.
Look, if people are asked to take unpaid leave, they won't spend money in South African shops. They may be incapable of meeting critical financial commitments, such as credit card payments and mortgages. This means this economy and financial markets will collapse.
Why are South Africans so frustrated with the country?
The sense of good service and urgency seems to have died in this country. Nowadays you go to a big retail store to pay your bills and you are simply told that the computers are “offline.”
Worse still, nothing is done to fix this urgently. And no one at the shop seems concerned about the negative impact of this on the profitability of the business.
This in some instances goes for days on end without being fixed. It has made me want to crawl up the wall - and I know I am not the only one.
Workers will not even attempt to ask their bosses what is being done about the matter. They will just be happy to utter the “offline” phrase to everyone who comes to the till. It makes their jobs easier, after all.
Then there is one JSE-listed insurance company that purports to offer legal assistance to clients who pay premiums of about R161 a month.
Try calling this firm for legal assistance and you will be put through a lawyer who would do everything in his/her power to find reasons not to help you. I have personally seen this happen.
Visit any government office at any given time to seek assistance, and you will be confronted by arrogant and incompetent officials who are only there because they are members of the ANC. They will do everything in their power to frustrate and not help you.
South African workers want to be paid huge salaries every month for doing nothing.
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is a freelance journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
