By Lurnay Tshabalala-Mavuso, Political Reporter | POLITICS | Jan, 2024
SOUTH AFRICA is a country that many African countries and even international countries look up to a lot especially when it comes to the law and the constitution. However South Africa today has turned into a hub of state corruption, crime and injustices. The very same elected leaders who are meant to serve and lead the country and its people with integrity and truth, are the very same people who are destroying the future of this beautiful country.
At this point in time, it feels safe to say that South Africa is bleeding and our leaders are the ones responsible for the haemorrhage. Just when our people think it is a new year and are looking forward to better things coming, things take a down turn and the hearts of hopeful South Africans get broken when tragic matters start arising in the beginning of this new year. Firstly, the load-shedding situation is what brings our people to their knees because this has been going on for quite a long time now and the implementation of this load-shedding has caused a lot of damage in the lives of South Africans and their households, not forgetting to mention the leak it has caused in the South African economy. Then we come to the issue of student funding, disadvantaged and working class students have had a rough year especially in 2023, as they were faced with financial abandonment, exclusion and delays as the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been unrevealing a lot of scandals of fraud, embezzlement and corruption. This has caused a lot of heartbreak and psychological suffering particularly for the students who are dependent wholly on the scheme, students who do not have other financial alternative for university funding including tuition, residence fees, book and food allowances. Adding to the problem, Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande has proposed a tuition and residence fee increment for year 2024 in 26 South African universities, the percentage figures being 4.5% and 6.5%. The question now is - WHAT ABOUT THE DISADVANTAGED AND WORKING CLASS STUDENTS?, are their feelings being considered in all of this or this is another way of ensuring that more funds are being embezzled for leadership's personal benefit ?!
Oh and last but not least, not forgetting to mention the political pot of drama as political parties are rallying for votes, new ones arise in the name of a "a better and successful South Africa for all", yet all of this is being done for the benefit of leaders who want to be entrusted with not just running the country but running the lives of South Africans who are hopeful and continue to be hopeful for yet a better and successful South Africa, even when we are in a "democratic South Africa". Now many South Africans ask themselves, what has democracy done in this country except to move tiny bits of racism and inequality and to put black leaders in power and positions to run the country to the devil's den, instead of realizing that the outcry from the beginning was freedom, yet this freedom comes at the cost of yet more black lives being comprised and assassinated and what hurts the most is that this time it is not the whites but its the blacks oppressing their very own black nation.
This dilemma will not end because even when there are so many political parties that promise to change South Africa for the better should they be voted to power, the nation is not sure or rest-assured that indeed the country will change for the better and that the elected leaders will do better than the ones that are already having reign over the country.
South Africa is in shambles and the future is not guaranteed. It would be a miracle to experience a nightmare-free South Africa, and that would be one that we would need to pray and thank the lord for the rest of our lives.