It’s our time for sacrifice and selflessness

The passing of one of the revered icons in the liberation struggle closes yet another chapter in the story of our democracy. Ahmed Kathrada, like Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Albert Lithuli and others will forever be remembered for their lifetime contributions in the quest for the freedom of the South African people from a vile, racist regime. Rarely in a lifetime would one see the selfless acts of individuals so passionate about an ideology that they were prepared to lay down their lives for what they believed in.

As ordinary South Africans, we could never appreciate or comprehend the sacrifices they have made throughout their lives so that we could be truly free. The desecrating of family homes, separation of family members, incarceration of whole families, the exile and banishment of close families and friends. Not to mention the hounding and terrorizing, from the Apartheid State Security, of those left behind to keep the revolution alive.

Twenty-three years into democracy we have all but forgotten what these legends of revolution had to endure so that ours and our descendant’s futures are free from oppression and prejudice. We go about our daily lives and excite ourselves in planning the future and success of our loved ones. We are carefully focused on ourselves and our environment and seldom give a thought for those in society who have still to benefit from the democracy so hard fought for by individuals like Ahmed Kathrada.

Twenty-three years into democracy, 17 million South Africans still live off Social Grants, courtesy of the Government. Twenty-three years into democracy, almost half of the employable people are unemployed and live off U.I.F benefits, courtesy of the government. Twenty-three years into democracy, service delivery is sorely lacking in rural areas across South Africa, with no running water, no electricity, deteriorating infrastructure, etc. Twenty-three years into democracy we face the looming prospect of being economically isolated from the rest of the world, courtesy of Global Rating Agencies.

Given the state of affairs in our country, leadership is non-existent, and those in power have very little or no sense of accountability or responsibility to their oath of office. Their focus and energies are expended predominantly on nefarious, selfish needs, which are contrary to the values and principles espoused by our icons of the liberation struggle. Corruption, theft, fraud is the order of the day, with no regard for the plight of the people of South Africa. Questionable business deals with dodgy businessmen has taken precedent as Government’s sole priority. Respect for a Constitution, that has been a shining example to societies around the world has reached a new low by the so-called leaders of our free society.

For the lack of a more decent description, the only words that could describe the state of our country and our leadership, is disgusting, despicable and shamefully disgraceful. To think that so many lives were sacrificed for a better South African Society; so many families desecrated and torn apart, so many communities trampled underfoot by the Apartheid State; all that hard work that was achieved over a lifetime, only to be undone by unscrupulous, self-serving, corrupt fraudsters who have no respect for a 100-year old revolutionary movement, or their fellow South Africans they are supposed to be serving.

We, as patriotic South Africans cannot afford to sit idly by and watch how this hard fought for democracy gets pummeled and trampled into the ground by the fraudsters who we call leaders. We have a duty and a responsibility to acknowledge and show our appreciation of what the Liberation struggle had achieved, through the sacrifices by individuals like Ahmed Kathrada. We must fight, through whatever means we can, to take back our freedoms and our democracy from those bent on destroying it. Anything less than explicit action from us, the 55 million South Africans, would render the hard work of the Liberation Struggle meaningless and all those lives sacrificed, futile. Let the destiny of this “beacon of hope” for so many around the world, lie in the hands of the people of South Africa who have an obligation to say:

“Yes, we can…..and so we should”!

The forbidden K-word that still pops up at private social events

Picture the scenario. You are invited to a family social gathering. You look forward to socialising with your besties and close family. While standing around a braai, the conversation jumps from one topic to another as the beer and wine flows freely. Someone unsurprisingly, raises the topic of race and discrimination; the conversation becomes uncomfortable and the inevitable happens, someone mutters the K-word!  There is a brief momentary silence (all of 3 seconds) and someone else adds fuel to the already lit blaze of discrimination. Although you feel very strongly about racist behaviour, you remove yourself from the conversation awkwardly and maintain your silence indefinitely.

On your way home, you find yourself pondering the events and discussions of the afternoon, and wonder if you had done the right thing by remaining silent during the racist tirade of people you’ve come to believe is your support base and the fabric of your being. Although you have differing views on the topic of racism and discrimination, you ponder whether you should have “upset the apple cart” and reprimanded the offending instigators. The fear of losing or falling out with close friends and family is something you cannot afford, so your silence vindicates you from being a part of that act of blind racism. You feel that it was enough protest to voice your position on the subject.

