Laura's Page : May 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

South Africa Education System Is the Worst in the World

The Education system in South Africa is the worst in the world, and there is no hope for future generations receiving a decent education under the current government. The rapid decline and almost non-existent learning process for school children worsens each passing year. The government does inject a lot of funds into providing a solid education, but there are astounding results of complete failure.

The old apartheid school curriculum produced world-renowned doctors, engineering and lawyers and when the African National Congress (ANC) party came into power in 1994, the education system changed. The ANC introduced the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) a simple, logical outcome base approach used by people every day. Knowing what you want to achieve, the outcome is visualized in the mind and steps are taken to accomplish the result. Perhaps it’s a system to hide the stupid with the clever in groups and score all the same. The system worked, the standard of education dropped. Students became lazier and depended on the intelligent ones to work extra hard thereby ensuring that nobody in the group failed.

As the education standard worsened under the ANC, the pass rates dropped to keep the deception alive. Subjects were introduced into the grade one curriculum, teaching small children, life orientation, all about HIV, sex and shifting away from the importance of reading, writing and simple arithmetic.

Maths was a problem, and the ANC introduced maths literacy, which practically labels math a substandard subject. A subject that answered the question, and not stimulating the young mind to think. Even so, the pass rate was still underachieved.

The changes were a conspiracy to hide the disaster taking place in South African schools and implement liberation before education. Burning down of schools, rioting and non-delivery of textbooks proved how dangerous the ANC government was. Now South Africa has neither.

According to the liberation government, the old apartheid school system was terrible, yet it produced thousands of black doctors, accountants, teachers, nurses and lawyers, all who had to pass through a severe university degree. Nothing like the affirmative action disasters seen today, where universities complain about the time spent, practically months, on teaching entrants to write when first arriving at the higher education institute.

Black South Africans trained under the apartheid education system are doing well today. Nelson Mandela became a lawyer under the apartheid system. The black education system under apartheid realized that whites and blacks are different culturally and religiously. The system gave the blacks an education department and a chance to learn.

South Africa is a country where nothing existed prior to the whites arriving in 1652. There were no schools, universities and no reading or writing. Under the apartheid system, ten universities were built including the MEDUNSA university for training black doctors, paramedics, dentists and veterinary surgeons. This was offered free to willing learners who were trained by white professors and paid for by the taxpayers. Up to 200 black medical doctors qualified each year, a significant turnaround during oppressed times.

A ten percent mathematics pass rate for a Grade nine learner is proof that the education system is a failed system. The education standards are so low that intelligence is driven out, and rewarding the stupid beyond abilities achieved much like a communist state.

The Global Information Technology Report 2014, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked South Africa’s science and mathematics education quality as the worst in the world. The general education quality was ranked at number 146 out of 148 countries. With a ranking this devastating there is no beacon of light on the dark continent.

Opinion by Laura Oneale - Published on the Guardian LV Today

To learn more, or For more information on South African Education – Link
Sources

South Africa Western Education Destroys Cultural Values

Does the Western-based education system destroy cultural values, brainwash and keep South Africa and the rest of the continent intimidated? It might be true that western propaganda is an elevated superiority, the best and most advanced so far in the world. So powerful that it has infiltrated and destroyed many countries in the world, including Africa. The counter-revolutionary measures have also diverted many honorable Communist and Socialist movements, forcing them into defensiveness, militancy, and suspicion. This is the view of black South Africans.

Education is a form of learning, knowledge, skills, beliefs, and values. From one generation to another, through discussion, teaching, storytelling, and research, education gives guidance and direction for young minds to emerge as educated skilled people.

There is a belief that the western education system is nothing more than a well designed tool to kill the African indigenous knowledge, technology and social-economic development. An instrument to gain power over Africa and all the resources. A conviction that the Western education system is a procedure to inflict the minds of African people into believing the past historical culture is irrelevant. The well-planned western program of teachers and students seem to be the grassroots of society for the cultural and economic values are the targets of infiltration.

