READER LETTER | A self-inflicted catastrophe is on our doorstep

If the passing of the NHI bill did not have such dire consequences for the nation, maybe one would just see it as the government flexing its muscle, but this is no small matter; it sounds like a death knell for the SA.

A very deceitful democracy that has all the measures that guarantee a democratic dispensation in place such as petitions, wide consultation of the electorate, toothless offices of the ombudsman in various entities but the only thing that will be a warning sign is utterances such as, "Noba bayathanda or abathandi iNHI izokwenzeka (whether they like it not, NHI will happen); then you wonder what was that consultative process all about.

So, it seems the operative word in the ANC is the proof of the pudding is in the eating, forget about consequences. There was no way Robert Mugabe would have been the only one making sure that Zimbabweans depend on another country for their health services, the only question is, where do we go from here? A self-inflicted catastrophe is on our doorstep.

Most right-thinking people thought the Life Esidimeni tragedy had taught this government a lesson never to be repeated again but we were so horribly wrong. Our health services are already on the brink of collapse, but in the pursuit of  ideology, realism has no place in the ANC.

Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand