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SA government, you are seriously out of touch!

DEAR South African Government,

Let’s face it, you have stuffed up, and stuffed up royally. And boy oh boy, is it evident now. You may still have support in some vast overblown mansions in Bryanston and Camps Bay, but the rest of us are thinking pretty kak thoughts about you.

The other day they were burning tyres in the streets about six kays from where I live. (I’ve a friend who sneers at protests sans tyres: “It’s not a serious protest unless the tar is scorched,” she says.) It’s tiring and thirsty work, so the gogos took breaks, nipping into a nearby yard for a sluk (swallow) of water and a chance to sit on the grass and rest their bones.

Whoa! Those old ladies are militant! They HATE their ANC councillor, they said, he does nothing for them. You know how definite a strong-minded old lady can be? Ja, they almost spat out the word ‘hate’. Many were wearing EFF T-shirts. They stuck their legs out in front of them to warm in the winter rays for half an hour or so, and then it was back to the fray.

I knew then for sure that the burning of Tshwane was on its way, like that critter in the Yeats poem: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” I didn’t know where it would happen (and Bethlehem was not on my list), but I knew we would see burning vehicles, looted shops, a scattering of deaths… and if I knew this, if I could take the temperature so easily, why couldn’t you?

You're out of touch, my baby, as the Stones sang.

“In response to questions about the failure of intelligence services to foresee and prevent the outbreak of violence, [State Security Minister David] Mahlobo said he needed time to explain to the media how intelligence worked.” (Daily Maverick, Jun 22 2016)

It ain't rocket science

Hey, it’s not rocket science! You get out among the people – caution: no bodyguards or entourages or blue-light convoys allowed – and listen. Listen carefully, mind; listen respectfully. I was at a ‘town hall’ meeting in Roodepoort last year, where officials drawing local government salaries came to ‘listen to the people’, they said. I have seldom seen such a patronising attitude in response.

That wasn’t listening; like so much else you do, dear government, that was a show. You were there to tick boxes, to cast a glamour (in the old Scottish sense, meaning a magic spell), to trick with words so that people would believe you heard them. You weren’t really listening.

And even then, I saw that the audience, the gathering of old ladies and young men, of single mothers and disabled ex-workers, who were appealing for the help due them in terms of our Constitution, were not deceived. The spell was losing its power.

I know something of the townships they came from. I have seen the smooth-faced boys in hoodies outside the spaza shop, who sell nyaope to addicted youngsters, spreading utter misery through families and broken communities. I’ve met zama-zamas and seen how they sieve for gold dust.

I’m pretty sure I know where the major dog-fighting areas are – and yes, that matters, because dog-fighting is linked to criminality big-time (never mind the criminal cruelty). I know people who’ve witnessed a murder in broad daylight (they’re too scared to testify, held hostage, it is said, by the fact that this violent man has powerful friends in the ‘local authorities and police’).

Not far away lives another man who was arrested for possession of illegal weapons and then bribed his way out. And I’ve listened to the anger and despair of the people who are preyed on by these criminals and feel abandoned by all the tax-funded services they should be getting, like social welfare, like the police…

I was along for the ride recently, when a six-year-old township boy was reported missing, effectively abducted by his druggie 15-year-old bro for a venture into Junkieville.

That little boy was at serious risk – but the cops told us: “It isn’t a crime.” Hey, the mandate of police, according to your own Strategic Plan 2010-2014, is to:
 - Prevent, combat and investigate crime.
 - Protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property…

What part of ‘prevent’ and ‘protect’ did those policemen not understand?

I’m just a journalist, not an intelligence expert, and yet I have detailed knowledge of where crime is happening and how services are failing people. And I know what people are thinking and saying about their government.

But you, you don’t have an inkling that the bomb’s about to explode? You’re surprised? You’re using words like orchestrated, thugs, third force, unrest… where are we, back in National Party Through-the-Looking-Glass land? (“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that's all.”)

As we roll towards these elections, I think you will see, written in fire and blood, that South Africans no longer consider you their master. If we are to retain any shred of functionality, of social hope, you have to go.

*Mandi Smallhorne is a versatile journalist and editor. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter.

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