While they are not the individuals truly responsible for getting anything of import done, they are the ones who are in charge of appointing the public service and play a role in sabotaging or aiding its functions.Ĭrumbling public service leads to a crumbling country This is where elected politicians truly become important. Not through ideology or conniving, but simply through doing their jobs. The functions of government are ideally run by skilled, politically neutral and competent bureaucrats whose only aspiration is the maintaining of society and its upliftment. No service delivery can happen, no policy can be implemented, no regulation can be enforced or examined properly to test its efficacy. Without an effective public service nothing gets done. While it is easy for South Africans to believe politicians run this country (they would like us to believe this as it justifies their salaries), the true pushers of any sort of change or policy implementation are public servants. In this regard, the opposition parties must work together to make the right appointments.

The solution must be found in its public servants, those background administrators and appointees who truly turn and grease the gears of government. The answer to Johannesburg’s problems cannot be found directly in electoral politics, and no voting for a single party will solve its issues. There may be a semblance of a solution on the horizon, if the contesting political parties in Johannesburg behave and work towards a united solution for the city rather than fighting each other out of jealousy and spite. Johannesburg, in particular, is a dying city, torn apart by crime and mismanagement. While our country and its municipalities crumble under the weight of corruption, failing service delivery and decaying infrastructure, political parties still engage in petty factionalism.

Soul Bound by Nicholas Woode-Smith