Has the Arab Spring eventually arrived in South Africa?

Following closely on the heels of protests for improved service delivery, unemployment and job creation, government corruption and graft, and public sector salary increases, come the inevitable student protests against unrealistic university fees increases.

Historically, the cost of tertiary education has consistently outstripped inflation, where the average yearly increase for tuition fees was always between 10 and 12%. The fact that tertiary education has become almost unaffordable to most South Africans, was enough reason for the powers that be to have sounded the alarm bells  and prevent the current situation from occurring.  Were they really as naïve to think that the South African public, and specifically the students who crave for a better life for themselves, that they would just back down and accept the status quo?

In various countries around the world tertiary education is offered free with specific conditions and prerequisites, e.g. Scotland, Cuba, and France. Other countries offer various courses and undergraduate degrees free to national students, e.g. Trinidad and Tobago, yet others have scholarship schemes that subsidise each and every student in any undergraduate programme, e.g. Brazil. These governments’ assistance to students in the form of tuition, residence or any other costs incurred while studying is non-negotiable and it is evident that an effort is made to ensure students are successful in their studies before they enter Industry.

Since his inception as Minister of Higher Education and Training in 2009, what can we truly say has Blade significantly achieved? Has his elevation to this portfolio really changed or improved the lives of the thousands of students around the country? He had 6 years to look into, especially the costs of higher education, which was ample time to prevent the current situation from occurring.  His response to the #feesmustfall protests? He ponders creating his own #studentsmustfall following!

A simple suggestion by Pieter Dirk Uys; why not reimburse any matriculant his/her school fees of 12 years, and subsidise their college tuition through these funds! Alternatively, research the business models of educational Institutions of the countries mentioned above, and formulate one from a combination of these, whichever is closely relevant to our South African Society. But knowing Blade, he’ll probably create his #studentsmustfall following and tell them all to “go to hell” in his well-known uncharismatic style!

Has the Tunisia day arrived in South Africa, as Moeletsi Mbeki predicted in February 2011?

South Africa's blind patriotism is shaded with Green and Gold blinkers.

The progress of the Springboers to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, dare I say, was inevitable given their record at this level of competition. Their clinical despatch of the Eagles (USA), in their last Pool game, was awe inspiring. In view of the fact that the USA is a second tier rugby nation, the result was always going to be a forgone conclusion. That said, the only reasonable competitor in the Pool is Scotland, who fielded a second string side against South Africa, and saved their top players for their game against Samoa this coming weekend. The other two teams in the Pool, Japan and Samoa, are also second tier nations ranking above 10 in the IRB rankings. The real test for the Springboers will be in the quarterfinals when they face either Australia (currently ranked number 2) or Wales (ranked number 3).

It is naturally assumed that every South African should be behind the Sprinboers and support them unconditionally for this World cup and every other tournament in future.  It seemed that I was the only outsider rooting for the other team whenever the Springboers played a group match, and my betrayal of the team was met with astonishment, and disgust.   I may have been threatened had it not been family and friends who was subjected to the betrayal. The debate around politics and sport, specifically rugby, always ends in the predictable notion that the two should be kept separate and as such our support for the Springbok team should be unquestionable.  I seriously beg to differ on this notion, given the fact that Rugby as a sport was always mired in political controversy given the segregation ensconced in it during the Apartheid era.  The fact that after 21 years of democracy, we still have a major imbalance in terms of demographic representation in the squad, speaks volumes of the extent to which discriminatory policies are still a controlling force in the sport. Historically, top rugby talent was usually sourced from elite schools and rugby academies as it was assumed that these institutions produced the best the Rugby fraternity had to offer. To this day, the same applies, and broadening the search for rugby talent through other channels, is frowned upon with little effort being made to explore these alternative channels for fresh non-white talent.

Although 8 players of colour out of 32 in the squad were selected, it still did not meet the transformation requirements of 30%.  To add insult to injury, at any point in time thus far in the tournament, only 5 players of colour were chosen, and a minimum of only 3 started each game. The age old excuse of not finding the relevant players of colour who meet the high standards is becoming more boring than a TV soapie. In addition, the assumption that players of colour struggle to perform at this level of competition, is nothing but blatant discrimination. To oppose that argument, the performance of Brian Habana with his World Cup achievements, surpasses any performance by a white South African player in the history of the World Cup, or since we returned from isolation.

What exacerbates the situation is the fact that South African supporters of the game unintentionally turns a blind eye to the administration of the game and is solely interested in a winning team, regardless of the makeup of its demographics, which for all intents and purposes is what all supporters around the world want from their various sporting codes. This suites the SARFU and political establishment quite fine, because as such, they are under no pressure from, especially the public, to do something concrete about transformation in the sport.  As a result, most non-white talented players begging for a chance to play top level rugby never gets to realise their dream of playing for their country or even at Super Rugby level.  Unless rebellious leaders within SARFU take a moral stand and demand transformation, and thus get the South African public to support their efforts, we will always have this quadrennial debate on transformation, which disappears after each World Cup event. Therefore my allegiance to the Springboers in World Cup 2015, is suspended until further notice!