Modise Rantsieng
We have become accustomed to disorderliness, arrogance, and disrespect in our once-beloved City of Roses – Bloemfontein during the democratic era. Who cares?
The time for indiscipline, arrogance, and delinquency has dawned in Mangaung. The most disturbing trend is carelessness − which is compounded by the arrogant behaviour displayed by informal refuse collectors. Of course, one cannot outright disregard and condemn the services that these people are rendering to the inhabitants of the city. Yes, they play a vital role in ensuring that our residential areas, our streets, and business sites and buildings are kept clean, but what I cannot tolerate is their conduct when they move about in the streets.
Who cares?
We need to be conscious of the domino effect of their unacceptable behaviour during peak hours, when traffic is heavy in the mornings and afternoons. You see them pulling their oversized plastic refuse bags right in the middle of the road with no respect for other road users whatsoever. This irrational behaviour often leads to unnecessary road rage incidents where motorists clash with one another due to time-wasting or unsafe driving, resulting in numerous near-miss incidents, and some accidents and fatalities. It is as if they are more entitled to use the roads than any other taxpayer.
Who cares?
Go to the CBD area and you will undoubtedly regret it. The narrow walkways are consistently unfriendly and can be very hostile towards those who would be there for business or work-related errands. The pedestrian walkways are forever overcrowded with informal traders − ranging from fruit and vegetable stalls, hairdressers, salons, and braai stalls − including rogue criminals and drug addicts.
The health and safety conditions leave much to be desired, especially considering that in most cases many of those people do not even bother to look for toilet facilities when they are conducting their businesses. They consequently feel no shame about relieving themselves anywhere whenever nature calls. The smell is extremely disheartening and unbearable, to say the least.
What has happened to the basic principle – Cleanliness is next to godliness – meaning orderly and neat/tidy is a sign of moral goodness and closeness to God.
And of course who cares?
These despicable circumstances are disheartening for those of us who are still very passionate and patriotic about the city that was at one stage referred to as the City on the Move − City of Roses. How can we seriously hope to see new investors coming to open their businesses in a place where indiscipline and criminality supersede law and order?
What I find even more devastating is the fact that our province is regarded as among the poorest in the country. The deafening, heartbreaking cries of our people due to joblessness, hopelessness, and desperation are ones that no one could ever have imagined after the 1994 emancipation of our nation.
Looking back, the cleanliness, law and order, as well as discipline that were prevalent in the years prior to 1994 cannot be denied by any reasonable person. Every time we discuss this appalling situation, people hide behind the unfounded claim that foreign nationals are responsible for this chaotic, horrific, and shameful face of our city – complete scapegoat. That may be true, but then the question is: Why do we allow them to destroy our beloved city?
The old saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” means you should follow the good customs, traditions, and rules of the place you’re visiting rather than imposing your own. It encourages adapting to local cultures and norms to fit in, avoid offense. Are we teaching these people core values of Ubuntu?
What meaningful, doable, and implementable actions do we take to display our love and patriotism for what rightfully belongs to us, our children, and future generations? How will history judge us?
Do we honestly subscribe to the notion that charity begins at home?
Are we not giving up like cowards to the foreigners and allowing them and our children to be just harmless onlookers who can be used as accomplices?
What has happened to those historic and memorable parks, buildings, and heritage sites that we used to cherish and treasure? Those that we used to visit on Sunday afternoons for photography sessions and picnics with our families and our loved ones?
There would be no need for policing to ensure that we left them tidy, spic and span after our visits, all due to the love, discipline, and patriotism that we had within us. Think of the historic railway locomotive that used to be the symbol of history and heritage in front of the railway station. It used to be incredibly well maintained. What happened to it? Who cares, and what went wrong?
Crime, sometimes self-inflicted poverty, lack of vision, and lack of innovation have engulfed our leaders and our youth to such an extent that we no longer see opportunities that foreign nationals immediately pounce on and exploit. Perhaps if we could all make a concerted effort to rescue what belongs to us from the evil hands of those unpatriotic and careless wrongdoers, there could be some hope for the resuscitation of our God-given glory. Is our already blurry vision exacerbated by the smoke, dirt, and filth that we have allowed ourselves and our children to accept and embrace as normal?
Our province has dominated the Grade 12 examination results in this country for countless consecutive years, but what happens to those learners before or after tertiary education? What do they become? A significant number of them were given bursaries and scholarships to study overseas. In what way has this city or even the province benefited from that? I strongly believe that they should have returned with extensive skills, knowledge, and competencies to improve the appalling situation in our once-beloved city and province. They went to prestigious institutions to acquire competencies, skills, and qualifications as medical doctors, motor mechanics, and technicians, among others, but we see them aimlessly loitering on the filthy streets of our city, not to mention filling the taverns and bottle stores at every opportunity. We see them being employed and exploited by foreign nationals. We hardly see them in the sports community.
We now have two clubs from the city in the Premier Soccer League – how many local players do we have in them? Who among them has raised their hand to emulate the erstwhile stars of yester-years and the pride of “Lefatshe La Masele” ? The likes of Benjamin “Rhee” Reid, David “Gaba” Modise, Bro Ephraim “Never My Love” Madikgetla, Jeffrey “Majeff” Lekgetla, David “Chippa” Sefali, Willem Vries, Willem Jackson, Thabo Nthethe, and Reamogetse Wolf – the list is endless!
Cry, the Beloved City!
It is imperative to go back to our drawing boards, think deeply, and take concerted patriotic action to resuscitate the once-glorious, historic status of our currently decaying city.
■ Modise Rantsieng is a teacher by profession; as well as a counsellor, social activist and author of books like “Sour to Sweet: A Teacher’s Guide” and “The Mirror“, focusing on positive learning, life skills, manhood, and combating gender-based violence (GBVF)
