Cape Argus E-dition

DOES RAMAPHOSA KNOW HE IS THE LEADER OF A COUNTRY?

ALEX TABISHER

THERE is irrefutable proof of malfeasance, under-delivery, duplicity, under- and overspending rocketing living costs, what with Eskom baying like a demented wolf for more and more with which to deliver less and less.

I beat my drum regularly for improved national literacy and creative retelling of the twisted narrative we have slavishly followed for so long. I feel compelled to reduce my polemic to the level of the absurd, à la Rene Descartes and his strategy of reductio ad absurdum. There is a saying: He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, he knows not he is a fool. That is hardly Aristotelian logic and comes dangerously close to invective so that I would rather exemplify with a few instances of the above sad condition.

Does Cyril Ramaphosa know he is the president of the country? He is the last man standing – or should be. Yet he is conflicted between saving a party and saving a nation.

He doesn’t have the guts to go after comrades who, as he should know, should not consider themselves above the law. A classic example is the excellent way he started out leading us from our first dreaded acquaintance with Covid 19. He navigated levels of control and constraints which showed signs of success. Then the very Constitution, touted as the best in the world, empowered people to challenge him. I refer to the anti-vaxxies.

We have just come through the Angie parade, where the Minister of Basic Education floods the country with statistics that claim to sell a success story. Yet, like a parallel universe, the IEB displays the value of meaningful educational engagement and intervention without dumbing down or laughable pass-requirements.

I do not speak with my tongue in my cheek. I actually taught in the IEB system for a while after my retirement from the shambles called government schools. I had served my four decades as a teacher, including the principalship of both a primary and a high school.

Reality is a strange beast, and one has to make choices that are sometimes difficult. Just like the Prez. Just like Angie. But our choices must not be blindfolded pursuance of that which has proved time and again to be an agenda for failure.

ANC educational policy fits neatly the definition of fox-hunting by Oscar Wilde: the despicable in pitiable pursuit of the inedible. Our matriculants are exhorted to perform well for the unemployment queue.

Our country is great. We produce the best wine, fruit, sportsmen and women. Yet we are guilty of a cavalier disregard for growth.

Are we an emerging political player in a Caucasian-dominant world, or just pawns on the chessboards of the 3% who own the wealth of the world? When are we going to recognise every citizen as a hero in the fight against racism? Or are we going to stay in “the tangled web we weave/when first we practice to deceive”?

Cyril, a nation has spoken at the polls. Act like the president. The hell with those who split your party with the unashamedly Zuma-voodoo dolls dancing on your grave. If you admit you don’t know which way to go, ask those you label as non-ANC card-holders and, unimaginatively and ruinously, side-line. We are all enfranchised citizens. Acknowledge that South Africa is not the private toy of a bunch of money-grubbing partymembers. It belongs to all of us.

Wake up and smell the coffee, for God’s sake, before it is too late.

FRONT PAGE

en-za

2022-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281625308687155

African News Agency