Event successes must translate into making SA work better

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The massive success of the Liv Golf tournament bears further testimony to SA’s ability to host world standard events.

Tens of thousands of enthusiastic fans turned up at Steyn City, north of Johannesburg, to watch professional golfers from around the world compete in the four-day event.

Millions more watched around the world.

The tournament was such a roaring success that the organisers have already announced that it will return next year.

It is a great vote of confidence in our country especially at a precarious time when geopolitics seems to be conspiring to have us isolated especially from the global north.

However, while it is commendable that we seem to always put our best foot forward when the world’s eyes are upon us, the question is why can’t we translate some of this excellency towards making the country work better for us all.

As we prepare for this edition, parts of our city have been without electricity for days following the collapse of yet another pylon, partly as a result of inadequate maintenance and neglect.

The electricity crisis is not just disrupting people’s lives but also threatening the long-term success of businesses, big and small.

Yet there does not seem to be any sense of urgency to address the crisis.

We need the same kind of urgency and joint effort, involving all stakeholders, that we saw at national level when the government roped in the public sector to help deal with the load-shedding crisis that was threatening to grind the whole economy to a halt.

The crisis is becoming as severe in our city and therefore needs to be dealt with the same way.

Countries do not always collapse from central government downwards.

Sometimes, the decay begins with the collapse of key cities that serve as its economic backbone.

That need not be the fate of our city and country.