Cape Town - One can hardly blame frustrated South Africans for feeling aggrieved by the government’s reactionary stance at the killing of a German tourist last week.
So many of their loved ones have died at the hands of criminals, with no such “urgency” displayed by officials, let alone Cabinet ministers.
It did not have to take the loss of someone’s life for Police Minister Bheki Cele and his top brass to visit this stretch of road near Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga when residents and local businesses have been complaining and even introduced security measures at their own cost.
In their world it was a tragedy waiting to happen, and their plight with crime is something that is echoed around the country.
The incident last week has once again exposed this government’s failures on many fronts.
Rushing to the scene in Mpumalanga to appear as though they were on top of the situation left a bad taste in the mouth, as if some lives are more important than others.
It could easily leave the false impression that South Africans are insensitive towards this brutal killing, when in fact the opposite is true.
However, it is the politicians’ misrepresentations that fuel such belief. All South Africans want is to feel safe, and justice.
Even after the frenzy, no one has been arrested, leaving many unanswered questions about whether taking in three people for questioning only to release them later was just a PR exercise.
The fact that Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu concedes that the attack could have happened to anyone is a sad reality and a shameful indictment of her police counterpart Cele. The fact is that it shouldn’t have happened at all.
No doubt the incident will have a huge impact on the tourism industry that is recovering from prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns. Sisulu should make every effort to ensure that her colleagues in the security cluster are not sleeping on the job.
This should begin with Cele, who has done anything and everything but ensure the safety of South Africans.
How he can guarantee tourists’ safety is a question he himself would find difficult to answer.
Well, his boss President Cyril Ramaphosa believes he is doing a great job by just showing up at the scene for TV interviews and empty promises.
That’s how low the bar has been set.
Cape Times