The unstable English language makes it even more difficult for Africans to acquire the necessary technology and knowledge needed. It challenges learners in the way that; they concentrate more on learning English vocabularies than the information or knowledge required. Thereby causing confusion of who black people are by ignoring values and ideals to follow and imparting arrogance to the young children.

South Africa is a lost nation because the masses follow the western propaganda and forget the culture and historical perspective. There are several black people who forget the cultural heritage to follow westerners. The mindset that everything belongs to whites and admission that there is no knowledge of how to manufacture airplanes or guns but know how to use the instruments.

The apartheid education system is frowned upon as a capitalist system to control the economy and prevent the masses from attaining economic freedom. The current school system in South Africa needs a fundamental change from the political control and the deliberate attempt to keep the masses uneducated.

Whatever school system South Africa implements there has to be a commitment from the scholars, teachers and parents. Most important is to leave politics out of education. Vandalizing and burning schools must stop, and government must ensure textbooks are available. The ill discipline of students and bad attitudes are not helping to develop a sound education system. Teachers are not qualified or dedicated; there is no commitment. The amount of money spent by the government on education is not invested into teaching the children, but rather missing in corruption and fraud.

Black South Africans must decide if the knowledge of the western education system is worth knowing and as Ntsiki Mazwai a South African artist said the students must not forget the customs, traditions and language. The black students must stop western learning and never forget the deeply rooted heritage of the past. By following the western propaganda, the African is a European clone, brainwashed into forgetting the real African dream.

Opinion by Laura Oneale - Published today on the GuardianLV

To learn more, or for more information on South African Education- Link

South Africa – Moving Forward

The following post is written by black South African, who has an entirely different view of how South Africa is moving forward. There is the element of progress under the present government and a list of great strides taken to ensure the masses have a better life under the African National Congress (ANC). We read about the failing of South Africa, make a noise about the corruption, cry about the white genocide and criticize the ANC government. Perhaps every story has two sides. REALLY?

I enjoyed the post and have refrained from commenting as I would probably be called a racist, however, I did correct the punctuation and a few spelling mistakes and hopefully it makes sense now. I have underlined some points that made me laugh, and, my opinion to this story is - “Whatever they touch, they turn into S”*T…

Guys let's face it we have failed the people by building houses for the poor, by improving infrastructure by winning the elections since 1994 over and over again. By building roads and schools getting access to education. Not taking land by force, not hating white people we have failed the people so much that we deliver continuously and they hate it. We have failed the people because now a black man or a white man can be friends and not see through colour.We have failed since we have changes apartheid to freedom and democracy. Oh yes, we have failed by introducing the truth and reconciliation commission and not the death penalty for those who murdered our mothers and fathers so brutally.

Oh yes, black people we have failed South Africa that now more and more of you fill the flights every day yet all u could do was watch it from the sky and sing praises to such beauty. We have failed cause we have filled boardrooms and turned small business to multi-million enterprises. You have failed that now black Doctors fill your theatre not to clean but to do operations and concur. You have failed that you flooded the universities with the free bursaries and tertiary schemes that were only there for our white brothers and sisters.

Oh yes, you have failed us so much that the world has regarded us as the most progressive African country. You have failed u cause nobody can find our president guilty of anything in a court of law but in corridors. Oh, you had failed us that when former white leaders built mansions and palaces from your tax money invested overseas u had no problem now when a black president does same we make loudest noise. So empty are our vessels you black people have failed us that you are becoming successful to the disappointment of many.

You black people failed us cause u now know ure worth and are not willing to settle for less. You black people have failed us for being courageous to say enough is enough: and got rid of a system which separated us in all levels education services, housing human rights and dignity this is how you failed us. So please black people stop failing us and start messing up so we can feel we have been right all along, black people can't lead. So for all those angry black and white brothers who feel black leadership has failed South Africa well keep on barking, dogs never bark at a stationary locomotive they bark at one moving. So it's a sign that u barking cause we black people coloured people Indian people and transformed white people are moving South Africa forward.

