Shapiro’s most recent column on Times Live takes aim at the core of what he believes are the nagging factors holding South Africa back, including the idea that SA is a great country.

“The demands presented by Julius Malema to JSE president Nicky Newton-King last week exposed the party’s juvenile intellect and poor grasp of economics. And, then, although the students claimed victory, the concern is that their triumph might weaken tertiary education institutions. Still, both factions have had the mettle to openly challenge the government’s dishonesty, incompetence and failure to come even close to delivering on its promises.”

Students and quasi-economic freedom fighters aside, it’s the economy and the current administration’s economic policies and behaviour that really got him going.

“Increasing taxes is not the answer. With a third of the country’s population surviving on social grants, extracting from the productive to give to the unproductive will only add more strain on an already fragile business community.

It seems that the last two weeks have been reserved for scathing commentary on the ANC’s policies and behaviour, especially by the ruling party’s seniors.Now, Shapiro’s political affiliation is unknown, but he certainly makes the same points. Oh and don’t forget our favourite Asian giant’s taste for African minerals, who could ever leave China out when talking about our government’s biggest f*ckups.

“The money is there. But it’s being frittered away by an administration more enamoured with its privileges and benefits than its duties and responsibilities. And blaming our deteriorating economic circumstances solely on outside events is disingenuous. Signs of decay have been visible for years, masked, though, by China’s ravenous appetite for commodities and foreign investors’ infatuation with throwing money at developing countries, both of which are vanishing fast.

Highlighting some of the country’s biggest problems — certainly corruption — he gave no quarter in his assault on what he sees as a contradiction to the idea that SA is as awesome as some folks believe.

Kidding ourselves that we are a great country is not a good way to start. The citizens of great countries don’t steal their neighbour’s electricity, drive thoughtlessly on the roads and rape helpless old women. Nor do their governments scandalously self-enrich themselves with taxpayers’ money.

Shapiro makes it clear that this is not a situation we can’t turn around, but that a lot of work will need to be done in order to fix it.

“Once we acknowledge what we’ve become we can start the healing process. Hopefully, it will be only up from there.”

Now, while many will want to lable him a counter-revolutionary, neo-liberal whatchamacallit; the man’s got a point, don’t you think? It’s like the say in AA, the first step to rehabilitation is accepting you have a problem.

Cover photo: Wikipedia