Sunday Times E-Edition

DA is going about its anti-ANC campaign the wrong way

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South Africans, with good reason, are past fed-up with all the decay in the country, not to mention Eskom’s power outages.

That the out-of-touch ANC government is failing the people is also true. Of course, there are exceptions and good things have also happened since 1994. However, it is inexcusable and worrying that Eskom is paralysing an already struggling economy.

I want to believe that every rightminded South African supports a protest march for the reasons put forward by the DA; even the ANC Youth League does, as I understand. What the youth league clearly does not understand is that the ruling party, especially the appointed minister(s), as well as the top management of Eskom, are jointly liable and to blame for all the red tape, corruption and decay at the state institution. Luthuli House is also no “golden calf”, and any person has the right, within the law, to hold a peaceful protest there or anywhere else.

Having said this, I must admit that the DA’s march left me worried, especially since blood flowed there a few years ago when people lost their lives unnecessarily. Did the DA forget this and possibly endanger people’s lives? I believe the march could have been a tragic repetition of the past if the police had failed to keep the two groups apart. I shudder to think what the ghastly consequences of this could have been. It was equally deplorable and uncalled for to have aggressive youth league members carrying whips, weapons and Tasers, which clearly don’t belong in a democracy.

I can’t help but believe that the message delivered to the ANC would have been much more powerful and effective if it had been an inclusive, nationwide, wellorchestrated protest like during the “Zuma must go” period, rather than wanting to politicise it once again and win points by the DA. It shows short-sightedness. The somewhat defiant arrogance at times, as well as the derogatory slogan of “Voetsek ANC”, left me rather uneasy. Many, including me, want to see an end to ANC rule, but let’s do it with decency, dignity and at the ballot box.

The sooner the DA realises it does not have the power or numbers to oust the ANC on its own, the better. This also goes for the smaller parties. It can only be done by forming a good coalition between rightminded and like-minded, wise and strong leaders who really put the wellbeing of South Africa first. Race, and personal and selfish political agendas, must now be put aside. Unity is power!

Marianne Barnard, Durban

A thick skin is essential armour

In response to Lindiwe Mazibuko’s “Why are the best driven from politics while the worst thrive?” (January 22): I have no idea why she got involved in politics at a young age but I’m certain that, within a short time, she found the environment unbearable.

I wish to remind her that the history of black involvement in this country is one of violence and death because black people were fighting for recognition. It was therefore very dangerous in the past to dabble in politics and only those who were dedicated or had nothing to lose found it attractive.

In that process all those with guts quickly adapted to the cruelty meted out by the proponents of apartheid and became cruel to their opponents in return to survive.

The end result was the toxicity that exists in our politics today — and that demands a thick skin.

However rude politicians are to their opponents in other countries, they cannot begin to compare with the so-called politicians in South Africa. They must be the worst in the world.

Ntsikana Tuntulwana, Newlands West

Help us beat the heat, IPPs

My condolences to the loved ones of people who died recently of heatstroke. Many have previously died of the same cause.

Not so long ago I was part of a working group in Upington — ordinary people, experts and local authorities — that was facilitated by a consulting firm on behalf of Eskom in connection with a planned 58MW solar farm.

The original negotiations were supposed to take into consideration the inconvenience to the lives of our people, to make sure we benefit as a community from the multibillion-rand solar investment.

Why is Eskom not giving us exemption from load-shedding since we live close to these solar farms?

Billions of litres of water in and around our area have been used for the erection and installation of the solar farm, and now for its operation.

Many hectares of land are being used in our area for the huge economic benefit of independent power producers (IPPs) and Eskom, yet the people close by experience so much discomfort due to rising temperatures.

We are not benefiting as communities. We deserve more — help us to benefit from your royalties. You are supposed to assist each household to have proper airconditioning because the heat is unbearable.

You will earn trillions over the lifespan of those farms. You are supposed to send children to study so that they can come back and help our future generations to mitigate heatstroke.

Play your part, IPPs. We will all die of heatstroke. We need urgent intervention now! Adam Visser, Upington

Opinion

en-za

2023-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

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