#Corruption in South Africa

[joandelahaye]

Driving Corruption, Puzzling Zombies, Nightmarish Ogres, and Books Galore Await!

Hello, my Freaky Darlings! Salutations from the sunny side of Africa, where the weather matches our country’s knack for surprises. While I’m sipping sunshine, Cape Town is sipping tea under a drizzle. But, speaking of life in South Africa, my last blog post dove into a rather dark and damp topic – the slippery slope of corruption behind our alarmingly high road fatalities. If you missed it but…

[justsomeectoplasm]

Seeing the wildest takes on South African politics on this site because of the Genocide case. These guys literally think that American politics apply to every other country.

[urmomsstuntdouble]

not to be political but I've seen a lot of people saying that those who call Israel an apartheid don't know what they're talking about and um. As someone who has studied South African apartheid as well as grown up in a Jewish community. This claim has more merit than you think

[savageboar]

watched a video about south african flight 295 and im just like

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

It's Over! South Africa is F*&$d - Failed State

P.S. Primitive populism, one-party rule and corruption look the same everywhere: rich leaders and poor masses...

[trendynewsnow]

Political Shifts in Africa: Young Voters Challenge Long-standing Ruling Parties

A Shift in Political Landscape Across Africa The recent electoral defeat of Botswana’s ruling party, which has maintained its grip on power since the nation gained independence 58 years ago, has sent shockwaves throughout the African continent. This pivotal moment reflects a significant shift as a dynamic and spirited young population increasingly disrupts the long-standing dominance of…

[maxmischief]

Wow 🤩

I would definitely like for South Africa to get up to Finland's standards!

This story is more proof that if govt looks after your people; they're not going to "become lazy and not want to find work".

That's just another lie to keep things capitalist and keep the rich people rich while their wealth "trickles down" (that's a fancy way of saying: we don't actually care about anyone other than ourselves but we'll make it look like we do by claiming that our wealth will be spent on buying things from the poor).

Spoiler: they don't.

And most of our stuff is imported - That's why the rand is so weak.

Literally Grade 8 economics - importing more than you export; weakens your currency.

If SA kicked out corruption and got our shit together - we would be amazing! Our country has SO MUCH potential - corruption is holding us back from achieving our housing and infrastructure goals.

If we started/restarted manufacturing our own goods - it would create jobs AND strengthen our economy at the same time!

The people WANT to work - the small businesses and roadside stalls are proof of that. But we NEED a livable minimum wage. Too many people are struggling to get by while our food prices just keep increasing (even when the petrol price comes down😒)

South Africans are mad that so many foreign workers are in South Africa - because businesses take advantage of the foreigners and pay them peanuts. Then the businesses refuse to employ locals because then they'd have to pay their employees a fair wage. Which would reduce the amount of profit - and that's all big companies care about...

We have people working for R25 an hour and being expected to live off +-R4100 a month.

Rent is at least R2500

Transport can be R300-500 (depending on how you travel)

Food is at least R1000

That doesn't even include toiletries, water and electricity, replacing worn-out clothes and shoes or gas/parafine (cause we all need a backup plan for loadshedding)

And if you have children - on top of all this you have to try pay for school fees, stationery, uniforms, more for food, electricity and water, etc.

At this point you could probably call it institutional poverty.... The rich pay themselves in hundreds of thousands of rands but grumble about paying a decent minimum wage to the woman scrubbing their floors and toilets, the man mowing their lawns or any of the people they employ to do menial labor.

The president is paid R260,000+ per month while people starve.

The deputy president is paid R250,000+ per month while people have to pee on the side of the road due to the lack of public toilets.

Ministers are paid R213,000+ per month while children still drown in pit toilets.

Deputy ministers are paid R176,000+ every month while over 13 MILLION South Africans live in shacks.

And calling it an "informal settlement" doesn't make it any less dangerous or any more dignified.

We pay 15% tax on everything we buy - even the poor and even the homeless.

We are all taxed in almost every part of our lives but we still have 13 MILLION people without running water, electricity or decent sanitation facilities.

NO ONE should be earning R100,000+ per month while 13 MILLION people are living in shacks.

I was born and raised American, but with everything that's happened over the past few years I've been considering moving to another country. but I don't know if this is just "the grass is greener". Not sure if this really fits with your blog, but as someone from Europe what's your attitude towards living in the US?

I've visited there a handful of times and most of my thoughts are "damn bitch, y'all really live like this?" People in Finland like to complain about the climate, the taxes, and how stingy the welfare systems are (if you currently rely on them) or how costly they are (if you're currently not relying on them), but honestly most of the time that's because people are used to having it so good, or don't really have a perspective of how bad everyone would be doing without the infrastructure that everything runs on.

Sure, nowhere is perfect, and there's always room for improvement, but honestly the people I've met in the US only really seem to think that their system is good because they've never been anywhere else and don't know any better.

Mostly it's stuff that you'd never think about if you hadn't been to both places, like being able to trust that tap water is drinkable or that you can safely walk/bike to wherever you need to go. The US really doesn't have the kind of ability to just hang out in public places, just walking to the town and sitting on benches. Having public parks and libraries isn't really the same if you can't just walk there, and you genuinely need a car to go anywhere.

I moan and lament a lot about how the winters here are hard to endure - at the darkest time of the year the sun rises at 9 and sets before 5 pm - but I wouldn't move from here just because of that, mainly because of how reliably everything is structured here. Sure, it's all run with funds from relatively high taxes, but that is a self-feeding loop on its own. The tax-paying workforce isn't a disposable resource that's wrung dry once and tossed out when it's broken, but even when you're just another cog in the machine, you're one that's maintained, not replaced if broken.

I had a lot of breakdowns when I was younger, largely due to depression and other mental issues I had due to the undiagnosed ADHD. When I started breaking down at work in my old factory job, they couldn't just fire me on the spot because of the workers' union fought tooth and nail to make sure that you can't throw people out for getting sick, and mental illness is treated no different from other health issues. I was allowed to take two years off work in order to study into a career I thought would fit me better. That didn't turn out well either, but I was still allowed to bounce back and forth between odd jobs, sick leave, and studying - all on government pensions during the spots when I wasn't working a wage - until I found the right diagnosis, the right medications, and the right job.

It's not a hyperbole to say that I owe my life to the ample and studry social welfare systems that Finland has in place. Sure, you're just another brick in the wall, a cog in the machine, but if you keep breaking down, it takes a long time until they completely give up on you if you can somehow make them believe that you're trying, because it's cheaper for the tax system to figure out how to make you fit into the machine than just toss you out. A human being is an expensive investment and if getting you to the right job, education, diagnosis, medication or even arranged housing is what it takes to get your ass back into the workforce, they'll at least try.

I'm perfectly happy to pay the taxes here to fund the system that helped me onto my feet when I was in no condition to function, and to support the people who never do recover, find their place, or be able to support themselves on their own. And I can live with the peace of mind that even if I fall apart again, that safety net is still there. It's brutal, pragmatic, and regards your health and welfare as a means to an end - to get you working and paying taxes again - but they still do prioritise your welfare. Cogs are cheaper to maintain than replace.

[joandelahaye]

Driving Through Corruption: Navigating South Africa's Dangerous Roads in a Broken System

Hello, my Freaky Darlings! When everything is broken, is it inevitable that everyone becomes a criminal? While driving to the day job on Thursday morning and avoiding another moron doing something stupid on the highway, I started thinking about why South Africa’s roads were considered the most dangerous in the world. It’s a sad truth that over 14,000 people die on our roads every year. And it’s…

[immaculatasknight]

Canada under the microscope

[historyhermann]

Supa Team 4 Season 2 Spoiler-Filled Review

Supa Team 4 is a computer-generated superhero action-comedy series. Malenga Mulendema is the series creator and co-executive producer. Trigger Fish Animation Studios, known for the recent animated series Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes, and Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and various television specials and films. The first season was released in July 2023. Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback…

[beens-on-toast]

I see some posts on the ICJ and South Africa submitting the case that Israel is committing genocide. I wouldn't be to excited about the court case because sadly politics will be involved not justice. Remember who will be judging this case, and in my opinion it won't be favorable to vote in agreement for most members despite the overwhelming evidence. South Africa did a good job, but sadly the game is rigged. Our individual governments will represent what benefits them not the people. Remember someone said the case was meritless and think why people couldn't wrap that statement around their head. They know the odds are not in Palestine's favor. Keep protesting and keep boycotting.

[runalongprincevaliant]

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[faultfalha]

We were born with the knowledge that Eskom's distribution in South Africa was our burden to bear, a sticky albatross that could never be shucked off. Like a ship out of time, it sailed the seas of history and politics, vaguely present, a horizon that could always be seen, yet never quite reached. The exact shape and form of the albatross has changed over time, but the essence remains the same: to be forever cursed by a never ending quest, both for us and for the generations that follow.

[natugardener]

South Africa: On the edge of darkness - BBC News

[generallemarc]

Qatar and Oman are absolute monarchies built off of modern slavery. You know that, right? Do you not see the problem of absolute monarchies currently employing slavery talking about "human rights"?

Following the footsteps of South Africa; Qatar, Oman, Malaysia have submitted statements in ICJ too.

Thank you South Africa for taking the first step.