I’m tired of bracing myself for higher blackout Stages.
I’m tired of being told to use less electricity that I’m paying more for.
I’m tired of the power coming back on to find we’re a further three to five units down after a four-hour power cut despite not being able to use any.
I’m tired of being asked to be patient.
I’m at Stage Pissed Off now.
How much more patient do we, as South Africans, need to be? The reality is that load shedding is here to stay, and the South African government, led by the ANC, is woefully ill-equipped to find a solution any time soon.
Today, my power will be off for a cumulative eight hours; the last slot starts at 10pm - a second four-hour stretch. I’ve given up on worrying about having my house being broken into and my family murdered while I sleep because what’s the point? I’ve given up on complaining about how power cuts affect my work because I’ve had to find solutions to keep working during load shedding.
And that’s our problem as South Africans - we’re too resourceful for our own good. ‘n Boer maak ‘n plan. But those plans and resourcefulness seem to absolve our government of any feigned urgency to resolve our power crisis.
They could easily look at us and say: “They’ve got this under control.” We should not have to have things under control. We should not have to find our own solutions to our government’s abysmal failure to keep the lights on.
Years of non-investment, allowing crippling infrastructure rot, lack of will to root out corruption in the supply chain, lack of impetus to tackle vandalism and theft ... Cyril Ramaphosa, you have failed us. You and your government, and those who came before.
There can be no new dawn when you come from the same party that allowed this degradation in the first place.
How long do you think South Africans will by abide this reign of terror?
How long before we reach breaking point?
How long before there are riots on the streets?
You are forcing us to think of drastic measures to cope with these drastic times. You are driving us towards acts of terror.
Over the weekend, I finally watched The Banshees of Inisherin. It was a delightful film but highlighted the lengths some people would go to get their way.
Spoiler alert: a long friendship is ended by one party when he decides the company of his pal is too dull, and in an effort to be left alone, resorts to cutting off his own fingers every time his friend tries to reach out to him or speak to him.
What lengths are we willing to go to in order to get our government to pull finger and end load shedding?
South Africa has had enough. And if the government doesn’t realise just how far they’ve pushed us, there may well be a civil war on our hands.
We’re under the kosh. Pressed on all sides. Rising food and fuel costs, rising living costs, rising housing costs amid unemployment and housing crises. And electricity? Dololo.
Amid an epidemic of violence against women and children, we have an energy crisis that’s threatening lives and livelihoods, all brought upon by an epidemic of governmental ineptitude.
Fix this, Cyril. Or by 2024, there may not be blood left to shed at the polls.