Defunct Country of the Week Thread

[mbasic]

South Africa.

What happened here?

They arrested that old Presdente .... on some old corruption charges, but, he WAS corrupt right?

...seems like a lot of looters, or, are these the peaceful protestors.

Army being deployed now.

[lheugh]

Ah, my home country. What happened here, you ask? Well, it helps to contextualise that while it doesn't make international news, crime runs rampant in all provinces - daylight robbery, carjackings, muggings, looting etc. So what you're seeing here is not too far out of the ordinary for local residents. My cousins, aunts, and uncles all in different areas of the country see such occurrences habitually. Corruption does run rampant in all areas of the infrastructure, with sources of taxation often finding their ways into politicians' pockets. The electrical grid is so far out of touch with modern demands that segments of cities have to have their power periodically shut off since the power stations can't keep up with demand. Police forces are chronically underfunded and people often have to defend themselves or group together in defence squads to protect property and business interests. Zuma has a pretty substantial following and he's banked on his history with Mandela to cultivate it. He is indeed, super corrupt but that didn't stop his followers from barricading vital trade roads until he was released. The looting itself isn't necessarily related to his followers in so much as it is looters using it as an excuse to do what they do. Even a blood bank of all things was looted. The current president did deploy a fraction of the military forces last I heard, but he is facing opposition from the Economic Freedom Fighters in deploying all of them.

[dw]

Ah, my home country. What happened here, you ask? Well, it helps to contextualise that while it doesn't make international news, crime runs rampant in all provinces - daylight robbery, carjackings, muggings, looting etc. So what you're seeing here is not too far out of the ordinary for local residents. My cousins, aunts, and uncles all in different areas of the country see such occurrences habitually. Corruption does run rampant in all areas of the infrastructure, with sources of taxation often finding their ways into politicians' pockets. The electrical grid is so far out of touch with modern demands that segments of cities have to have their power periodically shut off since the power stations can't keep up with demand. Police forces are chronically underfunded and people often have to defend themselves or group together in defence squads to protect property and business interests. Zuma has a pretty substantial following and he's banked on his history with Mandela to cultivate it. He is indeed, super corrupt but that didn't stop his followers from barricading vital trade roads until he was released. The looting itself isn't necessarily related to his followers in so much as it is looters using it as an excuse to do what they do. Even a blood bank of all things was looted. The current president did deploy a fraction of the military forces last I heard, but he is facing opposition from the Economic Freedom Fighters in deploying all of them.

Scandalous words on this forum.

[GlasgowJock]

First rampant coronaids, now civil disobedience. It's like SA is doing everything in their power to stop the 'British' Lions from giving them a good mauling throughout the month (tongue firmly in cheek).

I have an ex-army mate now back living in Mpumalanga with his family and the home defence measures he describes sound mental as I initially believed such lawlessness was confined to the major cities.

[lheugh]

First rampant coronaids, now civil disobedience. It's like SA is doing everything in their power to stop the 'British' Lions from giving them a good mauling throughout the month (tongue firmly in cheek).

I have an ex-army mate now back living in Mpumalanga with his family and the home defence measures he describes sound mental as I initially believed such lawlessness was confined to the major cities.

Mpumalanga is a prime choice for raids since most of it is farmland so well outside the view of any prying eyes (not that that is itself usually a concern for robberies back home). My first cousin, once removed had to.....deter... such an attempt not two days ago with a shotgun (and he runs a pub).

[DoctorWho]

Ah, my home country. What happened here, you ask? Well, it helps to contextualise that while it doesn't make international news, crime runs rampant in all provinces - daylight robbery, carjackings, muggings, looting etc. So what you're seeing here is not too far out of the ordinary for local residents. My cousins, aunts, and uncles all in different areas of the country see such occurrences habitually. Corruption does run rampant in all areas of the infrastructure, with sources of taxation often finding their ways into politicians' pockets. The electrical grid is so far out of touch with modern demands that segments of cities have to have their power periodically shut off since the power stations can't keep up with demand. Police forces are chronically underfunded and people often have to defend themselves or group together in defence squads to protect property and business interests. Zuma has a pretty substantial following and he's banked on his history with Mandela to cultivate it. He is indeed, super corrupt but that didn't stop his followers from barricading vital trade roads until he was released. The looting itself isn't necessarily related to his followers in so much as it is looters using it as an excuse to do what they do. Even a blood bank of all things was looted. The current president did deploy a fraction of the military forces last I heard, but he is facing opposition from the Economic Freedom Fighters in deploying all of them.

