Many people will look to the President for some comfort as they struggle with the everyday issues of life, politically and economically. The poor will pray to all their gods that the President's plans for the next year will reflect and take into account their state of lively-hood.
Therefore it is proper that I first present the State of the Nation as I and many others view it.
The State of the Nation Address, in some parts, is nothing more than an event for politicians to "hook-up" with old friends and comrades for a night of whiskey and expensive cigars.
The Nation's outlook, save for the cities and towns we front with, is reflected well in this picture. Millions of people live in such conditions and no talk from Tata Gwede Mantashe or Ntate Kgalema Mothlante will change things. The talking has had a lot of time allocated to it rather than the doing.
A disturbing and frustrating reality, often leading to unrest and violent protest, is that a minority of the Nation's population lives smoothly in the lofty places such as in the picture above. The haves have been desensitized to the reality that their wealth, even as many will deny they are wealthy, could change the attitudes and the lives of many, and the change they could effect would last for a lifetime. How is it possible that a man whose net worth reaches millions of Rand every year could fail to build a house for a single family in need?
How is it that the government fails to prioritize the well-being of those living in the most dire of situations? When politicians visit man, it is always in the company of heavily armed (with cameras and note-pads) journalists?
The true state of our nation is reflected in these pictures and whether the government agrees with me on this one or not is irrelevant because many people in the streets acknowledge that the gap between the poor and the poorest has widened dramatically and the gap between the rich and the poor is also widening.
The end result or the end point of all the frustration, the anger, the humiliation and the indignity is evident in the image above. There shall be no end to this.
This is the State Of Our Nation.
Mr Mfubu, your article makes sense to me especially coming from a township background. I feel that when giving the address the President and his team do not really consider ordinary South Africans.
ReplyDeleteThe saying "Times are hard" is not just a saying to most of us, it’s a prophecy being fulfilled.
Living conditions are so bad and citizens think it’s alright to live in unhealthy conditions.
But I guess the state of the nation (according to you and other South African citizens) and the Government will always be two ways.
We always preach about the notion of having a balance in life – with darkness comes light, with fear comes bravery, with hatred comes love and I could go on and on. I guess in this case (the state of the nation) it is about the rich and the poor.
But we cannot always blame government and its officials. What are we doing to get out of the gutter? Go to any township, you will find there are people who are actually doing something to better their lives and of the generation that will come after them – and there are those that just don't give a damn.
My take on the issue is, maybe one day we will get leaders that will actually know what it’s like to feel helpless and desperate and people will work hand in hand with Government to better lives.
In the interim, let's get back to basics of humanity. If you have an extra pair of jeans, food, and time to spare, DO IT and make someone’s life better. Who knows, a couple of years down the line you might just better the state of our nation.
Fact of the matter: there will always be hurdles in life that we must jump over; we just need to be fit for the race.
Nelson Mandela once said: "Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."
Most of what is stated her is indeed the truth as seen through the naked eye or the lenses of the camera, however there is more than one truth.
ReplyDeleteA lot of gains have been made since the dawn of democracy. A lot more people now have houses and have running water and other basic necessities though a lot is still to be done. the govt is on a right track, the pace is slow and can indeed be upped but these things take time.
For most of the problems we cannot blame national govt, the municipalities of these areas must see to it that services are provided and what good does it do for the community not to toyi-toyi...nothing at all. People need to take action and demand what is due to them.
The govt need a pushing also, remember we dealing with people here.
This maybe the state of the nation as you see it but there's another state. As for the luxuries you've shown here, the stadium and the boats, remember men don't live on bread alone.
Good piece bro, as always.
This is just a begging, our fundamentals issues and problems we face on a daily basis are not taken into consideration,(water, electricity and houses), then after they will came with their political structures like communist party, I mean seriously, or maybe we define communism in different perspective, but that one is the issue to be debated by our so called political leaders in our different communities.
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