The future looks bleak for unstable South Africa

A interesting letter in The Citizen newspaper from a black reader.

Use your voice to turn SA in the right direction, writes TSHEPO DIALE of Ga-Rankuwa.

Reviewing the state of the nation I am afraid that I tend towards a rather pessimistic view.

Unless there are some fundamental attitudinal changes by all role players, there is a risk that we will see an increasingly polarised society based on heightened racial divisions – and I am not just talking black and white.

The causes will be widespread but will probably include wealth disparities, growing poverty, affirmative action and poor service delivery.

Add to this the likely increasing loss of desperately needed skills as young professionals seek their fortunes in more stable societies and declining education standards on the back of ideological experimentation, increased crime on the back of poor policing, growing poverty, uncontrolled urbanisation and large numbers of Aids orphans.

Poor immigration controls will see Africa’s desperate masses heading here and this will speed up the infrastructural decay. Political meddling in sport will increase racial disharmony and reduce the likelihood of reconciliation. This will cause investors to give us a wide berth with devastating implications.

What can we do? We can assess where we stand and then decide what we can do. But we cannot ignore it and abdicate our responsibility.

An essential element is making sure government leaders do the right thing for all South Africans, irrespective of race. Use your voice and make sure your reasonable opinions are heard.