I don’t. I don’t enough about my government, the policies, the people in power and what departments they control.
At the Million Man March The minister of Safety and Security Correctional Services was booed of the stage when he accepted the mandate set by the MMM. People wanted the President, they wanted Mbeki because he is the one they believed would listen. Pah!
The crowd wanted Mbeki because he is probably the only person in government that they knew by name and position. President Mbeki. Easy.
But what is the nature of a democratically elected government? Is it not to have various platforms of responsibility and channels of communication? I think it is. Yet this system falls flat because the people of this country haven’t taken the time out to actually learn about their own government. As I write this I can’t tell you who this MEC of Gauteng is, I don’t know who the mayor of my city is and I sure as hell don’t know the name of anyone in the police force in my immediate or greater areas. This is a major, massive problem that starts with me and continues over to you and your immediate surroundings.
If we as the people are not engaged enough to find out who to blame for the little things then how can we expect to create a stir at the top about the big things, like crime?
Using crime as an example is a good case study. Many people have been asking why the MMM was a “flop”, how could it have been better and why are the crime rates so high. Maybe it’s because we are trying to conquer the world before we control our neighbourhoods? Maybe what we should be doing is banging down the doors of our mayors and local government officials instead of trying to reach the president himself? There are people in these position for reasons, tried and tested, yet we don’t feel the need to even learn their names. I think this is where our community is flawed. We should all know where our closest police station is, who we can talk to at that police station and what number to call when we have a problem. Imagine if everyone in Johannesburg took the initiative to talk to their neighbours, friends and local government (include police). Don’t you think that would actually make more of a difference than trying to rally a gazillion people to the union buildings and call for the president to come down? I think it might.
Now let’s do a bit of an exam here – DON’T USE GOOGLE OR THE GOVT WEBSITE
Tell me who the ministers of the following departments are:
- Agriculture
- Defence
- Housing>/li>
- Justice & Constitutional Development
- National Treasury
- Secretariat for Safety & Security
- SA Police Service
- Trade & Industry
- Transport
- Water Affairs & Forestry
I hope you didn’t use Google or any other online resource. Now go ahead and try to answer in your comment. I am extremely interested to know how many of you actually know 10% of the above. I didn’t. I can guarantee that local government knowledge is even worse.
To find the answer to the above and all the rest of the ministry’s visit the South African Government website.
I understand that I often call people to action, that I ask people if the problem lies with them, us, or everyone. I know I do it. I do it because I think it’s the truth and it’s the necessary truth. We need to start to learn about our surroundings, accept and act rather than rebel and react.
For good measure, here is a list of our ministers:
Ministers
| Correctional Services | |
| Public Works | |
| Foreign Affairs | |
| Public Enterprises | |
|
|
Public Service & Administration |
| Water Affairs & Forestry | |
| Arts & Culture | |
| Intelligence | |
| Defence | |
| Justice & Constitutional Development | |
| Science & Technology | |
| Finance | |
| Home Affairs | |
| Communications | |
| Labour | |
|
|
Trade and Industry |
| Provincial & Local Government | |
| Safety and Security | |
| The Presidency | |
| Education | |
| Transport | |
| Housing | |
| Social Development | |
| Minerals and Energy | |
| Sport and Recreation | |
| Health | |
| Environmental Affairs & Tourism | |
| Agriculture & Land Affairs |
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Popularity: 7% [?]
June 17th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Thank you, now I also know who is who. honestly, I had only 1 answer right
June 17th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I got none right. Will refer to this in future. tks Nic
June 17th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I only got 2. Balfour and Lekota
June 17th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I didn’t get any, lol. But then again, the government isn’t very open to local participation. In the States, for instance, it’s not that hard to reach to and connect with your local senator. Over here, good luck trying to find a phone number that works.
Government is supposed to be something – doesn’t mean that it is. If the powers that be in Cape Town open their processes to the public, and allow engagement, I’ll be the one doing the pre-release beta testing. But as much as I would like to get involved, there’s just no easy avenue for it.
No surprise you didn’t include “Ministry of Health” on your list
June 17th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Hey all, thanks for the comments, most of you scored what I did before my research!
Wogan – when was the last time you called or tried to call your local government departments? I mean, like, you mayor, his secretary, anything like that? Recently, ever?
June 17th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Okay, I work in politics, so I got most of them (I got stuck on Water Affairs & Forestry). But it actually goes beyond knowing who the people are, and to how government works.
The example of crime is again apposite. Different levels of government are responsible for different things. Safety & Security is a national competence – the SAPS falls under a national ministry, and provincial commissioners report to the national commissioner who reports to the minister. There are departments of community safety & liaison at provincial level, but they have very little influence over policing in the province. The Metros have Metro Cops, but they are actually only responsible for the enforcement of by-laws. So local government has got no say over the police. (Many people actually refer interchangeably between provincial local levels of government.)
However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to get involved with policing at local level. The simplest (and least effort) way to do this is to join and attend meetings of your local neighbourhood watch. If you don’t have one, then it requires more effort, cos you’re going to need to start one.
I only joined mine after I was burgled a few months back. We get reports from our local police sector manager, and can raise issues about crime in our area with him.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:35 am
How many of the MINISTERS make a difference in the country? I know of Trevor Manual due to large media coverage when he applies changes, enforces policies or release the budget but that is about it. In the UK just about everything they do is televised and in the media, but not small time, BIG TIME. They beat crime on the front page where in SA crime is front page news all the time. Due to back page coverage (in my opinion) people view the goverment news as back page info. Should there not be a 24/7 coverage and media just about the goverment?
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
All citizens have a responsibility to know what is going on in their country. Register for the political parties weekly news letters. They make very interesting reading!!!!!!!! Also check out other websites, even the bad news ones. Then you can achieve a fairly balanced picture of what is going on. Knowledge is power. If you know and understand what is going on, that is the first step to being able to do something about it!