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I have been completely depressed by all the news lately, every single article that had to do with government or gov-owned companies. I shook my head, pulled a little sob with no tear and remained unconsoled. I know that I may sound gloomy, because I am; I need to let it out and get on with life.

AT some point, we will all have to pay more taxes to ensure that we can reach the 6% economic growth we hear our president aims to achieve. Will we? We have to be optimistic and look at the markets to see if our dollar exchange and the gold/platinum figures are high or low. But it will take all our hardwork to get there – wherever there is, it might not even be within our lifetime but there we can get to, right?

My uncosolable state is due to these reports;

ESKOM, a SA gov-owned company that should provide its people with electricity wrote and delivered a white paper in 1997 to their bosses, the government, stating that more energy plants need to be built if we are to avoid a power shortage in 2007. The white paper was signed by all those that would need to act fast; by the way – government ministers for implementation. The implementation of the construction of energy plants, not the opposite – somehow, energy minister, our current deputy president (Phumzile Mlambo-Ncquka) and the public enterprises minister, our current transport minister (Jeff Radebe) clearly misunderstood it! Because they now apologise for their undelivered mandate; to provide the public with energy…

What happened? They got “promoted” – the public gets no power; just as the white paper noted. My questions to them are – How can we trust you can carry our current mandate on you as the deputy president and transport minister until your end of term well? Will transport be in a better or worst state when or if you step down after the voting next year? Will our economic state be in a great or unmentionable condition that we can say our deputy minister did well? Is my vote really worth anything to the country if my faith in you got me this?

Fine, I will become more vigilant of my energy usage going further. I will switch off my geyser every morning and on at night. I will change the 3 lights that are still not energy saving lights in my house; I will look into how solar powered energy can make my life less dependent on ESKOM, I will use a gas heater and my fireplace in winter, I will boil water and store in a flask for later usage. I will ration my power usage. However, I feel like you want to put the blame on me that we “ran out” of power

I am still disappointed in you, as I have and still willingly pay tax on alles I buy and even when I get paid, you take some of my hard-earned money as tax to ensure that my needs are taken care of. Why didn’t you prioritise the report and investigate what could also be done during the time the plant was to be built? Why did you not radically ensure that all traffic lights are changed to solar powered lights? Why didn’t you subsidise all new buildings with solar-powered geysers for all new homes that would be built from that 1997 document? Why? Why? Why? Why do you think your apology cuts it now? When mines have to stop functioning to provide our country with economic growth because of your incompetence? Will the apology get us the Gautrain development on track with no electricity? Will we have enough power to POWER our dream of hosting 2010 soccer coming alive or will it just remain a dream?

Private hospitals are raking up their rates. Need I vent my frustrations with Manto or her issues? Gaad save me!

Defense Minister, Police Commissioner and the entire services related– Oh my gaad! I can’t even start! WHERE would I start?

Justice, puhlease! A real joke unless Piet Byleveld is around!!

Safety and security, how many of the millions Mzansi citizens feel safe and secure anywhere when even foreigners are getting robbed just 20 minutes drive after arrival from the airport?

What government office is efficiently run at this point? Please, don’t you dare say Trevor Manuel because all the other departments are pulling all his hardwork down!!! I most definitely feel he deserves to run this country, as he KNOWS how a mandate is supposed to be carried out and has just delivered over and over and over again. He has not forgotten to get all the tax money and allocate it in a way that ensures all government departments are run well. Then, Why am I paying taxes if you don’t deliver? When all along you did whatever you were not supposed to be doing to ensure that we have eternal faith in you!

Why am I now laughing when people say things that are supposedly jokes (In 1988 we heard “white power”, in 1998 we heard “black power”, in 2008 everyone shouts “No power” or The previous government spent millions to keep the ANC out of blowing away ESKOM power plants, we guess they failed and the ANC succeeded.) when I hurt so bad, I feel like screaming “you are talking about my country, a country full of possibilities, hope, dreams”?

I have never and will never agree with emigrating because I proudly think, if we could get through what we did, surely we can move beyond and becoming a beacon of light for other countries that are going through some ordeal or another. My children or my grandchildren may emigrate (who knows?) but their reasons will hopefully be “for exposure” rather than “there’s really nothing here”.

One thing I am certain of at this point is, I have lost all faith in you to take my country where I would like to see it go.

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