Alternatively, had you voiced your opinions and reprimanded the offenders, you may have undoubtedly fell out of favour with your closest brethren and possibly never invited to a family gathering again for fear of you “upsetting the status quo”. Nevertheless, you felt that the conversation was reminiscent of the type of conversation you may have experienced in the bad days of apartheid. You feel that you have progressed and learned enough since then, yet are saddened that there are still people within your social circle who share the same views they have shared more than 20 years ago.  You feel the democratic dispensation of 1994 has done little to quell the thoughts and misdeeds of people closest to you, and disparagingly, your community as a whole. As you ponder, you reason, that, countering the racist argument would fall on deaf ears, because it would be similar to having an argument with a 4-year old, on why he should not be eating lots of sugary sweets and luxuries. You therefore feel helpless under the circumstances, and resign yourself to accepting that you are powerless in changing or influencing the thought patterns of people set in their old fashioned racist ways.

You wonder if it’s worth abandoning your social circle for the sake of your ethical beliefs. If not, are you also a silent racist like them or do you believe your reaction was justification in maintaining your social circle, and the silent protest enough to voice your difference of opinion?

In hindsight, my silent reaction to a recent racist conversation, was unacceptable and I should have done the right thing by reprimanding the offenders and cement my stance on all acts of discrimination.  By remaining silent, I betrayed the victims on the receiving end of racism (all people of colour, including whites) and my loved ones who I have taught to speak up against such discrimination. Never again will I remain silent in the presence of old fashioned racists who display very little knowledge of the pain caused by Apartheid on the millions of people (and their ascendants) in this country, let alone their own families and communities. The only way to rid the scourge of racism is for each and every one to speak up against, and forbid any form of discrimination in their presence…….albeit a childish prank played out by supposedly elderly, responsible men who should know better.

How unmitigated arrogance can be self-defeating

Much has been written and discussed about the latest Guptagate revelations. While browsing through the weekend newspapers, the Guptagate saga took precedence over any other local or international story that was worthy of being published. Claims of attempted “State Capture” by the Gupta-Zuma alliance, affectionately named “Zupta” by the enfant terrible, has raised considerable interest across various sectors of South African Society. The fear of South Africa turning into a kleptocracy, and in the process our economy being trashed with a downgrade to “Junk Status” by global rating agencies, was a very real threat for every South African struggling to make ends meet in our already dodgy economic climate.

The impact of political uncertainty has already affected interest rates, costs of energy, food, and basic daily living standards. The lack of effective leadership culminating in factional fighting within the ANC and the Tripartite Alliance, has caused reverberations internationally and has discouraged any possible foreign investment this country so desperately needs. A review by Moody’s rating agency with an expected downgrade will seal our economic fate and render our investment potential as toxic by international investors.  The repercussions of this will be felt for the next 5 to 10 years, with very little potential for real economic growth. Can we seriously afford to have a government with a ruling party whose leaders are embarrassingly incompetent, corrupt and utterly out of tune with the expectations of the electorate. Do they have any inclination of what they have wrought on the populace in their last 5 years of national rule?

The general consensus for our continuous path of downward spiral is the cause of one man and one man only, this being our esteemed Commander-in-Thief himself. The corrupt relationship he enjoys with dodgy businessmen and their attempt of absolute state capture through this relationship is blatant for the world to see. Although the call for his impeachment and recall, from all South Africans is overwhelming, the ANC leadership seems somewhat unperturbed. While there are some dissenting voices within the party and the Tripartite Alliance, this has proven not to be enough for the NEC to act on the public’s outcry for a recall of Mshiniwam. That said, Mshiniwam will emerge much stronger than before. Considering his arrogance, this will undoubtedly give him the impression that he is untouchable, with all-encompassing powers over state, party and parliament. But, history has proven to unmask the self-proclaimed untouchables, and it would be just a matter of time before the Nkandla Crooner makes that one fatal mistake that would eventually bring the curtain down on his illustrious criminal career, and as the leading Corruptor-in-Thief. I think we as the public should be patient and allow the corrupted one to slowly tighten the noose around his neck and eventually hang himself through his own arrogance and self-indulgence. We wait with bated breath.....

The price we pay for being the most unequal society, globally.

Although South Africa, as a nation, has transformed from an oppressed apartheid state to a questionable democracy (I will leave this debate for another day!) since 1994, we have still not liberated ourselves from the scourge that is racism. The only thing that has evidently changed is the political dispensation from oppression to democracy in the guise of a world leading Constitution. Ye t this, coupled with 22 years of hard work has not transformed our society from racist behaviour as experienced prior to 1994. The latest confrontations between campus students at various universities across South Africa, lends credence to the fact that ours is a society still sick with racist and discriminatory tendencies, which is evidently deep rooted in the individual psyche. Some would argue that 400 years of oppression cannot be eradicated in the space of 22 years.  My argument is that if bad-ass legislation (something similar to Saudi Arabia’s criminal laws) is put in place to curb the scourge of racism, we can eradicate racism in our society within a period of 20 years!