We are proud South Africans who believe that change need to happen to liberate the masses. We are change makers and as long as change in the lives of those that matter is happening that old lady getting a pension which helps her through, that young man from squatter camps to a house built with mortar and brick for his family. That child that walks miles to school with the hope of a better future that family who had no running water or electricity now has it. Those children who thought education was the elite few, those young entrepreneurs giving jobs to many today. Those men and woman who thought they would die before they can live in Upmarket suburbs they worked kitchen floors and gardens today they own.

Oh yes, we have our mistakes, abetted problems but to say we can't lead, or have failed our country is only a farce, since the voters who have seen change say it all.The VOTE for change makers, not naysayers or corridor judges

Comments posted by visitors on the above story.

We have made huge strides, but we can do better

Yes under Mandela and Mbeki, now we're going backwards, but we just can't agree with the opposition so we'll keep going backwards of course.

Well, it's not about Mandela and Mbeki since even when they were in power they suffered the same criticism as Dr Zuma is suffering. Then when they were out, they got praised what has changed. Allegations of no merit, corruption which is being dealt with.If I recall there was corruption during Mandela Mbeki times as well. Remember the arms deal, the travel gate scam, the construction tender fixing and so sos many more. So what has changed all that has changed is the goal post. We no longer see the organisation, the team, we now only see the man. Mandela was subject to opposition criticism that is what opposition does, so was Mbeki he was even subject to a vote of no cofidenc3 by the DA. His issues with HIV-AIDS were also put on the light. Even Mandela and Mbeki were questioned for building of their homes for after they retire, so what has changed. We are playing the man not the ball

Saturday, May 30, 2015

South Africa Is a Peculiar Nation

South Africa is a peculiar nation with the African National Congress (ANC) ruling party sneaking around carrying out various racist and communist activities. The politics and deception of the ANC by ascribing the disintegration of parliament protocol to the sick nation. The glaring nature of apartheid’s violent culture is the cause of a sickness spreading across South Africa. Not only are the ordinary people sick, but also the disease has crept into Parliament and according to Zuma, the country must be cured.

How totally and utterly stupid can the ordinary people of South Africa be? Looking back at how many times preferential treatment is given to criminals. A close friend of Zuma, Schabir Shaik was found guilty of corruption and fraud and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. After serving two years and four months prison term, mostly in a hospital, Shaik was granted medical parole in 2009 and lives in Durban. Former national police commissioner Jacki Selebi was found guilty of corruption in 2010 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Selebi was released on medical parole in 2012 and died of a stroke in January 2015. There are other political prisoners in South Africa who have not received preferential treatment because there is no affiliation to the ANC.

How incredibly stupid are the ordinary people of South Africa to watch, Shaik get away with criminal activities. Repeatedly, it is like watching the same charade being played out with Selebi.A lie protects Shaik. Are the ordinary people deaf, dumb and downright stupid to allow the Zuma deceptions to go unnoticed?

Zuma is like a bent reed in the wind, pretending to give in, and exactly the same as former President Thabo Mbeki did. Flexible in the fact of the West, pretending to be decent, caring and leading a country with high potential. Giving only enough to get attention away from the devious, underhanded deeds and when all is under the blanket, continue with racism and communism.

Rest assured Zuma is a leftist communist and the ANC’s big move is to shut down mass media in an attempt to hide the real truth. Exposure of the filthy moves made is not something the Zuma led administration need. Closing down media is a shrewd move to stop the majority of the ANC voters from realising how dirty the ANC play. The biggest drawback to succeeding hinges on the many promises made to the electorate that they will not be able to fulfil.

A great deal of the ANC’s popularity stems from the fact of convincing people; the party would provide free housing, electricity and education. The majority voted for the ANC and still waiting for the promises to be fulfilled. The cold reality of fiscal discipline exploded the pipe dream, and the ANC have found a way out by blaming apartheid.

