So here’s a question. Well, a few questions, actually. Why does your ridiculous unit even exist? Why is the government closing down the Scorpions, who actually fight crime, but keeping the VIP Protection Unit, who merely commit crime?
Why does any politician, whether that be Zuma or some pompous ass in provincial government, need the protection of a convoy of expensive vehicles manned by self-important halfwits? Since when was their time more important than ours?
We all know, from our own painful experiences with government departments that time means nothing to civil servants. So why the rush to the airport, your next meeting, your afternoon liaison with your mistress, your cosy lunch with your golf buddies? Why can’t politicians just take one car and wait in the traffic like the rest of us?
But let’s not stop there. I’d like to know — and I’d really, really like to know — who authorises the purchase of the convoys of brand new Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Audi and even Porsche Cayenne vehicles for the sole purpose of protecting people who have forgotten their place in life.
How do you justify spending hundreds of millions of rands on these blue-lighted prats when police stations around the country are understaffed, under-resourced and underpaid? How do you pretend to care about the poor when you’re buying dozens of Hummers and Jeep Cherokees to escort mysterious politicians down the highway? Don’t you think it pisses the public off when they see their tax money being spent in this wasteful way?
OK, OK. I know that’s unthinkable to you and your masters.
So try this instead: put a leash on your rottweilers. Get your storm troopers to start treating the public like the people who pay their salaries. Protect your spoilt little brat VIPs, if you have to. But do so courteously. Wait your turn in the traffic. Don’t tailgate innocent motorists. Keep your guns in your holsters and your egos in check.
Try it. If you dare.”
–Peter van der Merwe
South Africa Today – South Africa News
