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Published: July 20th 2021
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Covid-19
The pile of failures has steadily grown until the point of an explosion. Of course, Squirrel and his buddies would flatly deny their destructive role. “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am – not stuck in the middle, but hovering above the entire farcical spectrum, weeping as I behold my fellow man’s devotion to political illusion and self-destruction” – Robert Higgs What a week it’s been and it’s not all about the appalling events which have unfolded in
South Africa. More of that very sad story later.
Covid-19 is proving to be a monster pandemic unleashing a script which seemingly has no end in sight. Consider the following; in
England, Boris (I need a haircut) Johnson, loosens the shackles on Covid-19 restrictions on 19
th July as promised. Roughly about the same time, Boris has to self-isolate after his health minister contracts the virus. At more or less the same time, the delta variant confirms its arrival with rising infections being reported. In
America, a similar scenario is emerging with infections rising across the country and the “authorities” are “taking note.” By way of confirmation, Los Angeles, has mandated that wearing of masks is compulsory for all indoor locations irrespective of vaccine status. The financial airheads are sprouting forth that the economic recovery is slowing and this was confirmed
Covid-19
Zuma has spun a story for many, many years and finally he is fitted in an orange uniform. Not a second too soon! by the major stock markets dropping by roughly 2 percent on Monday 19
th July. Just in case anyone in that country doubts the latest statistics, the infection rate has increased by 67 percent week on week and the death rate by 26 percent. The lingering question of course is whether the vast majority of citizens will pay sufficient attention to these undeniably worrying numbers. Will the high vaccination rate soften the impact? Time will tell. Turning the spotlight on
Japan; this is the week when athletes from across the globe arrive for the Tokyo Olympics due to kick off on 23
rd July. To date 55 arriving athletes have tested positive with the virus and have been placed in 14-day quarantine. South Africa has contributed 4 of that number including the coach, Neil Powell, of the Blitzbokke. What does this actually mean for the Olympics? Firstly, the athletes arriving and testing positive will more than likely not participate given they cannot train and their events may fall within the 14-day quarantine window. Secondly, with an estimated 78,000 athletes arriving this week, it is likely there will be a significantly higher number testing positive which must impact the very essence of the
Covid-19
Brilliant description of our woefully incompetent excuse for a governing party. games. Tragic for those athletes who have devoted years to this moment which is unlikely to be the ultimate test if key competitors are missing. The third wave curve
in South Africa has plateaued and is moving slowly downwards. Good news except the ultimate super-spreader event took place last week when thousands of rampaging thugs and thieves across Gauteng and KZN provinces went on a looting spree unlike anything ever seen before on the globe. Not a mask in sight and of course, our woefully inept police force simply stood by and watched, paying no attention at all to Covid-19 restrictions. By way of summary; Covid-19 has not retreated and will impact our lives on this planet for an indeterminate time into the future.
South Africa! Firstly, I make no apologies if what follows has a negative bias. We tend to bury our heads in the sand and try and sugar coat what is often a disastrous situation. There is little point in regurgitating the events since roughly 11
th July as I simply do not have the acumen to write about the tragic manner in which our country has been trashed beyond belief. Here a few quotes from prominent
Covid-19
Covid-19 overtaken by a virus which has been raging in South Africa. Highly contagious theft and corruption virus in top Government has become a super spreader. journalists who describe more eloquently the anarchistic carnage. This from John-Kane Berman;
“Mr Ramaphosa, his party, and their communist and trade union allies, are the cause of South Africa’s plight. They have been systematically wrecking this county since before many of last week’s wreckers were even born. Far from being reformers, Mr Ramaphosa and Co. are determined only to hold on to the power that is slipping away from them, while treating the country with contempt. If Mr Ramaphosa was not a lame duck before last week, he almost certainly is now, his tough speech on Friday night last week (16th July) notwithstanding. Whatever the causes of the mayhem, the overriding fact is that local militias had to step in because the state failed to do so. These local organisations in KZN, Gauteng, and elsewhere have done far more than the state’s security forces to put a stop to the plunder and the terror and the anarchy. Numerous reports describe how the police stood by as looters laid waste to tens of thousands of livelihoods.” And then this chilling account from Brian Pottinger, former Editor of the Sunday Times:
“I pulled night shifts for a week at Ballito’s Covid-19
SA Inc now in the intensive care unit. control points and that gives a lot of time for reflection. To me the biggest divide is between those communities that took responsibility for protecting their infrastructure and those who did not. On Tuesday morning our hastily appointed security coordinator told us that all attempts to raise support from the police, army and ANC local structures had failed. We were on our own. Within 24 hours we had a functioning Greater Ballito Operations Command, all the control points were manned, legally armed teams were on patrol, a first-class communication system operating through a mobile phone app was in place and drones with infrared cameras were in the air. Pickets protected the mobile phone towers, electrical sub stations and water points. The next day stickers were issued to emergency and security personnel to facilitate their movements. By day three, armed convoys were bringing in essential food, medicines and fuel. When supplies did come through citizens lined up for hours in orderly lines to buy their 20 items from the supermarkets and R300’s worth of fuel. No panic. No moaning. And certainly, no expectation anybody was going to help us. The line was held for the six days the State went AWOL.
