Thanks, Shoprite. Home Affairs?

Dear Shoprite. 

It's rare in South Africa that a service provider actually listens to the customer. Rarer still when action is taken.

Following on our previous friendly discussion about aching knees in the pension queue, and the possible abduction of cashiers by aliens,  this morning was a pleasant surprise. You made a change to the process and it made all the difference. Queues moved quickly. Replenishing of cash at the tills was quick and seamless. Great stuff. 

See,  Home Affairs and every other government department!  It can be done. You can change processes without being struck by lightning.You will not be summoned to a Zondo Commission or something if you improve your processes. I know that you admire the Soviet bread queue model and change can be difficult. If your slogan is that the bum is mightier than the brain, that too can be adjusted.

Home Affairs made a half-hearted attempt with their online system. It worked about as effectively as a pre-loved Lada Niva. It is noteworthy that, of all the government departments, only SARS, the money collectors, have an efficient online system. No gravy, no train, as the Roman senator, Corruptus Omnibus famously said, before being  beheaded for the Roman equivalent of racketeering.  It is strange, Honourable Ones, that you would drive by these ubiquitous queues  time and time again, in your blue light convoys, and think that this is normal. Not only normal but perfectly acceptable. Perhaps even fun. Perhaps particularly for the elderly, who can play the 'how long will my knees hold out this time' game before they pass out. To most state, provincial and city departments,  I should think that you have been told before that your service is crap in any language. In the event that you haven't, here it is: your service is crap, amasimba, Scheisse, merde. For those offended by the choice of nouns: faeces.

You cannot possibly be proud of serving crap to the people of South Africa. That applies to everyone from minister to the staff at the interface. I don't know how often you have been told that you are a bloody disgrace. Well here goes once again. You are a bloody disgrace. there is unfortunately no nice, euphemistic way to put this. Your so-called service to the country sucks, stinks and is aptly described by another  s-word. Of course all of this is like trying to have a conversation with an extremely thick brick wall. 

To Shoprite, please continue the good work. We were served this morning by a brisk, cheery young woman. You might tell some of the other staff that it's ok not to move and look as if they've just come from a week's stay in a morgue.

To the state service providers, muck you.  Muck you very much. 

Yours in the struggle for respect for the customer and a little bit of bloody decency.

Richard 

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

An Injury To One

Dear EFF Leadership

I found the report below most disconcerting. Also  disturbing. 

"The Economic Freedom Fighters has fired a councilor in the Makana Local Municipality in Makhanda for moonlighting as a cleaner at Rhodes University. | @MaliDayimani"

It's not as if the lady had a tender for bridges in Limpopo or something. I choose that example at random. Who can survive in South Africa today without a side hustle? Even Mr Zuma, rumour has it, had a few of those on the go.

 I know that this is a tender subject,  but word is that most politicians have a side hustle of sorts.  Some apparently extremely profitable. I myself have been trying to snag a tender or two for bridges in Limpopo, which apparently were not built on the first tender.

Apart from that, this is a wonderful example of a councillor actually getting her hands dirty. I would have thought that that's what those smart overalls that you guys wear are for.

I believe that this was a symbolic act of great significance.  All about service delivery and the importance of education.  We know that the EFF is the party of highly educated comrades (hence the superior logic that drops from time to time 'like the gentle rain from heaven'). Who can forget Dr  Ndlozi's profound comment on the burning of the parliamentary building:

 "Whatever the cause! Whatever the intentions: IT IS A BEAUTIFUL FIRE" 

No Oxford don ever spoke more eloquently or more meaningfully.  We are blessed  by the quality of our politicians.

Of course, there is also the symbolism of clean  government, which is what every right-thinking person expects when Mr Malema and minio...sorry, managing team grasp the ring. Clean, singing, dancing, chanting government, dispensing justice, land and pithy quotes on dialectical (and other forms of) materialism. One imagines that investors will stream over our borders in ways creative and the more conventional fence crawling approach. Rubbing their weary eyes in joyous disbelief as they behold the EFF - created socialist paradise, in which each person shall possess Gucci apparel and a  Breitling timepiece. One can almost hear the celestial singing of angels as the Pan-African brotherhood of man comes to be in the New South Africa. Hang on, I'm not sure whether the comrades have any truck with angels. Perhaps the singing of demons, then.