Opinion by Laura Oneale - Published today on the Guardian LV

To learn more, or For more information on Jacob Zuma

South Africa a Time Bomb Ready to Explode

There are many stories comparing South Africa to a time bomb ready to explode from the deplorable conditions and slow genocide of the whites. The delicate situation of crime, corruption and poverty increasing throughout the land raises concern. Living under a communist government led by a president who rules over nepotism, lining his pockets and destroying everything the apartheid government built.There is the element of the South African Communist party affiliated to the governing African National Congress (ANC) who have not sidetracked from influencing the Zuma administration and turning South Africa into a one-party state.

Julius Malema kicked out of the ANC formed a new political party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in an attempt to be voted into a position of power. Malema is surviving pretty well for a racist genocidal maniac who wants to shoot the Boer (White farmer). Encouraging racism, encouraging genocide, Malema was not in trouble for singing and inciting racial hatred that goes against the grain of the Constitution. Malema got off the hook completely for stirring up of black hate toward Afrikaners. The issue of racial hatred toward whites is not a big deal for the ruling ANC.

The violent offenders who engage in armed violence present the most danger to others. South Africa has experienced some of the bloodiest and cruelest crime scenes. The farm murders and current violent crime epidemic in South Africa saps the sanity of the people living under a communist threat.

Zuma, like Malema, just duck and dive to get away from negative attention, yet are still around to continue the mission of nationalization, communism, and land expropriation. In August 2013, Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele described Malema as South African’s own Hitler. Ramphele said Malema was making dangerous promises on land expropriation to desperate people.

The international community continues look away as South Africa degenerates into another race pit. There is coordinated campaign of genocide being conducted against whites. Farm murders are not accidental; the massacres are not common crime especially because of the barbarity used against victims. Zuma denies that genocide is happening in South Africa and relates are farm attacks to a crime problem.

Black people are maturing, and the longer the country stays on the road of democracy, the more people will learn. The ANC, Malema, and Zuma will have a lot of contention. The clock is ticking, and while blaming the failures on whites might appeal to them, there will come a time when the West will not be too charmed with over racism. The future promises to be interesting, although Zuma and Malema have not changed. Both Zuma and Malema are more careful and quiet for now.

Opinion by Laura Oneale - published today on the GuardianLV

To learn more, or For more information on Julius Malema click here

Friday, May 29, 2015

South Africa: A Good News Story According to Zuma

President Jacob Zuma spoke about South Africa 400 years ago, and how the country had peace and joy before the others came, indeed a good news story or so it might seem to the 62 percent of uneducated voters. Words of a revolutionist with no claim to validate that historical claim. Yes, the story and the joy of the Zulu tribe killing and slaughtering innocent people until Jan Van Riebeeck arrived. The good news story ties into hate speech.

During the speech Zuma said South Africa was moving forward under his leadership and listed xenophobia crime as grave problems. Zuma said something was wrong with sections of society. Zuma has a good story one about no potential growth and corruption and crime, but the dribble that spews from his mouth is told to the poor, oppressed people who do not understand democracy.

When South Africa embarked on the post-apartheid, freedom journey, there was an intense and exhilarating excitement. For the majority of South Africa to start on a journey toward a cohesive society and unlock South Africa’s real potential. Steering the ship was Nelson Mandela, who partly succeeded in wooing the people to unite under the rainbow nation. Stepping down and handing over the reigns to Thabo Mbeki, the cracks began to appear. Crime began to increase, and the people remained ignorant. The ship faltered and began losing direction and along came Jacob Zuma and the ship sunk. The only purpose Zuma had was to secure a seat on the throne.

The problem with the masses remaining poor is due in large part to ignorance by placing the power into the hands of a corrupt government who in turn oppress the people. The citizens of South Africa are capable of succeeding but with the current government cannot make progress. Educating the masses is important to overcome and eliminate the poverty that threatens the lives of the poor people.

The leader of the Democratic Alliance Mmusi Maimane said that when applying the mind to the South African good news story, it is perhaps a realization that the country does not need Zuma and his no economic growth. It is a story of moving forward with crime, corruption and keeping the African National Congress (ANC) party in power. It is a story of remaining uneducated, living in fear and in squatter camps. Maimane likens Zuma to a jester rather than a leader.

Published today on the GuardianLV

To learn more, or for more information on Jacob Zuma

South Africa Nkandla a National Joke

The report by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko on why President of South Africa Jacob Zuma does not have to pay back the money spent on the Nkandla homestead is a national joke. Do South African citizens understand security and the importance of protecting the president? The entire fiasco of trying to convince people that the vast amount of public money spent on upgrades to the Nkandla homestead is misleading. The reported outcome is a swing at the intelligence of people who are being treated like idiots.

Zuma has mixed up the personal lifestyle with official duties. There is no fine line between private and formal functions, and that is a huge problem. Security is not an issue, but the vast amount of money spent on chicken coups and fire pools do raise questions. Why would a chicken coup be classified as a security feature and how does an ordinary swimming pool become an essential safety feature.

The minister raised four strategic security points in the report clearing Zuma of any wrongdoing. The chicken coup was necessary to keep the chickens from running around the homestead and going near the fences that are equipped with sensors. It would probably have been annoying for the president and family to hear the alarms set off every hour or so and thus the need for the chicken coup.

The swimming pool, according to observers is nothing spectacular and the amount of money spent Zuma could have had exotic water features, slides and fountains included. The pool is classified as a security feature and referred to as a fire pool. The pool is a necessity for the safety of the president in case of a raging fire throughout the Nkandla homestead. The minister assured the briefing that the fire pool was primarily a security essential and could be used by the President, family and residents for entertainment.

The Amphitheater might look exactly like that, but it is not. There is no seating for visitors and it is tiered with soil retention walls designed to look like an amphitheater. The amphitheater is an essential emergency assembly point for police to brief or debrief on emergency matters. It is also a meeting point for homestead dwellers.

The cattle kraal is not just for animals but is sacred and linked to cultural habitation. The animals are safe behind multiple layers of high-tech security and safe from prying eyes of passing visitors. Allowing the animals to roam around free would also trigger the alarm linked to sensors, and as the kraal is positioned in a high-security zone, it was necessary for additional fencing. The expenses attached to the cattle kraal is worth double the value of the animals kept in it. It is a vanity kraal, and as Public Protector said in the first report, the cattle kraal was a non-security feature.

The wasteful expenditure at Nkandla could have been used to develop an upgrade the failing infrastructure around South Africa. Zuma could have kept Nkandla a private homestead and attended to official duties in government buildings in South Africa. There are mixed up priorities, and the Nkandla debacle is out of hand.

Published today on the GuardianLV

To learn more, or For more information on Nkandla –

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Canadian Supremacist Visit to South Africa

Guardian Liberty Voice had the opportunity to interview Paul Fromm while he on a visit to South Africa. Fromm, a Canadian white nationalist racialist and branded as one of Canada’s most notorious white supremacists, had formed ties with South Africa during the apartheid years. Fromm hosts a radio station on the Storm-front website and sponsors lectures by the white supremacists group. Fromm is a campaigner on behalf of the South African apartheid regime.
Fromm arrived in South Africa two weeks ago on a fact-finding mission to establish if the white minority group is suffering and secluded by the African National Congress (ANC) ruling party. Fromm spent a week in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, and four days in Cape Town, meeting with several influential people and visiting white squatter camps. According to Fromm, it was an exhilarating experience and unfortunate for many whites. Fromm received invaluable information from mainly white South Africans who eagerly shared stories of pain and suffering.
Fromm arrived in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on Saturday, May 23 for a five-day visit, and early Sunday morning kicked off the Johannesburg fact-finding mission meeting with Dan Roodt a renowned Afrikaans writer. Roodt, an activist and literary critic, is branded a right-wing reactionary for the vehement anti-ANC essays. Fromm was giving a historical lesson on how the Afrikaans people are truly South Africans.

Roodt explained to Fromm that top government and public sector positions were occupied by the majority black South Africans. In the private sector, large corporations and banks are forced to employ black people to qualify for a decent Black Economic Empowerment Rating. When asked why the unemployment rate of whites is relatively high, Roodt explained that under the apartheid government, Caucasians, who are educated and academically capable were positioned into all government, public and private sectors. With the fall of apartheid, blacks began to quality for top positions thereby forcing whites into the unemployment queue. Today, the majority of whites employed under the old regime do not have work and have difficulty in being hired based on the ANC government affirmative action strategy.

During the conversation between Roodt and Fromm, it was said that blacks are coping with the duties and work taken away from competent whites as a result of the technology available. This technology is considered almost idiot proof as it allows “for not very bright people” to get the job done. The reason for not wanting whites in top positions is so the ANC government to ensure total control of the economy.

Fromm queried why the economic growth declined coupled with the escalating problems the government is currently experiencing. It was said that during 1994 all public sectors, including government departments, were well equipped with reserves for future growth. New employees positioned by the ANC did not have the foresight to plan ahead for the usage of the current resources, including reserves. The diminishing of funds, due to corruption, fraud, and mismanagement, caused departments to fail, and consultants were hired. There was a growing dependence on consultants from international countries to find solutions for a failed structure. Consultancy costs to all government departments is big business, and according to this author, a stupid idea, and an unnecessary expense due to the ANC government not wanting to admit to failure. Roodt said, had the ANC government re-employed the white engineers, professional or experienced people, to rectify the errors of mismanagement and get the work done, it would have averted current problems. Nevertheless, the ANC would rather suffer and hide the error of maladministration than admit there is a need for white expertise in democratic South Africa.

Interview by Laura Oneale
Published today on the Guardian LV - read the entire article
Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2015/05/canadian-supremacist-visit-to-south-africa/#7sGsGulBMVebvQU3.99

Monday, May 25, 2015

South Africa Apartheid Between White Cultural Groups

The scars of apartheid between the white cultural groups in South Africa still exist. It might seem foolish that the white minority group have an intense dislike between the cultural crossing. Apartheid was abolished in 1994 after decades of white minority rule and having the black majority government rule over the white minority is a bitter pill to swallow for some white people. There are the Afrikaners who explicitly confirm a proud heritage and culture within the borders of South Africa. There is the Afrikaner, who remains adamant that English-speaking whites have no cultural history in South Africa.

Throughout history, there has been a difference of opinion and dislike of English-speaking whites. Although the Afrikaner was the first to arrive in South Africa, mainly from Germany and Holland. The claim of having a substantial profound historical claim within the country is correct. However, the English came in 1822 and gained control and proclaimed English as the language of government, churches and schools, and Afrikaners felt hostility because of the change. The rivalry between Afrikaans and English started right at the beginning of the white South African history and continued throughout the years.

The British rule in the Cape Colony in 1835, disgruntled the Afrikaners, who decided to leave and move into the interior of the country in search of independence. The Boers did well and soon set up the Orange Free State as a Republic. It was the Afrikaners who discovered diamonds in Kimberley. News of the great find spread throughout the land, and the British soon stepped in, with a stake by Cecil John Rhodes, a pioneer in the scramble for Africa. The diamond discovery soon impacted on the Boers, who felt abandoned. The poor farmers who had no part in the venture caused the Afrikaners to set up national organizations with Afrikaans as the symbol of unity.

The compromise of unity, an even balance between English and Afrikaners was what Britain hoped to achieve from the foundation of the Union in 1910. The conflict was no longer between the British and the Boers; it was between the white settlers within South Africa. Afrikaner nationalism is the product of British nineteenth-century colonization.

English today still retains the undeniable superiority in many fields, notably in business and education. It is true the English are conscious of the superiority and some still view Afrikaans as hardly worthy of being called a language. The Afrikaners had a difficult time cultivating the language into an expression that would compete with the English.

The English superiority remains a dominant force and class difference between the two white groups. Before South Africa became a republic, there was an estimate of 85 percent Afrikaans farmers and only 10 percent involved in engineering. However, a more recent estimate has put Afrikaners in the professional sphere at 30 percent. The class differences make for ill feelings, and there are English whites that look on the Afrikaners condescendingly as uneducated, homely, simple and hospitable country fold who speak a primate but colorful dialect. Equally there are Afrikaners who associate English with snobbery, distance and coldness.

The English language is considered a world language and with the abundance of literature has an enormous advantage over Afrikaans, a derivative of Dutch, spoken nowhere else but in South Africa. Afrikaners have a hesitant attitude toward the culture and resent the English attitude that causes suffering from a cultural inferiority complex.

Opinion by Laura Oneale

Published on the Guardian LV today
Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2015/05/south-africa-apartheid-between-white-cultural-groups/#QUorzla3kfLfJUOw.99

Saturday, May 23, 2015

South Africa Electricity Top of Government’s Priority List

South Africans have familiarized themselves with the government’s priority list when the electricity is mentioned daily. Power cuts affect everything from factory production to mining operations and even chaos on the roads. It is a real crises and the African National Congress (ANC) government who has been in power for the last 21 years, have once again stated the importance of prioritizing the power shortage.

Eskom was right, and the ANC government was wrong when in 1998 the power giant approached the Mbeki administration to invest in electricity, to keep up with the country’s economic growth. Thabo Mbeki afterwards admitted the government was wrong in not heeding the warnings of Eskom. Mbeki said investment at that time would be a waste by building up excess capacity. There was no foresight of the expanding population growth or the influx of foreigners and economic growth. Instead, the government waited until 2004 before deciding that Eskom should built new power plants.

If the ANC government heeded the warning in 1998, the power crises could have been averted. Noble of Mbeki to admit the government was wrong, but that does not help the recurring problem South Africa faces. The power cuts and load shedding on a daily basis throughout the country have created additional problems, and after nearly 15 years, the government has placed the power crises as a priority. Time is meaningless, there is no rush to escalate the urgency of dealing with mismanagement, corruption and potential increase in crime due to the power problems.

South Africans are notified daily throughout the media of impending power cuts and called reduce the demand on the electricity grid by switching off non-essential appliances and geysers. Every day there is a maintenance crises, cable theft, no diesel and other spin stories why the power giant cannot supply the country with electricity.

People are becoming accustomed to life in the dark and the inconvenience of depending on government to provide electricity. Alternate measures are sought to ensure that some form of stability is attained. The wind and renewable solar energy are cost-effective, reliable and sustainable. South Africans are moving forward and attempting to find solutions to ensure that the quality of life is not downgraded any more than it has been over the last 20 years.

The ANC government is a non-responsive government because it is a non-delivery government. The power crises is a cause for concern, especially when considering the billions lost in mismanagement, unaccounted for, or lost in a system footed by taxpayers.

Ironically in 1996 Eskom generated a capacity of 42000MW and produced slightly over 41000MW. Today Eskom’s capacity remains at 42000MW and can only produce 28000MW. The shortage has nothing to do with increased consumption, but rather with decreased production.

It would seem that the Africans are not skilled with electricity production, judging by the rest of Africa. It is a simple fact, that although the knowledge was available, nothing was done to expand the generating capacity. It is all about shoddy maintenance, corruption and greed.

South Africa is not so bright now; lights are dimming for the third world country. No longer can the power shortage be blamed on Apartheid. It is the zero service and incompetence of the ruling ANC government that has failed the people. Perhaps the ANC agenda is to bring South Africa in line with the rest of the dark African continent.

Opinion by Laura Oneale