Stuart Pennington, author of SA-The Good News had this to say; “Personally, I think the frustration that has built up over 27 years of indifferent, callous and incompetent service delivery is THE major factor. I have worked for many years in +/- 150 marginalised schools across a range of townships, the only change you see is massive houses built by overpaid mayors and uncaring government officials. Were it not for the 100 000 NGOs that operate in SA and very caring local communities the circumstances of most township dwellers and the state of township infrastructure would be considerably worse? I hope, in the aftermath of last week’s destruction, the Government realises that fixing incompetent local government has to be the major area of focus.” The financial and economic impact is nothing short of calamitous not forgetting that our economy was already under the cosh following years of very low growth. Just consider; an estimated 200 shopping malls and centres destroyed, 45,000 small businesses wiped out of which many will never reopen and attempted attacks on infrastructure installations. The retail group, Pepkor, has reported that 489 of their stores were looted and damaged. The loss of jobs will be immense and add to our already high unemployment rate. On a personal level; my brother-in-law retired recently having worked in the construction industry all his life employing people, paying taxes and building up an investment portfolio. Tragically two of his warehouses in Springfield Park were burnt to the ground.
The question which may be swirling in the minds of those reading this blog could well be; so, what does this all have to do with Covid-19? Short answer; future generations in this country will look back on the year 2021 in a totally different light with the current mayhem being front of mind. It is a defining moment and it is the manner in which ordinary citizens across all racial and religious groups now mobilise, organize and get a clear message to those in power that “enough is enough” and we will be involved in resetting and redefining our future. The politicians at every level of government have failed spectacularly and proven beyond doubt that they are incapable of governing. Do we have the will to tackle the immense challenges and tasks in front of us? Look no further than the decisive manner in which communities across the country mobilised to face the marauding savages for the answer. At a defining moment of Government being largely missing in action, ordinary, law abiding citizens stepped forward in numbers. We will prevail.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
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Evan Dold
non-member comment
Recent events in KZN and Gauteng
Tim, I've always enjoyed your blogs and thanks again for this one. Your comment that it's high time to mobilise and start meaningful change makes me think again about the ticking time bomb on our doorstep - Sea Vista. I was so disheartened to hear during a recent discussion with Ivan Beaumont and Dave Harpur that the SFB SPO/SRA (??) had made several attempts to initiate upgrading initiatives in Sea Vista, only to be blocked repeatedly by the local ANC Councillor, who apparently is as corrupt as they come. I don't want to be naive about the reality on the ground, but surely there must be some way in which the majority of the Sea Vista community can be made to understand how this man is standing in the way of the upliftment of their township - and to use the current crisis as a means to making some badly needed progress in Sea Vista? Without this I fear that it will only be a matter of time until we see a repeat of the KZN looting and destruction right on our doorsteps - literally. Do you know if Wayne Furphy (?) and his team are contemplating any new actions? Evan