We need a plan to energise uselessness
Some folk are born into poverty and others into wealth. Some have educated parents and others do not. This and other genetic and environmental factors influence the ability of a person to have value.
However, sometimes we must question the desire and or ability of some to improve themselves.
Example, sometime ago after Friday prays at mosque, a beggar approached. As I have seen him around I asked him to wash my car on an agreed price. As he knew where I lived we agreed to meet in 30 minutes. He immediately disappeared and only reappeared months later at mosque, to beg.
At election time, desperate for labour to load posters into my vehicle and get posters onto poles across the City, I asked the roving beggar to work at an agreed price. I cabled the poster and brought it for hanging, as one person held the ladder and another person cable-tied the poster to the pole.
I noticed the mosque beggar did not climb the ladder but took the easy task of carrying and holding the ladder against the pole. The hard part of climbing the ladder with poster and fixing to pole, he avoided. On asking, why he did not share tasks equally, he told me he had a fear of heights. How climbing three metres above ground could inspire such fear for a homeless beggar, was interesting.
He worked and was paid daily and after a week disappeared again.
Months later he reappeared begging for work and promised that he was gifted at gardening. We agreed on a wage and he weeded between the brick paving around the house etc. We also agreed that he would return. Very soon afterwards, he appeared just as the weeds reappeared. I decided to watch him work and sadly witnessed that he did not remove the weeds by its roots but simply removed the noticeable tops by cutting off the visible parts. This caused the weeds to return quickly.
My experience with the mosque beggar and many other people convinced me that we have people that lack a work ethic and also do not care. They dislike work and prefer to beg. When desperate they will do the minimum but resist real efforts so that an employer would not employ them again.
I have seen similar behaviour in my 20 years in local government, laziness and lack of work ethic.
In our society we have millions of people who live on welfare that is paid by 5% of tax payers. This is unsustainable, society and government must make a plan to make the lazy work for their own upkeep.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress