Nature has such an arsenal of destructive forces at its disposal to wreak havoc on the Earth. There’s drought, floods, gale-force winds, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, mudslides and avalanches, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Have I left out anything? At any given time in some corner of the globe, the forces of nature vent their anger on man.
Like nature, there are good men and evil men. Some devote their lifetimes to creating masterpieces in art, sculpture, architecture and music. Many also sacrifice their lives improving the quality of life of others through science, medicine and other humanitarian efforts.
Then you have some who take great pleasure in destroying what others have painstakingly built and preserved for centuries. Whether they are marauding armies advancing on the enemy or a vanquished army in retreat, they leave a trail of destruction behind them.
And then the victims have to pick up their shattered lives and rebuild their homes from the rubble. One builds, the other destroys.
Freedom fighters and revolutionaries are the same; they free their land from the oppressor and then become oppressors themselves. Robert Mugabe overthrew white minority rule only to become a ruthless tyrant who destroyed a once thriving economy.
Now his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has the painful and difficult task of rebuilding his impoverished nation to its former glory.
Former president Jacob Zuma took us dangerously close to the very brink of the precipice. Like a swarm of locusts, he and his cronies descended on every government department, SOE, municipality and local council, devouring everything in front of them. In a matter of nine years they looted and pillaged the state coffers and brought the economy to its knees. If urgent action had not been taken against these voracious pests, we would have become another dust bowl like Zimbabwe.
Now Zuma’s gone and his successor has to clean up his mess. It’s not a pleasant task cleaning up someone else’s big, stinking mess. Zuma has destroyed the economy so badly that it may take many years to recover. Ramaphosa cannot do it by burdening the overtaxed public with more taxes and yet keeping a bloated, lazy and crooked public service.
He must clean up, trim the fat and dump the dirt in his government if he wishes to succeed as a credible and successful leader.
Thyagaraj Markandan
Silverglen