...a friend of mine wryly commented: throw a cigarette out of your car which causes a fire on Table Mountain and you can end up in jail for two years, mess up the entire economy for the country by making a gemors with its electricity and all you have to say is sorry... - roughly quoted from a national newspaper
The problem when there is a gemors is we all moan and groan - and it's good that we do, but the most important thing is to then take our moaning and groaning somewhere. Pick up the phone and get the moaning and groaning answered, so that some lazy bum who should have known better finds him or herself in jail, moaning and groaning.
Here'a good example. You spot a pothole. What do you do? Simple if you live in Joburg. You call the
Joburg Roads Agency at 011 375 5555. I got this number because the Road Agency themselves placed an ad, and presented a manifesto: we have 'a responsibility amongst others to manage...the infrastructure of Johannesburg...' That's their job. We can help them do their job. Same goes for Eskom and government. Participatory government, government working with citizens, not apparently on their behalf or 'for' them, but directly and interactively connected to the community and helping to resolve their needs.
