ANC’s smoke and mirrors

What’s becoming of us? Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma - as he is now referred to by his mouthpiece, the SABC - expressed his deep pride and satisfaction in the performance of the South African Team at the Commonwealth Games.

I was taken aback by Gedleyihlekisa’s profound pronouncement, having been of the opinion that our team performed piss poorly, but then, I have been known to be wrong on occasion and besides, standards differ. I nevertheless took the time to check and, much to my surprise, found that our medal haul at these games was the lowest since our peak in 2002.

Why then Zuma’s sense of pride I ask myself? After all this is just sport and games. Then; like a bolt of lightning it struck me; In South Africa, less is more, except when it comes to the enrichment of the ruling elite and their cronies, nothing minimalist there. In this “Bad is Good” culture it almost seems as if, amongst other things, a steady decline in all standards is the desired outcome for African governments and the ANC is desperate to take us to the nadir - to place us right at the bottom of a pile of rot.

The attitude displayed by Zuma permeates South Africa’s approach to everything despite our exceptionally high crime rate (top ten in the world), our rising unemployment (highest in the world), our falling education standards (lowest standard in Africa) and health standards (fastest rising infant mortality rate and fastest falling life expectancy in the world).

Most South Africans refuse to recognise our decent into a pit of mediocrity to the cheers of rulers and with the sound of struggle songs drowning the cries of despair. Instead of questioning our sliding standards they believe their leaders when the likes of Zuma express praise for South Africa’s under achievements.

The findings of a recent survey say that foreigners, as a consequence of the World Cup tournament, have an improved perception of conditions in South Africa. The ANC and the government in a huge public relations exercise, paid for by the taxpayer, convinced the world they were doing a good job. By shielding the visitors from reality they created a perception quite contrary to reality.

Unfortunately for South Africans, perceptions are hard to change and the plunder of resources and the curtailment of freedom can now continue unhindered. Few will believe that the ANC intends to silence dissenters and media alike with the proposed secrecy bill. Fewer still will be convinced that this nice people intend to change land ownership to facilitate future land grabs.

Fortunately the positive perceptions of visiting foreigners were not reflected by South Africans. More and more South Africans are starting to see through the ANC’s smoke and mirrors and they are realising the precipitous state of our country. A realisation that will hopefully be reflected at the ballot box starting next year’s Municipal Elections.