the phoenix
Beyond the
Twilight Zone
While I write this we are in the midst of another crippling postal strike. It has happened three times the past two
years, and it will most probably happen again and again in this seriously dysfunctional country, which is run by
economic illiterates.
T
he postal strike amounts
to nothing less than
economic treason
and the length of the strike
has caused considerable
economic damage, and yet I
hear that the management of
the “Post Office” has awarded
themselves a 26% pay hike,
after subjecting the country
to a six week hiatus in postal
delivery! And in certain parts
of the country it has been far
worse than six weeks. I hear
from a reliable source that the
Tshwane mail centre’s doors
have been closed for 12 weeks.
What really gets my goat
is that I run a business
based on a very high work
ethic, and an obsessively
compulsive commitment to
meeting deadlines, and yet
we are being held hostage
by a bunch of economic
Luddites, who would not
understand an economic
theory if you shoved it up
their backsides.
As a publisher, this situation
is intolerable, and I cannot begin to
imagine the added damage that has
been done to other establishments that
rely on a functioning postal service. The
consequences can be severe. I recall
that in March last year the Italian general
election was compromised by strike
action, with the delivery of ballot papers
to South Africa delayed because of the
strike. What an irony - European elections
with a Zimbabwe flavour. But this is not the
time for jokes. It is a national catastrophe,
and yet no one seems to care. We are
effectively experiencing economic treason,
and yet no action is being taken by our
inertia ridden government. If only they
could take a leaf out of the book of some
of their BRIC masters. If this was China,
the workers and management would
have been put up against a wall and shot.
Why not follow the lead from the guys
who tell us to whom we can issue visas?
And if this was Russia, the mail centres
would have been invaded by separatists,
and a plane would have been shot down.
Why not follow this lead from the guys
who are now deciding our energy policy?
And if we want to follow a more democratic
country, if this was the USA the National
Guard would have been called out a long
time ago. Why not call out the army?
Did I hear someone say “what army”?
But this is South Africa, and we are beyond
the twilight zone. We are in a parallel
universe that even Einstein would have
problems in incorporating into his unified
field theory. We have a government that is
fixated on not offending one single voter,
and even our news media have dropped the
ball on this one.
But it is also about ethics
and integrity, and a
responsibility to ourselves,
to the country, and to our
fellow citizens. And I am
starting to come to the
conclusion that my pinkie contains more
pride and ethics than the entire postal
service and government combined.
It is a disgraceful situation, and if this was
another country parliament would have
been convened a long time ago, and the
government would be out on their ear.
And I haven’t even started to discuss
Eskom, SAA, the SABC, Rand Water,
etc. etc. etc. This is the South Africa
that we live in, and I am sure that my
concerns and angst are shared by many
other concerned people, and that this
editorial is speaking on behalf of these
disenfranchised yoke bearing folk.
There has hardly been a peep in the press,
on the radio, or on TV about this national
calamity, because they have all been fixated
on their own voting bloc, so we have been
overwhelmed by the ridiculous Oscar
Pistorius trial. Get a wakeup call, guys, and
starting reporting on the real news.
Malan and Verwoerd must be
looking down on us (or maybe
up at us?) and laughing their
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| words in action
2
november 2014
heads off.
www.abrbuzz.co.za