Living
in this country called South Africa is a dream most Swazi children wish to
experience at least for two and a half days if not their whole ‘boring’ life
somewhere else like the Kingdom of Swaziland for example. We all want to live
here, and that is true for every Swazi Child.
Coming to live here was a bitter sweet thing for me. On the one hand you get to be
treated like a great, very lucky and important celebrity by your friends. On
the other hand, you scared out of your wits by the stories you hear about the
place. The scariest of all these horrid yet fascinating stories are those from
your playmates-they all have to be about Jozi and the horrible, terrible thugs
it supposedly hubours.
I
have been muged once but unfortunately or fortunately for me, It was never in
Jozi for I have never (and wish never to be) been to Jozi. I live and have been
living among the Zulu of Ntumbane, North KwaZulu-Natal ever since my family
came back from Swaziland.
Being
an outsider, what some would call a foreigner, gives you a different
perspective of things from that of the insider. Here are some of the things I
have seen in my part of South Africa;
·
South Africa
and its democracy.
The word democracy is Greek for demos (the people) and kratien (to
rule). South Africa is in formal terms called the Republic of South Africa.
This means that the country is-at least at inception, a country where the
leader to be is determined through his/her largest number of votes acquired, he
is then expected to use his/her best judgment to meet the needs of the people (Microsoft Enactar Encyclopedia 2006). This ideal was very much in force during the rule
of President Nelson Mandela. He was able to act in accord to the best of his
morals, values and judgment. He was the president, not the people’s puppet or
play thing as is currently the case twenty years down the line of South
Africa’s history. Looking at the news every other night, it is easy to see what
I mean and the effects of this developments. One example of this is the number of laws we now have in force in the country. One such thing is the proposed
enactment of a law that would allow 12 year old girl pupils the ability to
commit the sin of abortion through the help of clinics and public or private hospitals. It would be very naive of me not to consider the fact that what is
moral to me may not be moral to the next person. But it was immoral enough for
the government to allow the average adult women to commit the sin of
abortion...to provide that much of a responsibility to be shouldered by a twelve
year old would be a very immoral usage of this thing they call democracy.
The sad part about this country’s democracy is that my people seem
to succeed in holding their elected members of parliament under their sway so
much that what they want goes, be it good or bad in the long term.
·
Is the
Republic of South Africa an Oligocracy?
An oligocracy is a form of government whose direction is directed
by rich business motivated statesman who are often economically heavily invested in the country. They therefore wish to have their profits returned through
their determining of the country’s laws, policies and general direction.
There are a number of things about my country that seem to point
out that there is a tendency of oligocracy in the country. One such example of
this is the problem presented by mining houses in the country. They seem to be
able to at least belate the government in its attempt to reform the minning
industry.
Another point that seems to point out if not qualify the oligocracy
question is that in spite of RSA’s democratic disposition, it seems those in
power are reluctant to bring back African land back into the hands of black
Africans, especially the poor and powerless folks who lost land and homes in the
old days.
I do not blame the government for this. In the hands of the
farmer, South African farmlands produced very well. Are they still to produce
well in my black African brother’s hands? I mean not to be the devil’s advocate
but I do not-at least for the next 50 years- see good, sizable farm produce
from black farmer’s hands. We still have much to relearn when it comes to
farming. We were not farmers in the days of Apartheid, only farm workers, our
children, the present generation is showing promise but untill the day they are
ready, it would be very irresponsible of the government to effect massive land
reforms. The lobbyists who are advanncing for the priviledge of my white
in-laws know this and know how to use for their own advantage. This advantage
of theirs translates into the marginalization of the black man’s need to have
back his land. Be it he wishes to farm or simply go on being hungry on it.
·
Can it be
that the black majority enjoy the privilege of the rich?
The Republic of South Africa is a dual, capitalist country where
democracy is said to be king to all man willing. Much of the population lives
on the negetive side of the country’s economic dualism. Much of SADC’s people
live below the 1 dollar a day poverty line. In some instances this horrible
picture looks much better in South Africa’s light but if you would remove the
white rich class that comes with South Africa, the picture once again darkens
and leaves my black African brothers lacking almost just as much as their
neigbours from the other SADC countries. Remove the social grants and you will
see what I mean.
The question then is; can it ever be that we all be at least marginaly
rich in my country? Can things be as things are in the G20 countries where-at
laest much of the people enjoy a reasonable standard of living compared to us?
I personaly do not see this dream coming true, at least not for
the next comming 30 to 40 years. The truth is that it will be very hard for us
South Africans to reach that standard of living because we are still a long way
off the mark. For a country to be as well managed and well performing as are
the countries of Great Britain and Germany, it will have to first have people
who dream their country and their lives could be like that. And that should be
the majority of the people, not just a hand as is currently the case.
Unfortunately for us, we do not have even the luxury to dream. We are buisy
chasing after the next plate to waste time doing such a thing.
The average black South African can not even afford a decent R15
daily plate of food. Where then do you think he will get the ability to afford
time to think about his future? Where on earth will he get money to afford bank
fees should he choose to bank capital to start a business tomorrow, where is he
going to get the cheap resources that will allow him to compete with already
well established big western countries, how is he to compete with the son of
rich man when for him even one slip of the toe spells huge finacial disater he
can never get out of for he has no ancient financial muscle pulling him up. As
far as he is concerned, he is the first of every thing buisinesy in his family
and to even be there was a huge home fought psycho-emotional battle non of his
European peers ever had to face.
