Politics is the art of hypocrisy
The killing of a 20yr old farm manager and the resultant behavior of political parties in Senekal is repulsive. The activities of black and white racists are atrocious. The remark of the Minister who giggled when addressing issues in Senekal as “not a picnic” was awful.
Senekal will forever be etched into memory as a place of racism, savagery and failure.
The proverbial “elephant in the room” is that the Free State is the most corrupt and least accountable province. No municipality in the Free State received a clean audit. According to the Auditor General’s Report, the political and administrative leadership of the Free State has failed for years and will continue to fail because the leaders lack the desire or ability to change.
The Free State will continue to suffer as the future offers no hope. Unemployment will increase and black reliance on white farmers will continue. Those guilty of corruption and maladministration of the Free State operate from luxury homes and own cars from Europe. The corrupt have a direct link to the poverty and futility of the Free State where farm murders and crime is the norm.
The political grandstanding is a sick side-show as those who benefit from the corruption are mostly black political leaders and their connections who are all linked to former liberation movements. Historically, they had 26years to establish themselves as farmers and develop “food security” for our nation. Growing black farmers would have reduced our dependence on the white farmers. Sadly, media reports infer the black police in Senekal are often linked to crime, as the few black farmers also complain about stock theft.
I do not know if the farmers in Senekal are actually racists or treat workers badly. What I do know is that the chance to develop black farmers was not undertaken or managed successfully in the Free State. It is exhausting listening to black political leaders complain about white farmers but then do so little to develop black farmers to help enhance food security. As a nation we must remain focus on issues of crime, corruption and collusion between criminals and law enforcement which now threatens our food security.
The history of outright looting and corruption in the Free State submits that our political leaders have limited interest in the safety and security of our nation or its food production. Turning ignorant black and white racists on each other is good “distraction politics”.
Talking about racism is futile when facing the prospect of insufficient food to feed the nation, ask the people in the Eastern Cape.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress