Letters to the editor, September 10

Harsh laws hurt domestic workers

Your edition of Monday 8, September 2025, “domestic workers endure harsh realities as South Africa’s economy stagnates: sweep south” refers:

Unfortunately, with our regulatory burden and the harsh labour legislation those that suffer the most are those that are the least qualified. Domestic workers should be able to offer their services at a wage that is agreeable to them and on conditions that are agreeable to them.

The structures of our labour laws mean that many of the most menial workers will lose their jobs rendering them earning nothing at all. | Michael Bagraim Cape Town

The erosion of international law

The world order established after the World War II was meant to guarantee one thing above all: never again would humanity witness genocide and the deliberate destruction of entire peoples.

The UN, the Geneva Conventions, and the International Criminal Court were created to uphold this pledge, restraining the powerful and protecting the weak.

Today, those mechanisms stand gravely undermined. The wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the occupation of territories, and the collective punishment of civilian populations demonstrate a brazen disregard for international law. When hospitals, schools, and refugee camps are bombed in defiance of the Geneva Conventions, when occupation is normalized, and when veto powers at the UN Security Council block accountability, the post-war promise of “never again” becomes a hollow refrain.

This collapse is not merely legal – it is moral.

The world is reminded daily that the rules apply selectively: justice for some, impunity for others. Such double standards leave the UN and related institutions looking toothless, unable to deliver even the most basic protection to those caught in conflict.

The consequences are profound. Weaker nations lose faith in the international system and are left exposed to domination. Refugee crises destabilise entire regions. Trust in multilateral co-operation – once the bedrock of peace and trade – erodes. Meanwhile, extremist ideologies thrive on the perception that the global order is nothing more than a mask for raw power.

The world grows poorer not only in security and stability but also in conscience.

A rules-based system that once inspired hope is being replaced by the law of the jungle. If violations of international law continue unchecked, nothing will remain of the safeguards created after 1945. The ideals born from the ashes of the Holocaust will wither into ceremonial words, stripped of meaning.

Humanity must decide: recommit to these institutions, reform them where necessary, and hold all nations equally accountable – or accept that we are entering a darker age, where history’s gravest horrors may well repeat themselves. | Adiel Ismail Mount View

Quality healthcare under serious threat

A series of written replies to parliamentary questions posed by the DA in the KZN legislature have revealed the full extent of the medical specialist crisis in our province’s busiest government hospitals – a crisis that is directly impacting residents.

According to Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, there are massive shortages of specialists and shocking waiting times:
* Ophthalmologists – 9 406 patients await treatment, with just 18 ophthalmologists across nine hospitals. An extra 15 are needed, but only 12 posts approved.
* Cardiologists – only four in the province, one of them permanent. Patients wait up to six months for appointments.
* Oncologists – just 12 across four hospitals, with backlogs of six to 10 weeks. Six more are required.
* Urologists – six for the entire province, with 600 patients waiting up to three months and, in some cases, years. Thirteen more are needed.
* Orthopaedic surgeons – 44 instead of the 69 required. Waiting times two to three weeks.
* ENTs – 11 instead of 14, with patients waiting up to eight weeks.
* Neurologists – nine, with three-month waits.
* Radiologists – nine short of requirements.

These are KZN’s apex hospitals – among the busiest in the country, serving millions. The sustainability of quality healthcare is under grave threat. The reasons are clear: the private sector is more lucrative – government hospitals cannot compete.

Conditions in the state sector are poor, with long hours. Planning and management are inadequate. Retirement, resignations, contracts ending and, above all, budget constraints prevent posts being filled and hamper recruitment.

The DA acknowledges MEC Simelane’s forthrightness and welcomes her openness about the crisis and its impact. However, urgent interventions are required.

The DA proposes:
A dedicated line item at Health portfolio committee meetings to scrutinise budgets and prioritise more registrar posts in critical fields.
* Formal working relationships with private sector specialists to increase sessions.
* Engagement with retired specialists now in private practice, many of whom are willing to offer sessions to reduce waiting times.
* Interprovincial collaboration to train specialists and manage patient loads.
* Consideration of requiring newly-qualified specialists to conduct a year of paid service to the province on a sessional basis.

Unless bold steps are taken, millions of KZN citizens will continue to suffer from a collapsing specialist service. The time for urgent, practical solutions is now. | Dr Imran Keeka MPL – DA KZN Spokesperson on Health

The real threat to peace is Trump

Donald Trump’s absurd tariff war on the world has had one unexpected consequence – it has united and strengthened the Shanghai Co-operation Agreement by pulling China, India and Russia into a powerhouse.

Trump miscalculated the effect his dollar-driven policies would have on adversaries. By releasing Vladimir Putin from economic isolation when Russia’s economy was struggling, he inadvertently created the glue binding India, Russia and China together.

His attempt to woo Putin into a co-operation agreement has collapsed. Putin sees Trump for what he is – a manipulative new-age autocrat bent on reshaping the US in line with his personal vision, regardless of global cost.

Trump’s laager mentality recalls the darkest days of apartheid South Africa, where every critic was branded a suspect, dissent became a crime against the state, and “security” was wielded as a blunt weapon.

History shows this thinking was always a dangerous fairytale.The real threat to world peace today does not lie with Russia, Ukraine, China or India – it lies with Trump.

His isolationist, transactional policies and obsession with money have not made the US stronger; they have driven rivals closer together and destabilised the balance he claims to protect.His arrogance has weakened Washington’s global role, fractured ties with allies, and created space for rival blocs to rise. His short-sightedness has turned competitors into partners, and his posturing has left the US less trusted and respected.

America deserves leadership that builds bridges, not walls – leadership that strengthens alliances rather than undermines them. The world needs stability, not chaos born of vanity and greed.

Trump may believe he is playing a clever game of power politics. In truth, he is writing the playbook for his rivals’ success.

The real danger is not abroad. It is Donald Trump himself. | Colin Bosman Newlands

DAILY NEWS