The Civil Engineering Contractor July 2018 | Page 3

COMMENT (Not) Buttered on both sides Kim Kemp - editor [email protected] Please join me in welcoming Eamonn Ryan as the new editor for The Civil Engineering Contractor. Eamonn will be taking on the role from the August issue. I encourage you all to offer him the same amazing support I have enjoyed while in my role as editor and wish him all the very best in his new position. W hy is it that as soon as we have any significant rain, our roads literally fall to pieces as sinkholes occur and, on a smaller scale (size- wise, but on a larger scale in frequency), potholes appear? Taking a breather to watch a royal wedding — between two people we all stand very little chance of ever meeting (and for me personally, no interest or desire) and happening on an island far away — seems to have served as a brief coping mechanism for a country that is falling into an abyss — what with endless delivery protests, burning toll gates, national roads blocked, wage disputes, trucks set on fire, illegal land grabs, and cash in transit heists making daily headlines. South Africans are bone-weary; we are doing our best to just get to the next day, to survive the endless onslaught of anger and dissatisfaction. Our last reserves of energy are being spent on conflict, mayhem, and misinformation. Grocery shopping recently brought this latter observation into stark reality. I was standing in front of a freezer, aghast at the cost of the 500g brick of butter, and muttered something about the ridiculous cost under my breath, but loud enough for the woman packing the frozen-item shelves to hear. She commiserated immediately with, “They are trying to kill us!” When I queried as to whom “they” were, she said: “The farmers. The farmers are trying to kill us all with putting the prices up [and] making everything so expensive. How can we eat?” To say I was surprised would be an understatement. What immediately sprung to mind was the thousands of heads of cattle and dairy cows, sheep, and pigs that had to be slaughtered in the face of the terrible drought, as farmers were unable to water or feed them. I took pains to explain to my fellow citizen the enormity of the drought’s effects. With my fear that the language barrier would prevent understanding, I resorted to using flamboyant gestures and simple descriptions; about how without water nothing can live; how farmers were doing their best to maintain a secure food supply for a country with a burgeoning population; how they had to kill so many of their livestock; how the Department of Water With the present mayhem in South Africa, we are lucky to even have toast, let alone butter. and Sanitation under Nomvula Mokonyane’s ‘leadership’ (used very lightly here) made sure that infrastructure crumbled, that water never got to those most in need, and how she blamed the farmers for using too much water, before swanning off to the Department of Communications, where she is currently serving as the Minister of Communications, leaving a crippled, ‘broken’ water department in her wake. I explained how this was causing the price hikes, making everyday produce almost a luxury owing to scarcity, and had nothing to do with farmers trying to make a living and an unrealistic profit. I also threw in how listeriosis all but decimated the ready-to-eat meats industry that, according to the South African Meat Processors Association (Sampa), has shed about 2 000 jobs, while safety concerns following the outbreak sent the prices and demand for processed meat into a death dive. My new ‘bestie’ stood open-mouthed. After a very intense pause, she almost croaked: “I had no idea. We all think the farmers are making things expensive; but now you explain the drought, I understand better.” I hope Harry and Meghan enjoy a long and happy marriage; glad there is something reasonably pleasant being recorded in the news — and don’t mind me while I eat my toast without butter. nn CEC July 2018 - 3