Dashiki | Things have gone south, nothing seems to be working in this government

VOICES

There is nothing as irritating and frustrating as getting continual calls from family members and friends asking for money.

While times are hard for everyone, some people have developed a habit of simply asking – and expecting – as a default strategy. It is embedded in them.

So, when I received a call from a friend last week, requesting financial assistance, I was about to dismiss it as one of those “ma-chancers”, particularly since it was only the middle of the month – until he explained his predicament.

My friend and many others were stuck in Pretoria late in the afternoon and had no means of getting home.

We know that most bus commuters – especially cleaners, security guards, gardeners and casual workers, who earn a pittance – buy weekly or monthly tickets, which are more affordable than the R130 a day it would cost to use minibus taxis. Besides, for my friend, buses drop him directly in his village, whereas he would have to use two minibus taxis each way (four a day) to get to work.

So he is one of those who buys a weekly bus ticket, which costs about R350.

When he explained his situation, I had no choice but to grudgingly put my hand in my pocket to help him out, particularly given the time of day. 

My anger, however, was directed not at my friend, but at the authorities for doing this to our people.

READ: North West mayors and speakers next on ANC 'purge' list

It was not the first time that North West Transport Investment – a state-owned enterprise currently under business rescue – had left commuters in the lurch.

The appointment of a business rescue practitioner has not yielded any positive results. There seems to be no willingness on the part of the company to resolve its issues. The bus system used to operate smoothly, but things have now gone south.

Nothing seems to be working in this government and, as Steve Biko observed, “our people are on their own”.