The introduction of BEE as legislation, has expanded the middle and upper class, predominantly, and improved the lives of PDIs (Previously Disadvantaged Individuals) fortunate enough to have prospered from such legislation. Unfortunately, this has given rise to another form of discrimination not only between people of different races, but sadly between people of the same race, i.e. class and social discrimination.  As a result of the expansive growth of the middle and upper class through BEE legislation (and government corruption), South Africa has arguably become the most unequal society in the world.  The Gini Coefficient for South Africa, which measures the average wealth of the richest ten percent compared to the poorest ten percent, has consistently been the worst (most unequal) of all countries measured over the last 5 to 10 years. 

Although some of us have improved our lives from humble grassroots to the prominent middle class, in terms of earning and living standards, we tend to have forgotten how we got there and who we had left behind (or who was not fortunate enough to have prospered from same said BEE legislation).  With the country currently in a state of indefinite protest with sporadic violence and pilfering by different protest groups, there seems to be a tendency of favouring one group of protesters over the other, seemingly based on skin colour and/or social circumstances. I may be barking up the wrong tree, but a case in point is the protest of local residents from Parkwood in Cape Town, who were protesting against the destruction of their settlement of shacks. Here, we have a typical case where people from poverty stricken and low income earning households objecting to the destruction of their humble homes. Given the circumstances, it was inevitable that the protest may escalate into something quite familiar, i.e. the looting of nearby businesses, or destruction of property through wanton acts of vandalism.  I’m not condoning these actions or saying they were well within their rights to take the protest to the next level. On the contrary, there should have been a community leader to co-ordinate the protest peacefully and ensure no such vandalism occurred. But, as is wont in most unmanaged protest marches in this country, the inevitable DID occur, with unfavourable repercussions. This unfortunate act of vandalism (as a result of a legitimate reason for protesting) was scorned upon in Social Media as a scourge worse than the bubonic plague. Unprintable words and phrases to describe the perpetrators were strewn around social media sites, with media hacks expressing their “utter disgust” of the act in question. Amazingly, or should I say disappointingly, MOST of these comments came from people of the same race……

Turning to the two incidents that happened at TUKS and OFS Universities, where protests of a more complex nature were unfolding, the conclusion to these protests resulted in brutal violence BETWEEN race groups. The social circumstances of these groups, I’m inclined to believe, was that of a more progressive position than those protesters in the Parkwood debacle. Although there were traumatised and hospitalised victims as a result of this blatant act of violence from a group of racist white “intellectuals”, I failed to find a similar uproar from the same group of people who so openly showed their disgust for the Parkwood protest. 

I’m therefore inclined to believe that if you are from a specific social class, or specific race, your behaviour in public, no matter how unsociable, is acceptable and is condoned unreservedly by the keepers of middle class society. Although the violent protests at the campuses were denounced by people from different persuasions on Social Media websites, the reaction was less so than that of the very distasteful reactions for the Parkwood protests.  THAT, unfortunately, is the price we South Africans pay for being the most unequal society in the world. If we are struggling to rid our Society from racist bigots after 22 years of democracy, how long will it still take to rid our society from class discrimination, and heaven forbid, BETWEEN people of the same race group!

The Mzanzi year that was #2015

This will go down in history primarily as the year of the senseless hashtag trend. If you had an opinion contrary to the norm, or were simply gatvol of the shenanigans of The Establishment, simply hashtag it and add the word “…..mustfall”! Most prominent and followed hashtag trends were the #Rhodesmustfall, #Feesmustall  and #Zumamustfall trends, generating thousands,  if not millions, of followers. Although some were mostly successful, do not expect the #Zumamustfall trend to be a resounding success in 2016. The #Feesmustfall trend will continue in the New Year, with the intention of having Tertiary Education costs cut down or totally eradicated.  I Suppose that’s wishful thinking, considering the huge salaries those Vice Chancellors get paid. Who will then pay their salaries and 10%+ annual increases.

Chaos and pandemonium in Parliament set a new dimension for engagement and debate between our idiotic political entities struggling to find and cement identities with the populace at large. What with fist fights, forced removals (not of the kind from the Apartheid era), and blatant disrespect for fellow “honourable” MPs in the House and not to mention the electorate that put them there. The downward spiral of the ANC coupled with the infant behaviour from the EFF(ucking) stooges, gives one a lacklustre appetite for what is expected from our honourable MPs in the New Year.

