Drink Deep

 "The party where KZN department allegedly offered booze worth R6000 per person",  trumpeted the headline. 

I was outraged. A badly-written headline.

I was also outraged at the amount spent on alcohol by our public representatives. A mere R6000 per grown adult! Why, some of my friends in government, SOEs and the tenderpreneur business spend more than that on pre-dinner drinks.

One must consider the following before reacting with knee-jerk indignation and anger.

1  Looting...,sorry, I mean leading, is hard, thirsty work. It can be extremely stressful. What's the harm in a few drinks or a few dozen drinks in order to relax?  Paid for by the grateful recipients of the excellent service to which we have become accustomed in KZN, and now take for granted.

2  The water in parts of KZN is of dubious quality. An opportunity to hydrate with safer liquids must be grasped with both hands and wide open mouth and gullet. 

3. The wise, profound words of one of our great ANC leaders are burned into my brain as with a hot branding  iron.

"We drink champagne on behalf of the people." Or something to that effect.

 As one of the people, I would hate to think that my representative thought so little of me as to drink cheap box wine from Shoprite or Oxford.  I expect professional representation. In fact, should it emerge that box wine made the rounds at such a party, I may well change my vote in disgust. So if my representative is quaffing Veuve Clicquot or 20 year old Scottish whiskey then honour is satisfied. This is what we expect from our leaders of the people's party. 

I am absolutely convinced that as our leaders imbibed on our behalf, we were uppermost in their minds. In fact I fear that alcohol lubricated melancholy may have cast a gloom over the party. With each sip, they probably remembered unrest victims, flood victims, the poor, and victims of horrific crime and every other ill that besets our great province. 

I could not delve into the detail of this jolly party held by the jolly Party. The online news journal expected me to pay. On principle I will not do that. My own blog is free and provides accurate, unbiased, objective, impartial content.  Of course tips are not only optional but also encouraged, so that readers may experience the warm glow unlikely to be provided by Eskom this winter. Let me assure you that no amount is too small - or too large. Lest you think that this is a shameless plug for my blog, let me also assure you that it's not. It's a shameless plug for tips.

I read that the MEC has stepped down.  I don't know whether this follows unhappiness with the booze component of the party menu. If so, a hasty, ill-advised decision. The R6000 booze per person concept fits in well with the goals and ideals of a  Sport, Arts and Culture department.

Boozing can be regarded  as a sport that knows no barriers of class, race, gender or border fence place of origin. Even our dialectically materialistic  friends, of the EFF, are rumoured to participate with commendable enthusiasm. It is, in truth, the sport that keeps on giving, as it often generates other sporting activities.

To be able to down R6000 worth of booze in one sitting and not shuffle off 

this mortal coil as a result, surely must be regarded as an art of the highest order. 

Booze is an integral part of our culture, despite Mr Cele's best efforts. 

So there you have it: sport, arts and 

culture represented in one genteel gathering. The complete package for a healthy, happy nation.  

My only complaint is that with current liquor prices, it really should have been at least R12000. Consider the horrendous price of Dom Perignon and the hardship that this sort of thing lays upon the already heavily burdened shoulders of our rather poorly rewarded public representatives. Should I be offered the Sports, Art and Culture portfolio, I assure voters that I will lend serious attention to this matter over a Shoprite boxed wine. 

As for the MEC, she should have been rewarded, not castigated. Perhaps with a R6000 booze voucher.

Yours in the struggle to promote 

sport, arts and culture. 

Richard

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

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