[imagesource: Jacques Nelles]

The past week has brought the entire province of KwaZulu-Natal to its knees once more.

Widespread flooding has wrecked towns and communities and the latest confirmed death toll stands at 443. The true number is going to be far higher and will continue to rise over the coming days and weeks.

A state of disaster has been declared and relief funds will be made available, with at least R1 billion set aside. Sadly, you know exactly what that means.

KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala has stated that this aid will be administered free of corruption, saying the funds “will be utilised in line with fiscal prudency, accountability, transparency and openness”.

Cool, but you’ll excuse every single South African for shaking their heads slowly because here we go again.

Justice Malala, writing for The Sunday Times, sums it up:

Can you hear that? Are you getting it, that slurp-slurp sound?

You’ve heard it before, I’m sure. It’s the sound of ANC cadres licking their lips enthusiastically as they eye the lucrative bogus contracts many are about to sign to ensure that millions of rand flow into their associates’ bank accounts…

South Africans across the political spectrum have been begging President Cyril Ramaphosa to desist from handing over the more than R1bn in flood disaster funds to the KwaZulu-Natal government to ease the devastation that has ravaged the province. Give it to the charity Gift of the Givers, South Africans have pleaded. Give it to anyone — absolutely anyone — except the politicians…

Seriously – hand the money to Gift of the Givers and cut out the cadres. You can find details of how to donate to their KZN relief efforts here.

On social media, we’ve seen our total lack of belief in governance spread far and wide:

“If I don’t steal it, someone else is going to steal it” ~ An ANC Proverb

— Man’s NOT Barry Roux  (@AdvoBarryRoux) April 16, 2022

If there’s an absolute certainty in SA, it’s that as long as there’s human suffering, #ANC will find a way to profit from it.

It’s the natural order of things – night follows day; vultures pick at a carcas; cadres will eat while sending condolences.

— Jack Devnarain (@JackD157) April 17, 2022

Back to Malala and a sense of defeatism:

Being in the ANC is like being on a train that is headed towards disaster. Because it is off the rails and heading into the wilderness, there is absolutely nothing you can do except close your eyes, say a little prayer and hope that the end is quick and devoid of pain. Ramaphosa will give the money and his comrades will steal it. He knows it. We all know it…

For many of the ANC’s current leaders, there is no reason to join the party except to use their connectivity to make money. Money has overtaken all the values, all the aims and objectives of the ANC as a reason for joining the party. Corruption is the main priority of many party cadres.

I know we’re coming off a long weekend and this is a bit of a downer.

Just remember it’s another four-day week. Hurrah.

Digital Vibes. The looting of funds designated to buy personal protective equipment for health workers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Close to R500 million spent on unnecessarily sanitising classrooms via deals signed off on WhatsApp.

The list goes on. You know the drill.

Our own finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, even admitted that officials were looking at new ways to prevent the looting of the KZN relief money.

As The Daily Maverick points out, that’s how bad it has become:

This is an immense concession – our own finance minister believes that the government is corrupt, or at the least, cannot be trusted…

Natural disasters, like pandemics, can reveal the underlying dynamics of a nation and demonstrate its strengths and weaknesses. The weakness that was exposed by the reaction to the government’s promise of help could almost be fatal to the ANC and possibly even the rule of law.

Four-day week.

Cling to that as we wait for the hands to reach into the cookie jar once more.

[sources:sundaytimes&dailymav]