Dear Mr President,
Please Fire Incompetent Security Cluster Ministers
We as concerned citizens of our beloved country believe that a truly dutiful President would have fired the members of the Security Cluster after the mess they have made in dealing with the unrest that resulted in last week’s looting spree and destruction of property in large parts of Kwa-Zulu-Natal and Gauteng respectively. Not to mention the senseless loss of more than 200 lives and countless livelihoods as over 200 malls were impacted with over 800 stores looted and more than 100 completely burnt to smitherines.
Some business statistical reports have estimated that as much as up to 150 000 jobs are now at risk summed up by over 50 000 informal traders and 40 000 businesses as a result of the unrest. Further to our already sky high 43.2% unemployment rate. South Africa now sits with over 3 million people not involved in meaningful work or sustainable sources of income.
Overall, a total cost on the country’s GDP is said to be about R50 billion and the GDP loss at about R40 billion, or about 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product.
Therefore, it is without a doubt that the loss of life and livelihoods can be layed squarely at you, your ministers’, and the ANC’s feet.
To that end, ActionSA is pursuing a first of its kind lawsuit against you, the President of the Republic, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, the members of the Security Cluster, and the African National Congress, all of whom had a positive legal obligation to uphold and maintain law and order in our country before things got out of hand.
It was and remains your constitutional duty and obligation to ensure that proactive action is taken to safeguard the rule of law and maintain constitutional order and protect the people of South Africa.
Any failure or omission to faithfully perform these functions must carry consequences as real as those experienced by South Africans, who have lost their lives and livelihoods because of the Executive’s incompetence and negligent inaction and delayed reaction.
Why should ordinary, law-abiding people suffer at the hands of ANC power struggles, factionalism, corruption and dereliction of duty? Why must businesses be destroyed and jobs lost. Our country’s social stability is already buckling under the pressures of extreme poverty and high unemployment.
To add insult to injury, it has become painstakingly clear that the left knows not what the right is doing. During a briefing of the SANDF, including Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to parliament’s Defence Committee, the Minister saw fit to directly contradict your assertion to the nation that the so-called #FreeZuma unrest was an act of sabotage and a failed insurrection. The Minister’s actions are nothing short of a duplicitous act aimed at pulling the wool over all of our eyes. But has certainly not worked.
Lastly, when our country was once the envy of the African continent and the world more broadly, sadly we are now receiving multiple social media warnings to guard against what seems to be an imminent decline similar to those of Zimbabwe and other unsuccesful nations on our continent.
It is clear – for all to see – that the members of the Ministers of Police, State Security and Defence are certainly not fit for purpose. Their inaptitude and complete failure to act in the defence of South Africans is certainly grounds for their immediate removal and the President would be well advised to appoint competent and ethical leaders who are committed to safeguarding our hard-won democracy.
