So I see now in the news that yet another hurricane is headed for the good ol’ US-of-A and it got me rather nostalgic. The devastation of New Orleans is no doubt one of the larger weather-induced disasters we’ve seen, especially in recent times, but we should remind ourselves of the fact that it should in fact be labelled along the lines of ‘murder’ or ‘gross negligence’. In this article that appeared in a 2004 edition of National Geographic (I have read the original so this is not speculation) the scenario that played out was in fact predicted almost in its entirety:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/

So when governments fail to protect their citizens from something which many people have been warning them abut for years is it not fair to hold them morally, financially and even personally resposible for the loss of life, property and dignity? I have seen no news of people receiving full compensation from the governing bodies responsible for the ruining of their lives, only evidence of the Amy Corps accepting responsibility due to structural failures of the existing system. The fact remains that the people who had control of policies and the funds necessary to remedy the situation did not and do not seem to be putting their hands up for atonement. The buck seems to have stopped with a scapegoat.

In the South African context, there is a similar problem. Our primary, indeed only, electricity provider (Eskom) has recently come under extreme criticism for failing to supply enough power to the country and implementing devastating ‘load shedding’ (otherwise known as random power failures) countrywide. Who is to blame for this? The question is easier to answer than the ruling party would like to admit. During apartheid there was a six year plan (as well as others looking further forward) to ensure that there would always be power. I’m not in favour of the apartheid policies of the day at all, however this one made sense. After the fall, the drive to remove all ‘legacy’ and ‘old guard’ from Eskom was blatant, even flaunted, and along with it went the plan. All was well and the newly fat cats at the head of the organisation began reaping massive bonuses and other rewards, until the clock stopped ticking…

Power lines failed, bolts were dropped into rotors (which, by the way is impossible to accomplish) and cooling systems were accidentally turned off on nuclear power plants - Pandemonium. Suddenly fingers were pointed at apartheid, Eskom, white elitists and wet coal (which burns better than dry coal btw). Eskom became public enemy No. One and their obscene salaries and desperate lack of skilled labour was revealed to the public. The sad truth is that the ruling government (whose majority vote has been for the ANC since the fall of apartheid) had the means, the information and the time to have prevented every single one of these problems. Obscene salaries could have been rationalised and had they listened to Eskom over 8 years ago the money would have been there to build the power plants we are now so desperately hurrying (at no small cost to ‘authorised’ family members’ businesses I’m sure :P) to construct.

My final point is this: If the buffoons governing our fates have shown themselves to be vastly incapable of looking after our best interests in all respects that are important, why do we keep voting them in? Are we doomed to be out-0shouted by the ignorant masses who vote for the candidates who kiss the most babies and promise the most glorious future despite the fact that they’re lying through their teeth? It’s a sobering thought that such promises began events that killed millions in WWII…