“WE CAN’T BREATHE”

Selby Vusimusi Moyo
Activist

By Selby Moyo
Activist

This phrase is reminiscent of murder victim George Floyd’s last words when he was being choked by racist police in the United States of America.

I heard it being used recently in a collective sense on Cathy Mohlahlana’s radio talk show called “The National Morning Briefing.”

The topic of discussion on the show was “What Enrages Citizens In This Territory?”

This following the March and March mass demonstrations that took place on 30 June this year.

A caller to the show who used the said phrase was pointing out that the government has led to foreign nationals flooding townships.

The call was a follow-up to many comments made earlier on in the show by other callers decrying the government’s uncaring attitude towards its citizens.

One of those earlier callers on the show said “the government does not put us first…it puts foreigners first.”

The issue of small businesses of local citizens being elbowed out by Somalis, Pakistanis and other foreigners then came under discussion with one caller claiming that whereas they used to know owners like Nkosi and such who had Spaza shops around certain corners of the townships, there are now tens of these shops which are now owned by the said groups of foreigners; many of whom are not documented and therefore not compliant with the Municipality by-laws.

Another caller said they can’t compete with these foreign-owned businesses as they (foreign-owned businesses) sell cheap goods.

We know by now that some of the Spaza shops have become notorious for their unsanitary conditions as well as their tendency to sell expired goods.

Of course no one can forget that several children lost their lives in recent years after consuming edibles purchased from these foreign-owned shops!

People got angry, yet the government’s response in this regard was to merely demand that owners of these shops must register their businesses.

These owners were never taken to task for causing the deaths of the said children.

One must say that this government does not appreciate the fact that the citizenry in this territory has been patient and understanding.

But now they have highlighted the fact that the government has taken them for a ride for too long.

Another caller pointed out that ” the ANC-led government is disrespectful to the citizens” and asked whether it was justifiable to bring disgraced former Minister Dinah Pule back to the government after “what she did in the past.”

Several callers called the government’s bluff for claiming they were “not moved” and ” not shaken” by the ” shutdown” advocated by March and March organisers because in actual fact none of the March and March organisers have ever called for a shutdown of the country in the first place.

What was loud and clear though during the show was that the government was ” sitting on a ticking bomb…” as the citizens’ anger was escalating.

A caller reminded everyone of the late Nelson Mandela’s words when he said if the ANC does not do right by the citizens, then the citizenry must do to the ANC what they did to the apartheid government.

“The government does not put us first…they must know that the clock is ticking and more so, we can’t breathe!”

The rage expressed by callers on Cathy Mohlahlana’s show must give the government a clue that if it doesn’t get its act together, this will make people invoke James Baldwin’s prophesy of ” The Fire Next Time,” for maybe after the fire, we will have fresh air to breathe!