Johannesburg - The South African economy is like a ship caught in a raging storm, tossed and turned by the turbulent waves of poverty and inequality.
It's small business owners, like sailors, fighting to keep their ships from sinking, clinging to the deck for dear life, as they struggle to keep their businesses afloat in the face of rising costs and dwindling profits.
It’s workers, like passengers on this vessel of woe, fighting to keep their heads above the flow.
As they struggle to make ends meet in an economy that is leaving them behind, tittering in a tide that threatens to drown, a weight that tugs them to the depths below.
While Eskom, like a captain, steers us towards an economic hell of darkness.
But we must learn to swim, there is a monster that is holding us back, dragging us down like an anchor tied to the ship's hull, and it lurks in these troubled waters.
We must fight to keep our heads above the waves, to keep our ship afloat.
These sea creatures are cable thieves, like parasites, feeding off of the nation's resources, and siphoning off the electricity that powers our homes and businesses.
They are brazen and bold, they strike both in the shadows under the cover of darkness and in broad daylight.
They even steal copper cables outside a police station in Reiger Park, Ekurhuleni, in plain sight.
They are the shadows leaving behind a trail of destruction, we grow to become them. These shadows are the soul of the city, and it feeds.
They have no care about the consequences of their actions. Thinking with their stomachs instead of their heads. Survival mode is an angry beast when you have more than your own mouth to feed.
They care less about the small businesses that are forced to close their doors, or the workers who are left without jobs.
They don't care about the families who are left in the dark, without power, or the children who are left without heat in the cold winter nights.
Dear Eskom, look at what you have brought to our shores.
But, we can't just sit idly by and let them continue to ravage our nation.
We must take a stand, we must be proactive and report these thieves to the authorities.
We must shine a light on their actions, and bring them to justice. We must be the ones who take control of our own destiny, and not let them dictate our future.
We must be the ones who steer the ship towards calmer waters.
We must be the ones who cut the anchor and set sail for a better tomorrow.
We must be the ones who learn to swim, to navigate the troubled waters of the economy.
We must be the ones who take the reins, we cannot let them hold us back any longer. We must not let them sink our ship.
Together, we can weather this storm, and take our focus back to the inefficient captain of this ship.