Decades ago at university, I read Chinua Achebe “Things falling apart” as part of prescribed reading. When I consider the condition of society, I relate this to the decay as it subtly set in Achebe’s novel.
The childish shenanigans in our parliament have borne fruits. Often I speak to parents and educators about discipline and behaviour in various schools. The decay has set in as some students do as they please because of society’s fascination with a vague human rights centred culture. The result is, we often “throw out the baby along with the bath water”, the baby in this case being common sense.
Across the nation learning institutions are held hostage by a handful of violent, unruly and immature youth who have no real skills or education to formulate a coherent argument. In the name of racism transformation, better accommodation, free education, lower pass rates and so on, they create havoc.
Though there may be merit in some issues, is it okay that students, who are unhappy, disrupt the learning program of others who seek an education? What about the human rights of other learners?
Similarly, service delivery protests that result in the burning of libraries and civic buildings are counter-productive. Where must the children study, read books and research assignments when their own community burn down the only library in the district? The lack of thinking in this case is self-evident.
Also entrepreneurs are doing their best to automate assembly lines as labour laws become a burden. Even well-meaning entrepreneurs who want to create jobs have little choice as labour laws become more arduous. Since communist styled thinking is historically and universally flawed, they cannot create jobs but only grab and redistribute the wealth of genuine entrepreneurs. When the reallocation process is high-jacked by political elite like in South Africa and across Africa, the result is an absurd activist discourse that seeks a return to purist failed communist jargon like nationalization of wealth.
On a very regular basis family entrepreneurs which constitute about 80% of registered business in South Africa are injured or killed in South Africa. With the increasing and high number of farm murders the price of food will continue to increase as farmers spend billions on security.
As a society we are divided along racial and class lines and on what the future should look like. Thus there are people amid us who believe that because of Apartheid, it does not matter how wealth is amassed. For this reason many South Africans suffer in foreign jails in an attempt to smuggle drugs.
The crime stats across the nation have sky-rocketed and the most vital debate in our parliament is if parliamentarians can wear overalls in parliament. Parliament has become a paradox as the speaker addresses parliamentarians as “the honourable member” whiles some often behave in a vile manner.
Voters must advocate that political reps must have a university degree as this may inspires dignified conduct. Example, in a recent National Council of Provinces -NCOP meeting, an ANC parliamentarian said something to the effect that, “people who wear overalls do dirty work”. For nearly 30 minutes, the meeting was chaotic as the speaker struggled to gain discipline in the chamber. EFF members with overalls wanted an apology. In the end I was unable to grasp what the actual debate was really about.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress