Didn't take action when in power
THE funniest and most insulting thing about politicians is their belief that if they make themselves forget what they've said and done, the public will dutifully inflict upon themselves a case of collective amnesia.
If only they were that lucky...
So, while some wrote books and newspaper articles, made utterances critical of the government after they left its service or entered the opposition, I chose to remember that once upon a time all were part of that government.
I didn't forget that while in their posts, none stood up in public to tell their bosses or political parties they were wrong, that in fact they didn't voice criticisms or disagreements because they were too busy shouting "Bayete nkosi (Hail chief)!" until the final SMSes which informed them tens of thousands or millions were paid into their accounts by the citizens they pretended to serve.
Yet now they write about "my second initiation" and "the things that could not be said", eat hats and lecture the ANC on democracy and the constitution, call on voters to abstain from voting or spoil the ballot, yell at Jacob Zuma to "pay back the money" and after many years, finally admit the "East Cape has become a bantustan under ANC".
Excuse me, but how can I take seriously a man who failed to stop political interference in a criminal prosecution, another who stood by while a president denied ARVs to Aids sufferers, a guy who ate himself into a heart attack while subordinates starved, who refused to spend R2.625-million on necessary copies of regulations for those same subordinates (about 300 pages at 50c per page, one copy for 10 people) because of the expense in toner and paper (I kid you not), but then blew R600-million on a jet for his boss?
How do I listen to the guy who ran our politically aligned spook shops when he speaks about our right to know, or for that matter one who owes SARS millions in unpaid taxes but shouts at Zuma to do the right thing about Nkandla?
"There is too much maladministration in PE" – true, but you were in charge of it for years, sir. Why only talk about it now?
Why didn't you do something then, when it mattered? To adapt a quote from the movie, Casino, a politician's memory is a morality car wash or Lourdes for humpbacked and crippled careers, a place where those who let us down try to make themselves appear caring.
Sorry gentlemen, you've had your chances and chose not to make a difference. While I'm mangling another quote, your purpose was to raise us up so we can stand on mountains, but you ended up making us laugh so we can choke on muffins – along with wrecked roads, expensive sports stadiums, billions of rand of public debt plus unsustainably high rates and taxes.
The show is over. Please join the Church of the Latter Day Moralists, then find a quiet spot to enjoy your political oblivion.
The rest of us actually have work to do and a country to drag out of the moral and financial swamp y'all drove it into – something no amount of belated and often self-serving truth-telling on your part will ever accomplish.
M Negres, Port Elizabeth