The lady should have been rewarded and / or promoted,  not fired. You should learn from the ANC, who readily reward entrepreneurship  and enterprise.  As part of the EFF leadership I imagine that her speeches would have been peppered with examples of capitalist man's inhumanity to man in the work environment. She could have discoursed at length on the hardships that the working class has to endure while plump academics reap the real rewards.

I trust that you will speedily rectify this grossly unfair labour practice. Failing that,  expect a march on your revolutionary premises led by yours truly. I will be clad in overalls and wearing a red beret in honour of the, (in my view),injured party. We will be proceeding from the premise that an injury to one is a snotklap to all. Talking of klaps, I have been told that your responses are sometimes,  in the words of Mad Magazine, of the non-verbal, sensory variety. Let me make it clear that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I am not necessarily alluding  to a Brackenfell type bollocking  of any persons, but merely indicating that we will respond to provocations . I believe that this is also your philosophy. 

I recall that one of your great leaders warned shopkeepers not to provoke marchers  by having their doors open and leaving assorted goodies on provocative display. Your disciplined ground forces could not then be held responsible for deeds done in the throes of gnawing hunger and righteous anger. So impressed was I by this speech, reminiscent of Shakespeare's 'God for Harry, England and Saint George,' that I yelled out an involuntary 'Hallelujah'.

Yours in the struggle for economic freedom through side - hustles.

 Richard

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

Bringing Fokol to the World

 Dear Ambassador  Brigety

I trust that you are now satisfied, following this transparently clear statement from our Defence Minister:

South African Defence Minister, Modise: ‘We did not send fokol to Russia, not even a piece of Chappies

(from a news report).

It is a little confusing, as another publication reports:

Defence Minister Thandi Modise said “fokol” was put on the Russian commercial vessel ship, Lady R...

So, perhaps we did load some fokol on the Russian vessel. That is no cause for concern. Our cartoonist, Zapiro produced a  brilliant cartoon of a 'Fokol' rocket on  Russian jeep. The truth is that fokol is actually a nutritional supplement developed by our brilliant, caring politicians to keep South Africans going through the hard times. And indeed many citizens have managed to subsist on fokol for many years. Our politicians, bless their cholesterol clogged hearts, are working extremely hard to distribute fokol to all South Africans, regardless of race, gender/s or place of purchase of identity documents. Light, airy and insubstantial as the ether, this supplement nevertheless imparts the sort of energy that can enable one to march, dance and yell slogans for hours on end. 

Very many of our politicians make sure that they bring fokol to the table in their parliamentary, provincial or local councillor jobs. I think you begin to get a glimpse, sir, of how we essentially run on fokol. Of course, our good comrades, Vlad and friends, have been contributing fokol to us for many years. It was only right that we return the favour by loading the Lady R with some prime South African fokol.

Yes, there is some inequity. Nobody's perfect (Apart from Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema, according to their acolytes). We are concerned that our leaders, in a gallant show of sacrifice, have been deprived of fokol. We, the people, intend to rectify that soon.

As a 'no hard feelings' diplomatic gesture, we would be happy to supply your country with fokol at preferential rates. You need never fear shortages. As long as you keep the benjamins coming, we will keep churning out fokol. Let me assure you that we are good at this - very, very good.

Yours in the struggle to bring fokol to the whole world.

Richard 

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

Party for the Poor

 Dear Mr Malema. 

Dr Google tells me that it will cost a mere 1.2 million to rub shoulders and other relevant body parts with you at your upcoming anniversary celebration. 

At my 10th birthday celebration all that I got was a  Chinese-made toy car which disintegrated on contact with a brick wall. I like the way you comrades think -  big and bold. I certainly like the materialistic aspect of your dialectical materialism. In truth the EFF is growing on me, as I am sure it is growing on all right thinking,  sorry, left thinking South Africans. I had already set aside the sum of two million rands for this great occasion. Who would not jump at the opportunity to sit next to the CIC and next president of this great country? I imagine that the revolutionary nuggets that would fall from your lips between bites of the chicken Kiev ( more likely chicken Moskva) would be, well.... revolutionary. They would probably make the works of chairman Mao and that Marx brother look like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 

Alas, the recent plummeting of the rand has left me in penury. This comes on top of the destruction of my VBS investments. You are the party for the poor and the stuffed - around. As one of the nouveau-poor, I have a proposal. I plan to hover at a strategic spot where I can hoover up the crumbs of superior logic bound to fall. I do have some listening equipment that I picked up from a novelty store before the rand crash. Needless to say, I am constantly inspired by your eloquence and the profound workings of your beautiful mind. I never understood what that Greek chap meant when he said that there is no difference between life and death.  Until you illustrated it by boldly stating that you would die and / or kill for Zuma. Not necessarily in that order I imagine. 

