EDITORS NOTE
President Jacob Zuma handed over 200 free government-built houses to grateful families in Kanana Park, Joburg, at the weekend, to fulfil a promise he had made previously to the residents of the area.
It was yet another tranche of free houses among the more than 2 million the state has funded over the years.
With the world in economic turmoil, it’s perhaps apt to ask if this country can afford to continue funding these projects, and not expecting the recipients to make a contribution, however small.
Are we ever going to reach a stage where a brave soul in the |government will announce that such largesse has come to an end and propose a new plan in which the prospective homeowners would have to play their part in the transaction? Is the ruling party ever going to mount a campaign against dependency on the state, encourage people to strive for financial independence and live within their means?
When it took over the government 18 years ago, the ANC was under huge pressure to be seen to be doing something to better the lives of the black majority.
The urgency to fix all manner of problems for the benefit of the majority was understandable given the racially inspired inequality it had inherited from the Nationalists.
In response to the high expectations of its core constituency, the party made its task even harder by making a raft of unrealistic promises it had no hope of fulfilling. This was owing to naiveté on its part, but also to cement the support of its bedrock and win elections.
And so it came to pass that plans and targets to be achieved were churned out regularly to tackle the pressing challenges the party had identified. There was a plan, and in some cases a consultant, for almost anything under the sun: job creation, low-cost housing, education, health, mass electrification… the list went on.
The electrification programme spearheaded by Eskom was a notable success. But it’s now common cause that the ANC’s initiatives to improve education and health have proved to be an ongoing fiasco which have cost the country billions – for little return on the investment.
The disaster that is education is of particular concern, as it has potentially robbed millions of SA’s youth of a decent shot at lifting themselves out of poverty.
But back to free housing. The completion of yet another project should be no cause for celebration. The government should never have got involved in building free houses in the first place. It should now redefine the project and partner with the private sector by providing the land and financial guarantees to lending institutions to reduce the risk of lending to low-income families.
Such a scheme would give the new homeowners pride in being partners in contributing to building their own homes and inculcate a culture of independence.
Free services such as low-cost housing and social grants, while understandable when they were first offered, can only deepen dependency on the state, which will in time tip this country into a debt abyss.
One hopes that those charged with the responsibility of governing are taking the harsh experience of the debt-ridden European welfare states to heart so this country can avoid a similar fate. But are there ANC leaders brave enough to take the tough decisions necessary to steer clear of the looming iceberg?
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Besides SA winning five more medals at the Olympics than was the case at Beijing four years ago, the games have also been good in offering role models for our youth.
While the instant riches offered by a lucrative government tender should be tempting for them, it’s the hard work that our sportsmen and women do on the sportsfield that is worthy of emulation and adoration.
