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!

When the Prey becomes the Predator

In the wild a predator stalks and seeks out his prey by singling out the weakest, oldest or slowest in a herd.  Often times the predator is thoroughly successful in his hunt and claims his trophy with a meal for his whole family.  Sometimes the prey gets away and the hunt is unsuccessful. Sometimes the herd turns on the predator in an effort to save a member of their group. On the odd occasion, the prey miraculously recovers from the shock of the attack and turns on the predator with all the weapons in his arsenal to prevent himself from becoming a mouth-watering dinner, then beats off his attacker tenaciously.

One such occasion was the wholesale humiliation by Japan over the Springboks on Saturday evening. This was a game that was assumed to be a forgone conclusion by every South African and his dog. Some predicted a margin in excess of 30 or 40 points in favour of the Bokke. Some suggested that South Africa should make a statement of this game and thrash the Japanese, to send a signal to our most favoured adversaries, that we mean business!  How disrespectful!

But it was not to be…..well, not by a long shot if Eddie Jones had anything to do with the game…..! As the game progressed it became evident that the Japanese were growing in confidence and they could sense a weakness in the Bokke they knew was exploitable. As their confidence grew, they became bolder, and they were not going to allow themselves to be thrashed by one of the giants of world rugby. They fought like the tenacious prey, beating off their predator with all that they could muster.

The slick ball passing and the consistent possession through phase after phase, was the trademark of an Eddie Jones influence. The Japanese lived up to the expectation of playing at a relentless pace and seemingly outplayed the Boks in almost every facet of the game. The final ten minutes was the deciding factor where the Japanese could have settled for a penalty and take the three points to draw the game.  Instead, they decided to go all the way and claim five points from a try, knowing they had overcome the Bokke.

The reality of the Springbok situation was there for all to see, yet in our blind patriotic support for our men in green and gold, we deliberately cover our eyes with green and gold blinkers to temporarily disengage from that reality. A squad that consists of injured players who are still trying to recover, veterans of the game that should have hung up their boots a while ago, and players who haven’t played in top flight rugby in over a year, would almost certainly trip up at the first hurdle when faced with any formidable challenge. This is not to say the Bokke are doomed to return after the next game against Samoa. But should Heineke Meyer fail to see the light before the next game, he may have to book return flights earlier than he anticipated!

The Quadrennial debate on the transformation in Rugby

We can say one thing for sure; the debate on this topic has at least progressed over the last four years. Some inconspicuous political party calling themselves the Agency for a New Agenda (ANA(L)) party, has taken the extraordinary step to challenge the justification of the current World Cup squad representing South Africa at this year’s instalment of the tournament, and thus to stop them from participating. Surprisingly, they did get a hear-in from the sitting judge in the matter, who agreed that transformation in sport and other sectors of South African Society has taken on a snail’s pace over the 21 years of democracy. Well done to the ANA(l) party; pity they decided to leave it at that and not pursue it further. It may have turned out to be a box office hit comedy, or someone may have taken them seriously. But that’s where the current situation will stay for the next four years.

Over the years, this debate has become more farcical than pretentious. The Rugby Fraternity at SARU are probably laughing their arses off at the latest miserable attempts at the protests of the makeup of the squad for this year’s tournament. They are well aware that once the tournament is over, everything returns to normal again, and the Minister of Sport, Fikile (Razmataz) Mbalula, carries on his day job by tweeting away about everything except the progression and transformation of sport (in this case rugby) for all South Africans of different persuasions. The fact that he looks at the situation through a pair of racehorse blinkers, does not give South Africans any warm feeling that much will be done, specifically at the highest level of the sport, in the next four years, or beyond.

To make this quadrennial debate a fun experience, maybe a public debate should be formulated every four years, with this topic as the agenda.  All political parties or other organs of society of sound and reasonable mind are barred from the debate. Only groups like the ANA, FF+, the ANC Youth League and the EFF(ing) party stooges will be eligible to participate. The group that comes up with the most (in their little minds) thoughtful analysis and suggestions for transformation in rugby, will be crowned the winners and their leader should be made the Minister of Sport for four years until the next Rugby World Cup, or specifically the next transformation debate. The current Minister has lost his lustre and therefore we need a new clown to light up our lives in situations like these!

 

The farce that is the Department of Correctional Services

Kudos to Justice Minister Michael Masutha for referring Oscar Pistorius’ parole back to the review board for clarification and process authenticity, albeit only after political pressure. It emerged that at the time of the decision to release him on parole, he had only served six of the mandatory 10 months (1/6^th of the full sentence) BEFORE a decision is made to grant parole. This is apparently the normal order of things on most parole boards across South Africa’s Correctional Services institutions. The standard (but flawed) process is that the review boards unanimously grants parole to a prisoner, without verifying all the details of the prisoner’s sentence, and other extenuating circumstances. In other words, gross incompetence from officials in the Parole Review Boards, hence the reason why violent criminals are released prematurely and without merit.

It’s also heart-warming to know that his parole was vehemently opposed by various women groups around South Africa, including the ANC Woman’s league, by protesting the release of a convicted woman abuser, during woman’s month; especially given that Pistorius did not even serve the mandatory 1/6^th of his sentence. Agreeably, this negates the value of recognising the abuse of woman and children in the month of August and giving the ideal little or no power in the ongoing fight against the abuse of women and children.

Coupled with the incompetence and insensitivity of prison officials highlighted by these various groups, the matter of the NPA who appealed the judgement and subsequent sentence from the case was filed and is to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal in November. With this being a circumstance of the case, the parole board conveniently ignored it and wanted Pistorius “out of prison as soon as possible”.