The black South African is still a way off the ‘we are all rich
mark’.It will take us a long long time and effort to get there. And we no longer
have the colonial times get rich quick short cut of simply invading a foreign
land and nation and rapping its people to submission and loyalty, after which
the colonialists are free to export whatever is of value they can find in that
land for the benefit of their mother country. Be it stone or man.
What we have is time and co-operation. We are getting there but
the means we are using to achieve this dream is-I think- counter productive.
·
Affirmative
action and its sister policies
One such somewhat counter productive means used by our government to
get its people out of the mud of poverty is the policy of Affirmative action.
The ANC introduced this policy thinking and intending it to be ‘for millions of South Africans an advance to
a better life, a long overdue chance to come into their own and enjoy the good
things the country has to offer. For others, particularly those leading
comfortable lives today, it signifies a new form of discrimination and
discrimination and injustice...’ (Affirmative Action and the New
Constitution; www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=283). In short
the policy allows us who once had no legs to walk to get used to our new legs
while our white brothers wait just a little while for us to catch up to their
level of living.
I will not lie, the policy’s good intentions are showing and are
bearing fruits but there are negatives popping up as well. Here are some of
them:
-Resentment: some of our white country men see the benefits of
things like BEE (Black economic empowerment) but they see it out of reach for
them since they cannot meet some of its requirements for them to be allowed beatification from it. There have been some reforms but they seem not enough to benefit them in some way, leading to much heart felt resentment among many a
white brothers.
-Fat cats seem to be eating everything: much of our people do not
have the money and educational level needed to tap into the benefits of the
Affirmative action policy. As such, even though it allows more black children
to enter universities than it would be possible without its enforcement, it
does not effectively address the need for one to be well versed in not just
English but in Business English, Business studies and good old statistics to
tab its benefits. Let alone the need for law knowledge, travel money and
confidence to face the educated and sophisticated brothers you will find in the
office. Oh and they might burry you in a heap of scarry papers.
We, the average black South African do not have all the above at
our disposal. The result is that we end up not bothering ourselves and the
politicaly connected fat cats get the government tenders and every thing
inbetween, leaving us poor folks frustrated and at times ready for war.
-Affirmative action hinders developement at some level: Many a
people do not see this but you simply can not take one child’s lolly pop and
give it to the other of your children and expect the earlier child to keep quet
and be non reactive to the whole process. If you want to Forster a mutual and
non toxic relationship amoung your children, it is better you provide the
latter with her own lolly pop than to take from the earlier. Fortunately
children forget, grown man do not. All
thiese given, I do believe that should time come, affirmative policy will be
done away with and we will finally have an enviroment which will not make the
other feel cheated of his ‘preciouse’. I believe that when that day finally
comes we-as a people-will no longer compete but co-operate and thus develop much faster than it is possible today under this Affirmative action policy
thingy.
·
The secrecy
bill.
There has been an outcry and a lot of pointy fingures directed at
the ANC leader president Jacob Zuma over his so called lack of leadership (I am
one of those groaned over this a while back). It is worth noting that my
president has his days. One of such days is the day he refused to sign the
troublesome secrecy bill into law. The Guardian(www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/12/south-africa-zuma-secrecy-bill)
reports that ‘In a suprise move, Zuma refused to sign the protction of state
information bill into because it did not pass “constitutional muster” and
knocked it back to parliament for revision.’ Many a people-myself included-
assumed Mr Zuma would do nothing else but sign the bill to law. Doing so would
have spelt disaster not just whistle blowers and journalist or even bloggers
like me but every one who would dare leak important information. For more on
this bill, please visit the Right2Know Campain website on www.r2k.org.za .
Countries world over do have laws that protect the states’
information from leaking. Such laws are present in the USA, the ROC and even in
Zimbabwe. They are aimed at promoting state security and also safe guard rights
like the right to free speech from abuse and manipulation from both government
agents and the average person on the street. Unfortunately they are not always
use as they were meant to and we thank the president of South Africa for his
uprightness and show of leadership, even when the pistols and political
bazookas are at him and are shooting not just to maim but kill.
·
Too much
freedom
Is there a thing called too much freedom? I seem to think so when
I look at the things going on in my country. I mean you would never find a
Swazi student relaxed when the national anthem is being sung.
You will definitely never hear that country’s national anthem
being sung as a remix on radio or even at home. The national anthem is, by
design, a prayer to God to bless, help and protect the nation. Can it then
follow that we take that prayer and make it a means by which one creative
enough to do so is free to make money out of it?
And why on earth is it that we, the youth of today inherited
freedom from apartheid? Was it so we will be able to party and get drunk, have
sex and bare children we do not know how to take care of and as such need to rely
on the government’s assistance?
Is this free speech the right to ridicule a grown man as is the
president, forgegtin that he is husband ,father,and brother to a whole lot of
people who look up to his leadership at his home? Does this democratic freedom
translate into people insulting a king; a 7 million people strong nation just
because you read from a newspaper you can not even verify was reporting the
truth?
No man I think South Africans are enjoying too much freedom. Without adherence to rules, freedom amounts
to nothing but anarchy. I hope my people realize this lest they blame Jehovah
for a disaster they created with their own hands.
