Letters: Why would you want to listen to boring old Ramaphosa rattle on when there's thrilling Wimbledon on TV?

How tennis contrasts with corruption

What did you do on Sunday evening, watch the exciting match between Sinner and Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final or listen to the same old drivel from President Cyril Ramaphosa?

The showdown between Sinner and Alcaraz, world Number 1 and world number 2, was such a big contrast to the woman’s final the previous day. Amanda Anisimova was left in tears when she was demolished by Polish star Iga Swiatek in two straight sets in just 57 minutes.

The American didn’t even win one game. In 114 years Wimbledon had not witnessed such a boring, one- sided game. Nevertheless credit must be given to the ruthless Swiatek who not only won her maiden Wimbledon title but also made history by becoming first Polish to win Wimbledon.

But the men’s final was a humdinger. Though Alcaraz fought like a matador he was out classed by the cool Italian, Jannik Sinner who held his nerve and won his first Wimbledon trophy.

Now with Wimbledon dishing up such a mouth-watering clash who would want to spoil their Sunday evening and listen to the president’s insipid address?

Haven’t we all heard it before?

How many commissions, enquiries, dialogues, working committees and meetings must a country have?

What’s ironical and even annoying is that Ramaphosa is very particular about following correct procedure when it comes to bringing wayward ministers and officials to book yet his government is riven by mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption. How often correct procedure is not followed in the awarding of tenders and procurement? And what about him? Can the corrupt act against another corrupt?

The accusations against the Minister of Police re serious and need action, not another long drawn out, expensive commission. Why couldn’t he, for once, act decisively, call the two men, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and KZN National Commissioner of Police Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, to his office, let them fight it out and then he, as the referee, dismiss the loser?

If he could fire the DA’s Deputy Trade Minister Andrew Whitfield for undertaking an unauthorised trip to the US why couldn’t he do the same against Mchunu? It would save the country so much money. Now the taxpayer will have to pay two people for the same job, one acting and the other sitting at home twiddling thumbs.

But he wants to pass the buck to a commission. It could end up like the Zondo Commission. Not that the Zondo Commission which cost R1 billion was a failure but no one implicated in state capture has yet been charged. What a waste of public money!

\What is he a president for if cannot act decisively at crucial times? How we need a strong man at the top who will put the country first and act without fear or favour against the corrupt, not a dawdler like Ramaphosa! | Thyagaraj Markandan Kloof

World hypocrisy stinks badly

THIS is not war – this is industrial-scale slaughter carried out with foreign-backed money and weapons.

Every bomb that reduces a Gaza neighbourhood to rubble carries the fingerprints of powerful nations, and every bullet that tears through a child’s body was financed by taxpayers around the world. Our inaction is our signature on the execution order.They tell us these are “precision strikes”, but where is the precision in bombing a refugee camp to kill one man and murdering 126 civilians instead?

Where is the accuracy in shelling a UN school sheltering displaced families, leaving the walls painted with children’s blood? These aren’t military operations – they’re extermination campaigns. Day after day, body bags are stacking higher as they methodically dismantle an entire people, house by house, school by school, life by life.Israel’s “self-defence” looks like this: Children butchered with shrapnel. Babies baked alive in incubators turned coffins. Elderly people shot in the face while surrendering.  

What defence needs to kill 15 000 children? What security requires bombing hospitals full of patients? What is happening in Gaza cannot be explained away with speeches or softened with political language, because there is nothing complex about dropping bombs on starving children, nothing confusing about blowing up hospitals, schools, and bakeries filled with families who have nowhere else to run, and nothing justifiable about destroying an entire population while claiming it is for security. In Rafah, Israeli bombs hit a tent camp filled with families who fled there because the Israeli Defence Forces told them it was “safe”. The fire melted children alive.

Rescue workers found babies cooked inside their mothers’ arms, their tiny bodies fused together by the heat. This happened on May 26 last year. And all our leaders did was sanitise the bloodshed with press conference smiles. '

At Al-Shifa Hospital, doctors performed C-sections on dead women because the bombs came too fast to save them. In Jabalia, Israeli tanks rolled over wounded civilians begging for help, crushing them into the dirt like cockroaches.

In Khan Younis, Israeli tanks bulldozed through residential blocks, crushing entire families as if they were debris. When survivors dug through the rubble days later, they found a mother clutching her three children, their bodies crushed together so tightly that rescuers had to bury them in a single grave.

The world’s hypocrisy stinks worse than Gaza’s overflowing morgues. The same politicians who cried over Ukrainian children now justify Palestinian children’s deaths. The same outlets that blast Kashmir’s resistance are silent when Israel starves babies.  This isn’t deception – it’s the open slaughter of equality, where racism decides which children get to dream and which ones get buried. Yumna Zahid Ali l Pakistan

Dumping: cleaning up rivers not enough

MANDELA Day is a time when individuals, companies, and institutions commit themselves to making a difference, often by dedicating 67 minutes to good deeds that benefit others.

For the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), this day is an opportunity to take action through its annual Clear River Campaign, which mobilises efforts to clean rivers across the country.Water is the most valuable resource we have as humans; without it, we would not exist. It is crucial to keep our rivers and streams clear of pollutants and rubbish, as this has an adverse effect on the towns downstream. The Department of Water and Sanitation embarks on the Clear River Campaign annually to clean rivers but more importantly, to educate communities about not polluting the water resources.

The campaign has been running for years, but it seems that annually, the same rivers that were cleaned the year prior still remain polluted by the nearby communities. While DWS continues to engage in public participation and awareness drives, the outcomes suggest that the message is not landing where it matters most. Community members frequently cite the failure of municipal waste collection services as a major reason for illegal dumping. If there is no accessible or consistent refuse removal, people feel they have no other option.

The prescribed solution is for all spheres of government and communities to work together with the goal of ending pollution of rivers and streams. If dumping continues, the cost of cleaning polluted water places a heavy financial burden on water services providers, especially municipalities. Preventing pollution is not only more sustainable but also far more affordable than dealing with its consequences.

Behaviours once learned are hard to unlearn. But progress is possible when we commit to consistent effort and collaboration. The Department of Water and Sanitation remains committed to the cause. It may not happen overnight, but with persistence and a shared vision, lasting change is within reach. | Larry Crisp Free State Department of Water and Sanitation

DAILY NEWS