The treatment of Pistorius during his short term in prison is similar to the treatment of a sick patient in a hospital ward (although he did feign illness). He is kept in a separate cell of his own. Every request he made was subserviently carried out, and his needs were cared for above that of a normal prisoner; thus not only does he get the best lawyers to defend his case, but when found guilty of a serious crime, he still gets the best treatment in prison, regardless of the gravity of the crime he committed.  The reasons given for his special treatment is that he may be mistreated and abused in a crowded cell, with his person violated! If your average Joe committed the same crime but had different social and financial circumstances, he would be thrown with the wolves. But, because Pistorius is a “high profile prisoner”, he gets special treatment and care.

As far as I’m aware, if you are a convicted criminal, most of your Constitutional rights are revoked, and you become just a statistic and a member of the prison population of South Africa. There should be no discriminating or differentiating between prisoners convicted of the same or similar crimes. The realisation that “South Africa is the most unequal society in the world” does not stop in our free society, but is extended to the society of the criminally convicted as well. In South Africa money not only buys you wealth and prosperity but it also buys you a comfortable life in prison when convicted of any crime!

All South Africans are good people, except the band members playing for the Nkandla Crooner

A close friend alerted me to the "open letter to South Africans" by Dawie Roodt on the news24 website, regarding a burglary at his home a few weeks ago. After reading it, one instantly acknowledges the fact that South Africa is filled with good people who will go out of their way to help or assist anyone in times of distress. His unfortunate experience is another statistic contributing to the sad state of affairs in which our security establishment, who is mandated to protect the People of South Africa, (and not only the Nkandla Crooner and his incompetent cronies!), finds themselves.

Although the experience was somewhat traumatising for him and his family, he still had the courage to look beyond the horror and acknowledge the fact that South Africans are good people. The overwhelming response and the way in which help was provided, assisted him in overcoming the terror that transpired in his home and gave him the courage to appreciate the positives of the whole ordeal.  His response to the question of whether his experience will make him consider relocation abroad, is laudable, and instead he provided some points for our esteemed government leaders to ponder.  Whether they will take heed to his suggestions or provide some sympathy for him and his family remains to be seen.

Enter Gwede Mantashe, the mumbling, has-been unionist who berates and scorns anything or anyone critical of the ruling party. His response to the open letter from Dawie Roodt…."They are in a publicity stunt and I don't engage such people," he said. "The letter was not directed to us, it was directed to everyone." 

Suppose it was wishful thinking that the sycophant incompetents will show some leadership and integrity……..

Read the full article here:

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Dawie-Roodts-open-letter-I-will-not-emigrate-20150812

Read Gwede Mantashe’s response here:

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/ANC-Roodts-open-letter-a-publicity-stunt-20150817

The question of morality and the respect for life

I concur with all the animal lovers and nature conservationists who aired their disgust at the dentist who thought he was only giving Cecil a root canal, but administered too much anaesthesia, with the result that Cecil died on the operating table. I abhor cruelty to animals of any kind, domestic or wild. Some may be dangerous to human beings and therefore should be kept in the wild, while others are domesticated and becomes our closest friends and companions. Regardless of their place in the composition of life, animals were put on this earth for a reason, whether for human companionship or as a key element in the food chain. The protests and uproar against the shooting of Cecil the friendly lion is justified, as game hunting should have no place in society, regardless of any reasoning provided by the defenders of this “sport”.

The level of the uproar was quite fascinating, and it was heart-warming to witness the human spirit of concern for the right to life of any animal on earth. That said, I wonder how many of these animal rights activists and conservationists actually realised that there were thousands of people (yes, human beings) being slaughtered by fellow human beings (if we can call them that) in the same week that Cecil the Lion was hunted in the bush. The life of a single person should take much more precedence over the life of any animal, regardless of the circumstances.  Given the opportunity, that single human being can acquire the skills and ability to save a thousand lions at any point in time, yet we nonchalantly dismiss or choose to ignore the blatant killing of our fellow beings on a daily basis. I’d like to see similar protests and uproars from people across the globe, for the murder and maiming of people in the Middle East, Ukraine, and other regions on earth. The day that this happens, only then can we truly say we respect the right to life for all species on earth.

Chaos in the House of Assembly – Episode 246

It’s that time of the year again……the inevitable JZ question and answer session in the House.  We expect yet another thrilling episode of chaos, pandemonium and forced removals.  No, this is NOT apartheid South Africa and the forced removals from District Six. This is the forced removals from Parliament, of elected representatives of the people. A place where each individual’s constitutional right to Freedom of Association, speech, and Assembly should be respected and defended.  That said the Red Berets seemed to not understand what all this freedom really meant in the respected sanctuary of Parliament. For them, “pushing the envelope”, means any and everything goes, in getting what they want.

Once again, the ruling party went to extraordinary lengths to minimise disruptions from the Red Berets – Covert training operations for parliament security personnel, (read South African Police Services) is once again on the agenda; changing of Parliament rules are tabled, although it remains to be seen if this will be effected before the day in question. Then again, given the lengths these sycophants will go to defend their Emperor, holds no bounds. Will the Red Berets at least allow Mshiniwam to answer the questions put to him, before they go off on their predictable digression again? Or will they prevent any questions from being asked of Mshiniwam. Either way, we are in for another thrilling quarterly episode of Presidential Question and Answer session on Thursday, August 6^th. The Game of Thrones has nothing on this mini-series!