The ANC’s Ignorance is disgraceful. 

I’m not a member of the ANC, or any other political party for that matter. Hell, I don’t even like the ANC; not in its current form at least, no. But, I’ve got to admit that the party has within it arguably some of the best political thinkers in this continent, if not the best. A couple of months back i watched with admiration as Political Guru Joel Netshitenzhe address the media at the party’s NGC in Midrand. His mental prowess oozes out of his words. his unmatched capability as a strategist has been proven by his record as heard of the GCIS from 1998 to 2006. Another person in the party to note is Former Finance minister Trevor Manuel, who cleaned up the country’s books reducing its debt from over 50 percent to less than half of that during his reign. He was also a key player in drawing up many critical policies for the ANC. Which makes me wonder, how such political geniuses as Netshitenzhe and Manuel have been pushed into the shadows by the ANC only to put the incumbent president as it’s leader. People who have proven to be more than capable of being not only leaders, but great at it. Why does the ANC prioritise people such as the not so articulate minister of international relations Maite Nkoane-mashabane, the always  emotional minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-nqakula, the always defensive and ready to fight minister of small businesses Lindiwe Zulu, the flamboyant yet not strategic minister of home affairs Malusi Gigaba amomg others; into government over greats like natshitenzhe and Manuel. It really defies logic why the ANC would prioritise Zuma over such individuals. So now we are given a president who shows no backbone and a cabinet that’s willing to swing whichever  direction he goes regardless of their own views, all in the name of loyalty. I used to be a fan of the Thabo Mbeki administration, because never mind their own short comings, they were a very strategic government  and central to these strategies was netshitenzhe, manuel and company as the brains and then of course Thabo Mbeki backing them. I was very young, but could see a direction our country was going. Now, as a young citizen of South Africa, I wait with baited breath every day for the government’s next blunder, like the one we saw today. Removing a reputable Finance Minister with someone who’s virtually unheard of. What’s  the vision for this government. If there’s any at all I wonder. 

SA's emergency services system needs an emergency overhaul!.

Around 8 pm tonight, a guy was hit by a very speeding car right in front of me. Now as I sit on my bed thinking about the whole incident, I realise that its not only the sight of his injuries that's disturbing me, but also the slow progress we're making as a country...especially when it comes to emergency services. Perhaps I should start from where it all began. So, a man presumably in his early 30s was knocked down by a speeding delivery bakkie (light truck) while crossing the road, and his foot came off-literally. As I stood in disbelief on the other side of the road trying to convince myself that I was probably dreaming, I saw him try to get up before he realised that he no longer had a foot and fainted. The car that hit him slowed down until it stopped about a 100 metres from the scene, but for reasons I don't know...the person drove off. I really don't like to see blood, but I immediately went across the street to try and help him. The first thing I noticed,obviously, was that he needed immediate medical attention, otherwise he wasn't going to make it. So I called the state Emergency number which was almost impossible to get through. When I finally did they were most unhelpful, asking a bunch of stupid questions like "are you sure he needs an ambulance?". Anyhow, they couldn't send one over, because "they were all busy". I then called private Emergency services company ER24 who are almost always reliable. But, today the person assisting me on the phone was either new on the job or poorly trained. I did my best trying to help her so she could help me. More than 10 minutes later I got an SMS from them (ER24) giving me a reference number and I realised then that the night was about to get longer. It turns out the only thing the dispatch lady got right was my cellphone number. The address they'd sent me was different from the one I gave her. Keep in mind that during all this, there's a guy lying in excruciating pain on the pavement in this cold winter night. I saw some private ambulance cruising slowly and I flagged them to stop and help, which they did. While they were busy, I called the police and they assured me that they were sending people over. Well, they never arrived. Again I saw a police van cruising past and I stopped them. I don't know if they were tired or just not interested, but they weren't asking any important questions. I told them that I'm a journalist and am not impressed with their work ethic and that's when they started to take me seriously. I told them everything I remembered about the culprit's car and even suggested that we go to the garage nearby to see if their CCTV camera's didn't catch the incident. I felt like I was doing their work for them. Anyhow, the manager was not there and he's the only person with the keys to the control room. The paramedics finally took the guy to a hospital almost an hour after he was knocked down. I didn't even get a chance to ask them which hospital they were taking him to so I could go see him later. The not so enthusiastic cops assured me that they were going to follow the case up and make sure that they find the culprit. I'm not convinced they meant it, but certainly hope they did. So, as a country we have an Emergency services with a lot of loopholes. From medical Emergency lines that are no better than Eskom, to inept cops who are seemingly in it for the salaries. A man's life hangs on the balance now and even if he makes it, his life is never going to be the same. The person responsible for all this unfortunate circumstance is comfortable somewhere with their family and might probably never get caught for their cruel deed, let alone own up to it. So many questions that will probably never be answered, all because of our useless emergency services system. So then one is left to wonder, How secure are we really in south Africa?!.