Our president seemed to be wearing the pants of environmental minister, Martinus Van Schalkwyk when he made a statement last week rebuking Earthlife Africa for their anti-nuclear campaigning. Has the ANC forgotten its commitment to a nuclear-free continent? Surely a policy more in keeping with resistance against apartheid would suffice, but then that would mean breaking continuity with the Nationalist Party and its archaic views on the subject.
It seems as long as we have presidents we will have stupidity, because even a four-year-old will remember slogans like Forward to a Nuclear-Free, Non-Racist, Non-Sexist South Africa. Perhaps legislation should be considered to stop, parliamentarians looking like fools, talking about sustainablity when what they mean is making money ? And there we thought the Earth Summit was actually about protecting the environment?
Its sad that presidents the world over tend to forget that they’re paid a salary from the taxes collected from ordinary folk, and in this light, El Presidente Mbeki’s comments look ridiculous, about as ridiculous as bowing to the Roman Catholic Pope. I’m sure Greek Orthodox members of our community must be feeling a little peeved as well as frightened at the thought of radioactivity?