I spent about a year in RSA, most of the time starting up the coal system at Kendal Power Station. Escom was expanding power generation at an amazing rate. Sorry to hear that about the power issues.

[lheugh]

Ah, my home country. What happened here, you ask? Well, it helps to contextualise that while it doesn't make international news, crime runs rampant in all provinces - daylight robbery, carjackings, muggings, looting etc. So what you're seeing here is not too far out of the ordinary for local residents. My cousins, aunts, and uncles all in different areas of the country see such occurrences habitually. Corruption does run rampant in all areas of the infrastructure, with sources of taxation often finding their ways into politicians' pockets. The electrical grid is so far out of touch with modern demands that segments of cities have to have their power periodically shut off since the power stations can't keep up with demand. Police forces are chronically underfunded and people often have to defend themselves or group together in defence squads to protect property and business interests. Zuma has a pretty substantial following and he's banked on his history with Mandela to cultivate it. He is indeed, super corrupt but that didn't stop his followers from barricading vital trade roads until he was released. The looting itself isn't necessarily related to his followers in so much as it is looters using it as an excuse to do what they do. Even a blood bank of all things was looted. The current president did deploy a fraction of the military forces last I heard, but he is facing opposition from the Economic Freedom Fighters in deploying all of them.

I spent about a year in RSA, most of the time starting up the coal system at Kendal Power Station. Escom was expanding power generation at an amazing rate. Sorry to hear that about the power issues.

Eskom being state-owned is likely a big part of the problem. The infrastructure can't be maintained if the funding scarcely reaches the intended destination. I remember hearing that last year load shedding had become a daily occurrence at one point rather than a two-week rotational schedule.

[lheugh]

Ah, my home country. What happened here, you ask? Well, it helps to contextualise that while it doesn't make international news, crime runs rampant in all provinces - daylight robbery, carjackings, muggings, looting etc. So what you're seeing here is not too far out of the ordinary for local residents. My cousins, aunts, and uncles all in different areas of the country see such occurrences habitually. Corruption does run rampant in all areas of the infrastructure, with sources of taxation often finding their ways into politicians' pockets. The electrical grid is so far out of touch with modern demands that segments of cities have to have their power periodically shut off since the power stations can't keep up with demand. Police forces are chronically underfunded and people often have to defend themselves or group together in defence squads to protect property and business interests. Zuma has a pretty substantial following and he's banked on his history with Mandela to cultivate it. He is indeed, super corrupt but that didn't stop his followers from barricading vital trade roads until he was released. The looting itself isn't necessarily related to his followers in so much as it is looters using it as an excuse to do what they do. Even a blood bank of all things was looted. The current president did deploy a fraction of the military forces last I heard, but he is facing opposition from the Economic Freedom Fighters in deploying all of them.

Scandalous words on this forum.

When one sees that the police force themselves are identified as participants in the looting, it's no wonder there's rampant lawlessness and citizens are forming their own private militias/"defence squads".

[BostonRugger]

JeeZuss

[hector]

South Africa.

What happened here?

They arrested that old Presdente .... on some old corruption charges, but, he WAS corrupt right?

...seems like a lot of looters, or, are these the peaceful protestors.

Army being deployed now.

If all the politicians are corrupt, then selective prosecution of certain corrupt politicians can itself be more corruption.

[mbasic]

South Africa.

What happened here?

They arrested that old Presdente .... on some old corruption charges, but, he WAS corrupt right?

...seems like a lot of looters, or, are these the peaceful protestors.

Army being deployed now.

If all the politicians are corrupt, then selective prosecution of certain corrupt politicians can itself be more corruption.

yes, exactly. my cronies vs your cronies, etc. USA is at about 5-10% of the SA-levels in this regard currently and is getting worse.

[mbasic]

Missed this until now ...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/1 ... s-protests