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The Wild Frontier

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Zuma’s watershed statement: “Don’t blame it on apartheid”

Posted: April 24th, 2010 | By Ray Hartley


JACOB Zuma has finally said what his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki ought to have said a long time ago: You can’t blame the lack of services and facilities on apartheid some 16 years into democracy.
In an under-reported statement to his director generals on Friday, Zuma said: “After two decades we will not be able to make an excuse if we do not deliver faster change in the lives of our people.”
He went on to say: “We will not be able to blame apartheid if villages still have no water, no electricity, no roads. We will not be able to blame anyone else if children still study under trees, if houses and schools are falling apart.”
I happen to believe that apartheid must still shoulder the blame for creating a society so vastly unequal that even the proper use of resources over the last 16 years would not have levelled the playing field.
But that is not the point. The point is to take responsibility and that is what Zuma has done. Government must stand up and account for failures in delivery. And, he also said, strong action must be taken against those who undermine the state’s ability to deliver with inefficiency and corruption.
Spot on.

  
 
 

Comments

 

Ro - rsa citizen

April 24, 2010 at 9:39 pm

Ray, I like this. Thanks for bringing it to light. I saw briefly the report on some newsflash, but now that you are examining it further, it gives further food for thought. Methinks that there are other forces at play. Perhaps the Prez ..uma has realised his duty…or perhaps he got a lotonhisplate to suddenly thinkabout! Go Z! We are waiting for ya! Show us you can do more than make fancy dance moves for the fickle public and TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS! It is indeed a watershed statement…let’s hope it sticks.

 

Larry Goodfella

April 25, 2010 at 8:08 am

It is nothing but empty rhetoric because it will be followed up by the same re-tardiness and lack of political will, as was demonstrated with the ANC’s paralysis over Malema.

There is a great possibility that Zuma and the ANC will trot out the occasional sweetheart comment that will melt the hearts of an increasingly despondent citizenry who would grasp at any sign of sanity with overwhelming and undeserved praise for Zuma. Don’t let your heads be confuckulated so easily.

While Zuma’s words are a true indictment on the state of the public service as it relates to service delivery, it is just lib-balm for the chapped lips of the terminally dehydrated.

The blame goes to the blowing of billions on arms deal, corruption, wasteful expenditure and the soccer world cup. These billions could have delivered all the needed infrastructure and housing, education and health needs of the poor of this country.

And the vastly unequal society existed from long before apartheid.

 

Ro - rsa citizen

April 27, 2010 at 1:12 am

OK Larry. Ya got me there. Keep ‘em coming…

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