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?

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!