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South Africa is broken. Broken beyond repair.
by Elzaan-Mari Beylefeld – 14 July 2020
It is Tuesday morning and the icy greyness of the Cape Town winter has somehow nested in my soul. For the first time in my thirty-eight years of existence, I have lost hope
by Elzaan-Mari Beylefeld – 14 July 2020
It is Tuesday morning and the icy greyness of the Cape Town winter has somehow nested in my soul. For the first time in my thirty-eight years of existence, I have lost hope
For the first time in my life, I fear tomorrow. It has been nearly sixteen weeks since lockdown started and already hundreds of business owners had to permanently close their doors. Thousands of breadwinners, black, brown, and white alike had to face their families
and tell them that they can no longer provide. No longer can we afford home loans or a car. No longer can we manage to pay toward the dreams of our future generation. No longer can we afford school fees, take care of our elderly, or support our local community NPO.
And it is here, at the point of no return that I once again realise, despair has no race, hunger has no colour and pain, no religion.South Africa is broken. Broken beyond repair. Stolen from her people by a government of Conmen- deceiving, defrauding, and
demolishing everything this nation was once proud of. Here we stand, hardworking, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens, cheated out of dreams, aspirations, and livelihoods, with little to no hope of rescue.
I look at the masked young man standing next to me in the aisle
I look at the masked young man standing next to me in the aisle
at the local grocer, waiting his turn to pay for the little goods he came to buy with the last of his retrenchment money, to feed his family. I happen to know him. An educated, inspirational leader. A young man who until recently, was employed at a manufacturing company in
weeks. The wheel we call ‘economy’ can no longer continue to turn if all the working parts are not there to push it along. Businesses are closing their doors. Employees no longer need to get to their place of employment, because they no longer have a job.
There will be fewer and fewer transport services needed. Taxi owners will not be able to pay for their fleet because there will be no demand for their transport. They will fold, and yet another employment line will suffer. Demand in stores will go down because people
can no longer afford the cost of living. Grocery stores will cut lines and because of demand, declining manufacturing companies will stop manufacturing. And then they will not need employees – yet another industry affected. And all these people have loans, contracts,
and accounts that will not be paid because there is no income to pay it from.
We fail to understand that we are the economy. We, the people of South Africa, WE are the wheel. The relief funds and grants so lavishly thrown around and bragged about by our ministers and president as
We fail to understand that we are the economy. We, the people of South Africa, WE are the wheel. The relief funds and grants so lavishly thrown around and bragged about by our ministers and president as
