For many people in KwaZulu-Natal, full-white clouds and flashes of lightning in the distance are no longer a kaleidoscope of colour bringing with it the promise of rain, but a terrifying reminder of recently being hit by two disasters.
One was a natural disaster in which 448 people lost their lives in a watery death. The second disaster was man made, created by the ANC. Like with Covid-19, the true tragedy is the corruption committed by ANC cadres who put their greed before the fate of people.
Add to that the utter incompetence of a government that fails to abide by its own laws, like the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, fails to comply with municipal legislation and neglects infrastructure, and it is easy to see how great the preventable part of the disaster really was.
As a result of disputes about municipal and tribal land in certain areas, like Port Alfred, families living in risky places were washed away by the muddy water mass.
Like with Covid-19, President Cyril Ramaphosa was quick to make a billion rand available to help people in need, while reiterating his promise that “no corruption” would be tolerated.
But just like before, corrupt elements put their looting plans into motion while he was still busy speaking. Meanwhile, bankrupt municipalities and provinces have had to fend for themselves.
It is also not fair to taxpayers to repeatedly squander billions of their hard-earned money for the sake of so-called government empathy.
In a debate on the same matter in the National Assembly (NA), Michal Groenewald (FF Plus MP) emphasised that many lives could have been saved by a competent government that truly cares about the fate of its people.
Across the world, countries have their own methods and precautionary measures in place to protect their population against natural disasters. It includes education, discussions and thorough planning.
South Africa’s Disaster Management Act places a responsibility to implement strategies for times of emergency on all three levels of government.
Theoretically, it sounds like a good plan, but the difference between South Africa and other countries is incompetent, corrupt and power-hungry ANC cadres who have absolutely no regard for disaster victims, but only care about lining their own pockets.
Following every disaster that hit South Africa in recent years was an additional disaster that caused just as much suffering. The name of that second disaster is ANC.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Fanie du Toit on FF Plus