 Let’s not forget our esteemed Corruptor-in-Chief, who still has the little issue of paying back the money as indirectly ruled by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Notwithstanding other monumental cockups executed by said Corruptor-in-Chief, he has the rare honour of being named, by the Sunday Times, Mampara of the year for the third year running.  In a single year he has engineered so many blunders and voiced infantile comments on various subjects that he has made Julius Malema look like a more appealing leader to the electorate. If we as the electorate have to stoop this low for a competent individual to lead our country, God help us all!

Then, there are the unspoken sport blunders of the Cricket and Rugby World Cups.  What more can we say about our beloved Proteas but use the familiar phrase……….CHOKERS! And we did it again in the first test against England the other day. We need a new team compliment of 20 new players. So much has already been said about the Rugby world cup and that dreaded word, TRANSFORMATION. But on the brighter side Heineken did the honourable thing and fell on his sword before he was embarrassingly kicked out. Kudos to him! Let’s hope 2016 will bring some serious change and with it uncompromising success for the Springboks.

Overall, 2016 is predicted to be an uphill battle, economically, politically and socially for the millions of unemployed struggling South Africans, battling to make ends meet in 2015. The only way we can change the course of our current path, is to vote wisely and thoughtfully in the upcoming local elections and change our leadership with more competent people who will consider our wellbeing as the vanguard of their priorities. 

Sterkte vir almal in die Nuwe Jaar.

The question of our recognition for all victims of terrorism

I have posted a few pieces about terrorism and its repercussions on society in general.  Terrorism is an act perpetrated on the weak and vulnerable by those looking for ideological acceptance and recognition, those who seek revenge for some belief or another, and worst of all those looking for financial gain and hegemonic power. These can be attributed to anyone from fundamentalist Jihadi Salafists to global powers such as the US and the UK. I include the Western powers because an illegal war perpetrated on innocent civilians is the worst kind of terrorism, by virtue of its objectives and agenda.

There have been thousands of such despicable acts in the MENA (Middle East and North African) countries since the start of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in 2002/2003. We hear and read about this terrorism daily in newspapers or on mainstream television news channels and sometimes witness the atrocities carried out on God fearing innocent civilians in the region. Millions upon millions of civilians have died as a result of these acts of wanton violence of which very little is mentioned in the mainstream media. Occasionally the same or a milder version of such terrorism is perpetrated on a European country where a few people are unfortunately killed, and yet this makes headline news in every newspaper and television channel around the globe.  By no means am I excusing the murder of a few Europeans, because any act of violence where a life is taken should not be tolerated in the strongest of terms.  After all we are a race of humanity and as such should protest against the deliberate murder of any human being regardless of ethnicity, race or religious affinity.

I am at odds trying to understand the sudden wave of condolences for the families of the victims of the Paris bombings recently, when worse acts of terrorism are perpetrated daily on similar innocent victims in their thousands in the MENA region. But strikingly not one word of condolence is mentioned or posted for these victims where whole families and their livelihoods are wiped out without a shred of remorse. I’ve seen some posts and condolences from god fearing Christians who feel it is their ethnic and religious duty to send a “shout-out” to the Paris victims’ families. Yet these same Christians are eerily silent in the other situations mentioned.

As followers of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths, I fail to understand why or how we can turn a blind eye to the descendants of the people who gave rise to these religions since the dawn of civilisation in the Middle East.  If anything, our allegiance and religious affinity should be to those victims in the ME by virtue of their ascendancy from biblical figures from the region.  Countries like Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, etc.  have a direct bearing on our religious and biblical beliefs.  For those who read the bible, some may not realise that the country called Iraq was actually the region of Mesopotamia.  Iran was the region of Persia, and Syria was the region of Babylon, Canaan and Assyria.  Israel is the region of Palestine and Jordan still maintains its biblical name.   The region is rich in Archaeological history dating back to the birth of civilization. When searching for answers to our religious heritage we mostly refer to the bible where we read about the birth of the different religions and faiths originating from this region.

Although our religious heritage based on the above is plain to see, we prefer to give precedence and allegiance to a country or one of the European countries mainly responsible for endless suffering through colonisation and imperial domination of millions of Africans in North and Central Africa, and various parts of the ME. The question I cannot answer is why we repeatedly embrace our colonial masters who subjected our ancestors to brutal slavery, yet ignore the pure and real heritage of our religious ancestors that gives real meaning and substance to our lives. From a humane perspective I can understand the reactions, but why is this reaction not universal for an act of terrorism against any single nation or culture?

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?