There seems to be a power/ideology struggle going on, in terms of South Africa’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am certainly not comfortable with the social experimentation some officials are opting for. It seems that some have no idea how human behaviour works and they apparently lack credible advisors in this regard, or are choosing to ignore them. While some try to exert power, at best based on personal opinion and/or ignorance, and at worst driven by the need to contradict and challenge others, I have to wonder what that says about the psyche of some ‘leaders’.
While ordinary people struggle to survive, they squabble. And all the while the social ills are coming home to roost, in all their exacerbated ‘glory’: inequality, poverty, violence, ineffective education and training, inadequate housing…. the list is long.
The leaders around the world who are truly leading and acting (mostly) in the interest of the people of their country all seem to have ditched politics in their emergency response. I guess politics and political leadership in all its traditional and current absurd forms have served its purpose and run its course, with little value to add to society.