I would appreciate it if the odd polystyrene container of leftovers could be sent my way. I trust that, at over a million, the food will be of a quality that would have Gordon Ramsay muttering assorted f-words under his breath in envy. Please don't trouble Floyd as I'm sure that he will address his plates with the same dedicated ferocity that he reserves for capitalists and other enemies of the people. I so look forward to hearing of grand plans for smart cities and bullet trains  - sorry, that's the other guy. I meant plans for wide open borders to allow diligent, innovative investors to stream through, hugging designs for new factories and enterprises to their breasts.  Plans for your coronation and for a dispensation that ensures the presence of a plump chicken in every pot, Nando's peri-peri sauce of choice  accompanying. A Brave New World arising out of the ashes and sewage.  I am reminded of this old song, slightly edited:

What we need is a great big melting pot, Big enough to take Moz, Zim and all it's got.

keep it churning for a dozen years or more.

Turn out smiling Panaf brothers by the score.

I am not yet a card-carrying EFF member. I did carry a placard while watching your stunningly successful shutdown march on TV news. All ten minutes of it. I am however ready to be catapulted over the edge by the persuasive force of superior logic and superior cuisine. You will find in me a staunch ally for as long as there is solid doctrine and equally solid chow to be had. 

Yours in whatever struggle you opt for next. 

Richard.

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

Your Caring Government

An American friend told me of a news item she'd seen about pit toilets in Limpopo. She was almost as shocked  as our  president often is.

It is good to know that our reputation as torch bearer of compassionate democracy  on the African continent  has reached even the shores  of that great Satan  the USA .

I know that people unkindly compare the amount of money spent on making our great leaders comfortable to the amount spent on problems such as these. South Africans must understand that there is a logic to spending millions on ministerial swimming pools, household intercom systems and leaking roofs. Bloody cruel,   callous and selfish, yes,  but still logical.

How shall the  Honourable Ones  steer the ship of state if raindrops keep falling on their heads? Or they cannot order a gin and tonic via the house intercom system? How can they be expected to make the innovative, bold decisions that improve the lives of all South Africans if they are to be troubled by load shedding? The R454 000 reportedly spent on installing a generator for a minister,  the 2.1 million spent on diesel -  why those are mere  crumbs weighed up against the invaluable body of work that the Honourable Ones have done to transform South Africa.

Some compare the money spent on protecting politicians to the amounts  spent on fighting rampant  crime.  Of course our leaders must be protected. Who knows what black-hearted villains lurk  out there,  just waiting to superimpose leaders' faces on pornographic material? As happened recently. I fell into a dead faint at the thought of Mr Ramaphosa and Mr Cele's heads misused in such gross fashion. This is the sort of thing that leads  to the collapse  of civilizations. In fact pornographic graffiti showing Caesar in uncaesarlike like poses is said to have hastened the fall of Rome. Maximus Rudis,  vile graffiti artist  was responsible. He was apprehended by a brilliant centurion, Celsius  Bhekus. the Roman forerunner to  Sherlock Holmes. He received his just reward at the sharp end of a lion's incisors. Just as our own lion of the law, Mr Cele, pounces regularly on villains of every description,  keeping us safe and secure. And will probably pounce on this villain threatening the security of the state with fake pornographic material. These and other fascinating facts can be found in my new book The Role of Celsius Bhekus, Fixus Umbilicus and the Emperor Zero in the fall of Rome. Available at all reputable bookshops and zol outlets. Incidentally,  I have yet to write the book but that should be a  doddle. I intend to seek support from a noted patron of the arts -  Herman,  Lerman -  something like that.

As for  the minister of electricity, he  deserves every  cent that he earns (apparently a Zuma-perplexing amount of cents). In truth,  he should be awarded a massive bonus, similar to the sort of stuff that Eskom staff receive for their  sterling performance in keeping the lights on intermittently. The man who made the earth-shattering discovery that a reliable supply of electricity will ultimately lead to the end of load shedding deserves the sort of plaudits that an Einstein or Newton would receive. Shedding light  into the  dark  corners  of a conundrum that has vexed mankind since the dawn of time. Who knows but that his next epiphany would be that a reliable supply of common sense and conscience will ultimately lead to the end of ANC horse manure.

