The Ground Is Even More Uneven

I guess it is an achievement worth celebrating that President Zuma promised the white squatters of Bethlehem in Pretoria, low cost houses and six months later, keys were handed to the owners.

Indeed, it is. Those of us who have worked in the construction sector and who have actually had a hand in the building of any house, know that with all material readily available, it takes a good three days to complete a house.

So, it was something of a good feeling within me which kicked in when I learned of the handover of these houses to their new owners, partly because it meant that things can be done in good time. On the other hand, though, this registered that indeed white people of South Africa continue to enjoy privileges at the expense of the masses. I am not saying the white folk must not benefit from the dispensation we fought so hard for, but I am questioning a couple of things about this whole thing.

It is a well-known fact that ANC politicians are longing for the votes of the white and coloured folk to justify their claim of being a "church for all". The delivery of these houses then is almost suspicious. And then, the speed at which the houses were delivered is something of a wonder too. Like a neighbouring community member said, black people, not 10 kilometers away from that area, have waited for over a decade for the same kind of housing but they still wait.

Zuma visited the white folks' area and made a promise which he was quick to keep but among the people for whom he claims to have fought , and for whose benefit his government claims to be working towards, this is wrong. This is not about politicking or anything like that. It is justice. The black people which are the majority in our population can't be overlooked like that.

How many times have many black informal settlements dwellers been promised houses? This happens everywhere and to allow for the processes to take longer than they should when it is Black people who must be served, and so short a time when it comes to the white folk, is blatant racism and continuing oppression.

President Zuma is a political strategist but not a very good CEO of the government institution. He is unfair and untrustworthy, really. Because he makes a lot of promises and keeps very few and for a section of the society, Zuma should not be the next president of the nation, let him stay on at Luthuli House.

The playing field just got skewer.