Who will lead the revolution?
I own a small residential property on the outskirts of Soweto. I have borrowed money from a bank and invested my own funds to improve the property. As I write, the suburb in which my property is located has been without electricity for more than two weeks, and there is no end in sight.
My property is metered and the people who live on the property pay for electricity they use.
I understand the original problem of a “blown transformer” escalated into a refusal by Eskom to restore the supply of electricity after certain members of the community “chased” away the Eskom technicians tasked with fixing the breakdown.
I get it.
What I don’t get is why power is not restored to those residents who pay for the electricity.
Police must do their job
The police must do their job and protect the Eskom technicians restoring power to the suburb and disconnect those members of the community who have illegal connections and are not paying for the electricity they use. Repeat the process so those who can pay do, those who can’t pay receive assistance from public funds, and those who won’t pay are locked away.
It’s not complicated.
Until such time as politicians experience the everyday inconvenience of living in Kasi, send their children to government schools in Kasi and participate in the state health care system they built for Kasi, nothing will change.
Talking of change.
I’m optimistic
Let’s take stock of what we know to be true:
- The corrupt continue to eat.
- The incompetent remain in charge.
- Unemployment has stolen our future.
- Our decaying infrastructure is beyond repair.
- Our no-growth economy has ground to a halt.
- Our leaders fight amongst themselves for the spoils of public office.
- Violent crime is our only growth industry.
These are the drivers of change!
I am a Black South African. I don’t have a foreign passport and fleeing to one of our neighbours as an economic migrant doesn’t cut it for obvious reasons.
The pot is boiling and the lid is on. Unlike the ruling elite of our neighbours who’ve had the benefit of South Africa as a release valve, we have no such luxury. Closing our borders and sending our brothers and sisters back home will only hasten the fall of their own blood sucking elite. Maybe a good thing.
Time is not on our side. The lid will fly off and the pot will boil over long before the required change trickles down to those who need it most.
It’s just a question of when and who will lead.
That’s why I’m optimistic. I’ve lived through one revolution, I can live through another.
My prediction?
The born frees will lead the charge before 2030.
Eskom … Awethu!
