Technology and education cannot beat ingrained laziness and stupidity
A friend is building a house and shares his on-site experiences. Recently, he bought and located a see-thru 500 litre tank to catch rain water. The water was crystal clear and he told workers to use the water for cleaning tools and mixing concrete etc. Oddly, instead of taking a few litres out of the tank and using that to clean and mix, one worker threw some dirty paint brushes into the 500l tank.
The crystal clear water was instantly tainted. When asked why he did not remove some water to clean the paint brushes elsewhere, the worker could not answer. Why is this storyline important?
Let me explain.
At various levels of government we have lazy and stupid officials who were appointed. Getting the job and doing the job properly is however two different issues and some officials cost taxpayers billions with wastage. This wastage is filed away, forgotten and the stupidity allowed to continue.
Example, years ago I heard of a situation where someone abused illegal drugs and developed a mental disorder and needed to be medically boarded. When a person is ill and requires treatment through no fault of their own, it is vital we support them. However when you are guilty of inflicting harm upon yourself, why must taxpayer’s pay the financial cost of your decision to use illegal drugs?
It is easy to say such examples are rare, but in truth we are wasting billions on State employees that are rarely available or simply just do not add value for whatever reason. Firing a civil servant is rare and when you have a lazy or stupid worker in play, service delivery becomes a theoretical exercise.
Since politicians are re-elected every 5 years, I suggest all officials could have 5yr contracts etc.
Since service delivery is failing in 80% of municipalities and so few government departments can/has attained clean audits, can service delivery/corruption get worse?
When you have a lazy official and he/she has access to costly computers, that person will likely google rubbish or playing games and the technology serves no purpose. In truth government is spending billions of taxpayer’s money to pay staff and buy equipment that does not translate into service delivery. This is why so many people are protesting across the nation.
Example, what is the value of paying instalments on a vehicle that does not drive? The aim of a vehicle is to transport. Equally the purpose of officials are to add value to real service delivery.
The consequences of appointing stupidity, laziness and corruption etc. has created a situation where millions of people cannot access affordable electricity and clean water. It is not theoretical, it’s real.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress