Leaders

I have often written about the problems in South Africa and I have often criticized our government, leaders and citizens. There are some very negative things that happen every single day and hearing them highlighted in the news daily, breaks my heart. But I’ve come to a conclusion; South Africa’s greatest problem is its complete inability to handle situations.

Sure, things go wrong, every now and again things go very wrong but most of the time it is the way the situation is handled that becomes the biggest problem.

Last night while watching Sky News I noticed that there was some drama created in the British police force, but instead of them hiding away and allowing the situation to get out of hand, the head of police got in front of a camera and explained the situation clearly and without unfounded accusatory remarks.

This brings me to the problem of the Lonmin mining crisis.

Yes, I know we are all very bored of the topic and that we are tired of reading about it as it just increases our frustration, but it needs to be addressed because it really and truly is a crisis.

Firstly the miners started their strike incorrectly, followed by our police reacting in far too violent a manner, followed by a disastrous attempt by the NPA to arrest the miners for murdering their colleagues and to make matters worse fuelled by miscommunication from Lonmin and the media involved. Then, as if it wasn’t bad enough already, Julius Malema got involved. This initiated a storm of political frenzy and a power struggle rivalled only by the American Presidential Campaign.

The worst part is that the entire mess could have been avoided. If the miners had striked within the limits of the justice system, if Lonmin had responded appropriately, if the NPA had thought about their response to the situation with more sensitivity, if, if if…

The platform now stands and South Africa is in desperate need of a speaker, someone who is genuinely objective and doesn’t stand to gain from the situation, someone who will douse the flames and allow this situation to be brought back under control.

This speaker should be our president. Our president should have all these qualities and should be able to handle such situations with professionalism and sensitivity. He should be the person who stands up and gives the community the hope and the encouragement that we need. He should be able to put calm and peace into even the most severe situations. Most of all he should put everyone involved at ease and not allow for things to get this out of hand.

But, as usual, our president is nowhere to be seen.