RE: Dramatic images of protest action in South Africa
I cannot and will not condone gratuitous violence even if I understand why it happens. Equally, I agree that R20/hour is a paltry figure to pay someone;
and the challenge of paying it. I, too, have recently had to close my business because the cost of keeping it compliant to be able to bid for work in government and parastatals (and not getting it), was just too costly. And more than 20 years ago, when employing people became so difficult, I made the decision not to grow my business - far too risky to incur overheads and try to find work to cover just the overheads and eke out a living. I had watched a friend and colleague do just that. It killed her. Literally.
I cannot not hope for the future. I believe that we have turned a corner, or just beginning to turn the corner. No-one believed that Zuma would create havoc he did, to the extent he did, but less than 10 years later we look back and see how insidious his destruction has been. Unlike under the old regime, we are now seeing what he's done and even though it will take years, the judicial system is working. He and his fellow crooks are being shown up, and have their day in court, they shall.
This and the ordinary people I engage with every day who have the same needs as we all do: peace, education for their children, food in their tummies a warm bed and a loving family, give me hope.
I have hope, but it;s kind of vague, just a being a better person for a better future kind of thing. I don't think the change of president is going to change anything,
I was profoundly disappointed when Zuma became president. It was the first time since 1990 that I began to fear for this country, about which I am passionate.
So, I have to say that, on the contrary, and having had a long and vicarious association with the new president, I think that things will change. It will be a bit like steering the Titanic, yes, so it will take a long time. My hope is that he is able to stay around long enough to effect that change and that we will look back five years from now and see how far the country has come. The rot is deep, yes, and to get rid of it is going to be a long, hard road. I have to believe that he will and can. It began with the new Minister of Finance, to mention the obvious one and also with returning Naledi Pandor to a portfolio that needs her: Higher Education and Training. There are other things, too, like the Eskom board, the fact that Zuma will be in court, and that we have a free press, and that I can say things like this and not be worried about who's listening/reading....
I am a glass half full type of girl, so hope I must, as I did in the 1980's.
Thank you for your reply to this post @fionasfavourites. You are acknowledging the problem but stating the positive also. Both my son and daughter experience being paid less than R3000 a month here on the South Coast of KZN. They were not happy with the pay, but they need money to survive. I will also not be able to pay my domestic worker R3500 per month. I will have to cut back her days and hours so in the end she will still get what I can afford. South Africa has massive problems but we have been overcoming it since we arrived here in 1652. We will make it!