In the face of this gregarious, communist-capitalist-social alliance, political dillydallying order, one wonders about the psychosomatic well-being of ordinary South Africans living in such challenging, uncomforting, extraordinary times – our streets amass by monthly dole queues; children grant queues; police brutality; road/freeway toll-fees; transportation hikes; disgruntled workers marching for a better percentage; global austerity measures, corrupt officials; demented religious-renegades; xenophobia and sick homophobias. Where are all these unnecessary scandalously filled activities taking us, as a nation?
If the African National Congress (ANC) as a ruling party gets its way – ordinary South Africans might wake up one of these days without the right to speak their minds on corruption, or reporting private and public maladministration.
The Secrecy Bill or Protection of Information Bill ( to be renamed: Protection of State Information Bill), poses the biggest threat in our egalitarian state. Can you imagine government officials guffawing in the faces of voters about the things they do unbeknown to the general public, to enrich themselves or incurring state assets to advance their own interests, without legal reprimand?
The channelling of power in these extraordinary times, which aims to curtailing the right to classify information to the Defence Force, the Police and Intelligence Services, such as the Hawks, “with a provision for other departments to apply to classify information on the grounds of national security” – is surely a ploy for the ruling party to cease and suppress efforts of any opposition in its incumbency, therefore prolonging its governing hand indefinitely.
An ordinary South African and voter will be duped, mainly due to the reason that the Defence Force, the Police and Intelligence Services ( National Intelligence Agency, abbreviated as NIA), are all controlled and led by ANC appointed representatives. The information that will be selectively filtered through to the general public will be permeated to the purpose of manipulating, dictating, and blinding mother justice, and all its citizenry to what is really going on behind closed doors of bureaucratic offices. Where is the transparency in all of this?
A loop-hole was inconveniently discovered during Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma’s tint debacle that the information put forward to the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) cannot be utilized as the cellphone tapings cannot hold up in court as circumstantial evidence due the vagueness of legislation regarding “tapped information” and “cellphone number/owner identification”. New cards were dealt – RICA came into effect, but the perpetrators of the arms deal debacle still walk-tall in all government sectors.
It is written in the cards that South Africa stands to become one of the greatest, powerful nations in the world, when power sharing squabbles, standards of our infrastructure in every municipality, cost of living and our education system are institutionalised properly.
Surely, with the secrecy bill that’s threateningly looming if and when constitutionalised; the ruling party will see it fit to eliminate any person or group that stands critically in opposition to its administrative structures, governing systems and implementation methods - evading public interest.
Any patriotic South African will argue that National Security should be taken as the pinnacle defence mechanism of South African governing structures, and its Constitution, however with corruption running rampant amongst the ruling party’s leaders, subordinates and sub-sectors. Passing a bill that supports curtailing journalists, and members of the public from probing and perusing crucial documents that will eradicate corruption - condemning patriotic South Africans to imprisonment for protecting the rights of ordinary citizenry. Then what was the aim of fighting for our democracy?
In these egalitarian times, as an ordinary South African living in extraordinary state of affairs; the youthful leader chanting political revolutionary nationalisation dogma, growth-path debates and disenfranchised corrupt politicians secretly dodging palatial correctional places. One can clearly see the remnants of greedy public officials in the psychosomatic attitudes of ordinary citizens.
WORD TO A NEW EXTRA EXTRAORDINARY REVOLUTION
By Linda Sakazi Thwala
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