I'm glad Father's Day is in Youth Month. That way we can lament being disappointed by our fathers and by the government in one session.
I was looking at my calendar a few days ago when I realised that Father's Day is just a few days after Youth Day. I've never really paid attention to when Father's Day is but this year it hit me hard because a few days earlier, I had a conversation with a friend about the trauma of not having my father in my life.
That's ironic, I thought to myself. Of course, Father's Day would fall in the same month and week when most of the youth feel greatly disappointed in the leadership of the country. The most recent disappointment was health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize who left most of us shocked at his alleged involvement in the Digital Vibes scandal.
In one of the biggest crises our country has faced, we clung desperately to the hope that Mkhize would be the one politician who would put the needs of our citizens first. Our people were hungry, desperate and sick and needed a strong and trustworthy figure to hang on to.
At least he isn't incompetent like the late Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who was the worst health minister we could have during the Aids crisis, we thought. But like a father who is a rolling stone, we realised that we spoke too soon and that we did not know him as well as we thought we did.
I don't think it's far-fetched to argue that corrupt figures are similar to absent fathers, or maybe it's just my trauma showing itself. At the very least the psychology behind it is the same. The lack of accountability we give men in our society mirrors the lack of accountability government officials have as well.
This lack of accountability breeds a state where powerful people are entitled and don't think they have to face the consequences of their actions. We also see this same psychology in how the government treats successful people in our society. Like an absent father who has been missing for 21 years and pitches up on your graduation day or wedding day, so does the government.
How many times have we seen the likes of arts minister Nathi Mthethwa celebrating successful SA stars and yet ignoring the plight of the lesser known? In August Mthethwa celebrated SA superstar and R&B singer Elaine for being signed to Columbia Records.
The year before that he congratulated very talented actress Thuso Mbedu for landing the iconic role of Cora in The Underground Railroad and Trevor Noah for his various triumphs.
Of course, all those mentioned are deserving of their fortunes but the shamelessness of the government speaking about their successes as if they had a hand in it irks me. SA is brimming with talent, and young stars such as Mbedu and Elaine have to work extremely hard to make it on the world stage, coming from a country that doesn't value the arts.
Those who can't get jobs are left standing abandoned in their graduation gowns in the streets by the government as they beg for jobs to ease their families out of poverty. For me, one of the final nails in the coffin was the food parcel corruption stories that came out last year.
Councillors meant to care about the wellbeing of their people were either giving insufficient food parcel packages or hoarding them for themselves and their friends.
Like absent dads, they couldn't give a damn if the most vulnerable in their care had enough to eat. It's clear to me that in our so-called family meetings Uncle Cyril really needs to bring this family called SA to task.
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