We were all excited when regardless of gender, creed or colour we voted for  a democratic government for the first time in 1994.

By then we had what was called a government of national unity. One will believe that its mission was to unite both black and white under one constitution which will be applicable to all citizens.

We then saw the emergence of the Chapter 9 institutions – the office of the public protector, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, the Human Rights Commission and the National Prosecuting Authority, to name just a few.

What was the reasoning behind the introduction of such watchdogs which we never had under apartheid? Was it perhaps the national unity concept that came with such institutions to be part of our democracy?

But it is so confusing to realise that we tend not to respect and apply our mind correctly for them to be functional. My question is, did we forsee or knew that in our democracy we will not be able to be morally correct and therefore it was unnecessary to create such?

The current situation in our beloved country seems to suggest that indeed we were correct that one day we will find ourselves in this mess. I struggle to find a department or state-owned entity which does not have challenges.

We need to be united as a nation to turn this trend around. We did not vote for lawlessness, corruption, poverty and unemployment. The appeal to our government is to deliver services to the people and change lives for better.

Andries Monyane, Sedibeng