This country has many problems, but I believe the biggest one—and indeed the one that paves the way for other problems—is the lack of meritocracy. Of course, there are others too, such as a lack of oversight and a system of favouritism…
A system has been created in which no value is placed on education, experience, suitability for the job, or competence. The notion that anyone can do any job has been made the norm.
The issue has been simplified to such an extent that a great many people do not say, “I am not competent enough to do this job; I cannot do it.” People who couldn’t even pluck out their own eye with both hands are applying for roles that require competence – and are being appointed to them.
The mindset that reduces the concept of being a state and governing it to something trivial, treating it like a child’s plaything, is destroying us. As long as the system of incompetence, lack of oversight and favouritism persists, it is impossible to speak of a properly functioning country.
Those who will be voting in the upcoming elections should also look at those electoral rolls through this lens. People capable of performing those roles must be elected; do not fill Parliament with mere placeholders. Incompetence begins in parliament and spreads everywhere.
State posts are being filled with partisan appointments, and unqualified individuals are being appointed to senior management roles.
By appointing people whom one would not even interpret as a good omen if seen in a dream to positions where they should never be found, the door to disaster is being opened.
People with no relevant education, or experience, who do not understand the job, are ignorant of the law, and lack both the desire and ability to learn, are occupying important posts.
Such situations lead to critical errors and also sap the morale of the staff working under them in those organisations.
The worst possible situation in the workplace is when your supervisor, or manager is less knowledgeable than you are. Dealing with such a situation is no easy task.
The appointment of unqualified individuals to positions of authority by the country’s leaders is not merely a matter of choice. They place unqualified people in key roles so that whatever they demand is carried out without question.
Someone who, under normal circumstances, would never have reached that position in their lifetime is unable to stand up to the person who has granted them this favour; they cannot say, “No, I cannot do this. This exceeds my remit. No, this is not legal.” Sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes out of sycophancy towards the person who appointed them, they end up signing off on the wrong decisions.
This is precisely why individuals in key roles in recent times have found themselves in trouble, faced legal proceedings, or been arrested.
This is also the reason why institutions find themselves in difficulty, go under or are driven into an intractable situation.
For example, the fake degree scandal is a form of corruption brought about by a lack of merit. A university officially served incompetence; it produced incompetence in the truest sense. They created the pinnacle of gaining without merit. Furthermore, this university became the epitome of a lack of oversight… The accounts given in court reveal how corrupt networks were established…
The desire of those in power to engage in shady dealings with incompetent managers is dragging the country towards disaster.
The fact that the system is flawed threatens people’s health and safety. People are facing death head-on and too many deaths are taking place, due to incompetence and a lack of oversight. They want every death to be viewed as ‘fate’, and they brush it off by saying, “These things happen in other countries too”…
The death of a person who was struck and killed by a car speeding towards them whilst standing outside their workplace – is that an accident, bad luck, or fate…? No, it is neither an accident nor fate; it is a murder committed by a flawed system.
Is the death of the baby who lost their life because alcohol was added to their formula instead of water in hospital also fate? The death of an eight-year-old African child, who died from an injection administered without prior examination, is also ‘fate’… What happened to the worker who lost his life in the silo disaster is also ‘fate’… The school bus rolling into the stream is also ‘fate’… Road accidents, workplace accidents, sudden deaths – they’re all ‘fate’, aren’t they? What sort of ‘fate’ is this…
What we are experiencing is not fate, destiny, or predestination; it is the result of incompetence, partisanship and a lack of oversight.
All these failures were not enough for us; people kept saying, “One day we will face an even greater disaster” – and now that has come to pass.
Incompetence, lack of expertise, partisanship and a lack of oversight led to the sinking of a ship and the loss of 28 lives. The Filo Jet disaster is the greatest catastrophe this country has ever faced. It is neither an accident nor fate… It is a mass murder brought about by poor management.
You’d expect a lesson to have been learnt by now, wouldn’t you? You’d expect the ground to shake, you’d expect it to mark a turning point – but it hasn’t, and it won’t…
No one is taking responsibility; we cannot even learn a lesson from this horrific incident, where incompetence, lack of expertise, partisanship, cronyism and a complete lack of oversight were on full display.
Not even the agony, the unbearable pain, the cries and the tears of those who have lost their loved ones are enough to move anyone.
There is no effort to put things right. Grief is felt most by those who bear it, reducing everything to ashes. Those responsible carry on with their lives as if nothing had happened and are even seeking reappointment. Because abnormalities have become the norm in this country…
It is sometimes said that our people’s sense of belonging to the state is waning. How could it be otherwise? All this incompetence, failure, fiascos, irregularities, lawlessness, stubbornly partisan dealings, unfathomable oddities, and the factions that have been a scourge upon the people… These erode trust to zero, alienate people from their state, and cause individuals to lose their sense of belonging to their country. There are also those who ask, “What fault does the state or the country have?” True, the state and the country are not to blame—they are not living entities—but the evils created by those who presume to govern them are what turn people against their state. Even a disaster in which 28 people lost their lives fails to shake things up as it ought to in this country; no wave of revolt emerges. What more needs to happen? Must we endure an even greater disaster?
Of course, the politicians are to blame, but is our people really so innocent? As long as we remain this cynical, silent, resigned to our fate, passively waiting with a “let’s see what happens tomorrow” attitude; as long as we view events solely through the lens of our own position, prioritise our own interests, and turn a blind eye to the mistakes of those close to us, this country cannot improve – it will never improve…
Source: PEOPLE ARE DYING, INSTITUTIONS ARE COLLAPSING, BUT THIS IS NOT FATE…
