Are South Africans too jaded to know that things around us are heating up? Could this explain why we no longer get angry about all the things that happen when governments fail? Wayne Duvenage, CEO of civic organization Outa, says he agrees that South Africans are akin to a comfortable frog in a slow cooker. “We have accepted much that is wrong with South Africa as the norm, especially in terms of service delivery from all levels of government.” He said residents and ratepayers were angry…
Are South Africans too jaded to know that things around us are heating up? Could this explain why we no longer get angry about all the things that happen when governments fail?
Wayne Duvenage, CEO of civic organization Outa, says he agrees that South Africans are akin to a comfortable frog in a slow cooker.
“We have accepted much that is wrong with South Africa as the norm, especially in terms of service delivery from all levels of government.”
He said residents and ratepayers used to get angry when they saw potholes a few decades ago, but now, we almost accept this situation as the norm in many towns and cities.
“Ten years ago, we would not have tolerated raw sewage running down the streets and flowing into the river system. Today we consider this to be what we expect from our municipality.
People pay more every year when it comes to local rates and taxes and it’s the same as our taxes at the national government level, Duvenage said, but we get less in return and slowly we don’t understand, it’s like that. the ‘boiled frog’ syndrome is satisfied.
“We complain a lot, but now we only complain and laugh about the big problems involving billions of rands (although we stopped being surprised), while in the past the smaller but important problems of trash cans not being collected on time, or unacceptable water outages – and it’s true.”
He said that mediocre service delivery has become the norm and we allow this, because as citizens, we do not use our collective power enough to hold back our councillors. Government officials know that today’s headlines will be forgotten tomorrow, so they continue to confiscate and dispose of them.
“This is why citizens should support civil action organizations that are working hard to arrest officers.”
Also read: How the Eskom blackout broke us
No, we have not lost the will to fight
Did the South Africans then lose the will to fight?
Duvenage said that he would not say that we have lost the will to fight the government on the mismanagement of the country.
“Look at the eToll system, where the citizens oppose the government and refuse to pay for the dishonest and illegal scheme. In the end they win.”
He did not think that the South Africans had given up the war, but that they were facing a winnable fight, as opposed to a futile and unwinnable one.
“There is nothing the people can do to fix Eskom. You can suggest what to do, but ‘you can’t force a horse to drink water’.
In a situation like the Eskom debacle, he said society has moved away from relying on the delivery of government services, an approach that has shown more in poor areas than in the middle class suburbs, for decades now.
Where do we find the call to action that will inspire South Africans to say this is enough and stop quitting? Duvenage said the opportunity is around the corner.
“In about 15 months, the most important elections since democracy will take place. These elections in 2024 give the people the opportunity to change the situation and say enough is enough, by voting out of power those who have squandered this country’s ability to grow and bring prosperity to all his people.
But, he warned, it would require people to break the habit of not voting, simply because they don’t like the options available.
“We need to approach this election with a different mindset. That will certainly help other people in leadership positions, not including populist politicians, to speak more about what this country needs and can do.
Duvenage said people like Imtiaz Sooliman, professor Nick Binedell, professor Somadoda Fikeni and others inspired the nation to explore its potential and find solutions, instead of complaining and doing nothing.
“The biggest call we can make, is for the local community to work together, from all parts of each municipality, to support the local councilors, to provide good services. We must do it without destroying property, but by participating in the management of the city in the municipality which is broken, by any means and begs for more.
Duvenage urges people to choose community leaders and the level of heads of association payers and ask more of them to hold the city management to account, especially when it comes to infrastructure maintenance and repairs.
“In this way, we can see improvements in the way we manage our cities and towns.”