GNU 'progress' is wishful thinking
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Paul Mashatile co-chair the Government of National Unity Leaders Retreat at the Cradle Stone Boutique Hotel in Mogale City. Claiming unity in words but not in action masks the deep ideological divisions that have come to categorise the coalition government, says the writer.
Image: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS
THE so-called Government of National Unity (GUNU) retreat offered South Africans a glimpse into how out of touch our leaders are with not only the situation on the ground, but with issues confronting them as well.
To come out of that meeting presenting a united front as they attempted to do in their statement is a misrepresentation that should not go unchallenged. In fact, to claim that the GNU is more united than ever borders on undermining South Africans’ intelligence.
Just a week ago, the ANC and DA were at loggerheads over the latter's latest attempts to scrap the B-BBEE policy and replace it with its Economic Inclusion for All Bill. Claiming unity in words but not in action masks the deep ideological divisions that have come to categorise the coalition government.
What progress when youth unemployment is at an all time high? What progress are these leaders seeing when criminals operate in communities with impunity?. Is it progress that South Africa remains one of the countries with the largest and most highly compensated cabinet while the majority of the population live off social grants?
For those of us seeing the impact the high cost of living has on most people, the GNU has only made the situation worse.
Who it benefits the most are the Cabinet ministers and their deputies whose lavish lifestyle is funded by the taxpayer.
The retreat has come and gone, just like hope fades in many homes worried about where their next meal will come from, if they are lucky enough to have a roof over their heads. It cannot be progress when potholes can lead to deadly road accidents, and when politically connected individuals and families are shielded from accounting.
Our country longs for ethical leaders who will place the interests of citizens above everything. Not those co-opted to protect a president who they should be asking to give answers about concealing undeclared foreign currency in couches.
Come next year, South Africans must once again correct this, just like they did when removing the ANC from power, only to return through the back door with the help of the DA.
CAPE TIMES