R400 000 was allegedly spent to eliminate pests at the home of one of our hero-politicians. Now while industry experts are said to have asserted that the job could have been done for R5,000, I do not think that they understand the tenacity  of pests in the homes of politicians. I suspect that the pests still exist in numbers. No doubt it will take many billions more before they are finally removed. An event that many, many South Africans look forward to with great longing. In the meantime we shall have to endure their chirping and nibbling at everything in sight. There is an extremely effective pesticide on the market but South Africans are yet to learn to use it effectively. Voters Choice it is called. Together with the eco-friendly solutions, Civic Action and Democratic Action, this pesticide has been known to remove the most stubborn vermin. Unfortunately,  the use of these solutions has been severely restricted on the African continent. One hopes that that will change as people become thoroughly - to put it elegantly - gatvol of the havoc wreaked by pests.

Yours in the struggle for logical, fair, compassionate distribution of state funds.

Richard 

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

The Scuffle Needs Help

Dear Readers

I would love to continue scuffling with politicians and persons of interest.

If you enjoy 'The Scuffle Continues', this blogger needs your help to keep going.

Your once-off donation of R20, R50, whatever, will be gratefully  accepted. 

Yours in the scuffle.

Richard 

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

 

  

US and Us

 Dear American Ambassador . 

So you claim that we loaded arms and ammunition on a Russian ship. 

First, we resent your interference in our affairs. This is no different from peering  into someone's bedroom while they are engaged in earnest conversation with a member of the opposite sex. Sorry, one of the opposite sexes. Do we go on about  loads of catfish and cornbread loaded on some  vessel in a Southern  port?  Weapons of mass indigestion, if you ask me. (Yes, we too, have our sources).

Second, we do not respond willy-nilly to rumours, even if supported by blurry photographs and vague spy reports. We go by the book. In fact we are contributors to the book. We will Institute a commission of inquiry, as we have done with great success in the past. I refer you to  the Eskom debacle, the state capture saga and many other issues that we have conclusively resolved by this method. We even have a commission of inquiry into the gradual boiling of frogs.

Third, we are a fiercely independent nation. This is why we slavishly adhere to other fiercely independent nations, such as the comradely one near the Bering Sea. 

Fourth, we do not take kindly to being bullied, particularly by arrogant, warmongering western states who do lots of trade with us and provide some grudging support. We do occasionally accept friendly bullying from our socialist comrades. This is because they are virtually family. They would welcome us with open arms, open jobs and open fridges into their non-racial communities. Why, I see us doing a jolly cossack knees-up together around a communal bonfire. Vodka toasts, shouts of 'Za zdorovie' and the chowing down of Russian sausages. Perhaps a martial version of the Jerusalema dance. 

We value integrity and ethics above all, even if it means resorting to the odd episode of subterfuge or hypocrisy to maintain them. We have a saying: 

'The comrade of my comrade is my comrade.'

Though one of our think tanks is still working on the full meaning, it does unerringly guide our foreign policy.  

Our commission of  inquiry will be headed by, not the equivalent of some inarticulate senator from Little Rock, Arkansas, but a judge, no less. (With all due respect to Arkansas senators). Our judges, by virtue of training, experience and the wisdom that comes from sending down scores of cunning villains over the years, have unique insight and abilities. The ability to see beyond potentially misleading paper, electronic and other records to the very depths of a  ship's dark hold, not least among them. Be assured that we will get to the soggy bottom of this unpleasant matter. Doubtless we will find that the cargo consisted of nothing more sinister than nutritious maize meal and equally fine mampoer, both of which Russians enjoy with their caviar or borscht. Oh, there might have been some kudu biltong included. 

No doubt we will be chuckling over this little misunderstanding in about 

six months' time, once the commission has speedily concluded its business. In the meantime  we trust that AGOA will steam ahead. We are sensitive to how great a loss to you our exclusion would be. And we are a 'let bygones be bygones' sort of people. One can clearly ascertain that from the number of thugs, thieves, frauds and looters that we still graciously allow to wander our land in freedom. 

Yours in the struggle for truth and transparency, as well as goodwill among men, women and infants.

Richard 

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723