Hope for South Africa
Being a South African Expat, this article is close to my heart.
Written by David Knowles
Wednesday, 02 April 2008
DAVID KNOWLES explains why he does not regret swapping his British passport for a South African one.WE need to spend some time reflecting on the last two or three months we have experienced as a nation. Some commentators have called this the “post-Polokwane Syndrome”, after the events at the ANC National Conference in December, the outcome of which many have seen as negative.
The electricity crisis, now seen as a result of poor planning by the state and acknowledged as such by President Thabo Mbeki in his State of the Nation address in Parliament, has added to the negative mood.
Also knocking us have been higher world oil prices, higher interest rates and the start of a worldwide recession, particularly in the UK and the US. Added to these have been the ongoing crime situation.
It is easy to fall into the trap of feeling and thinking negatively about our country.
In 1948, Alan Paton wrote Cry, the Beloved Country – and that title is perhaps still appropriate today. How do we as passionate South Africans react to this mood of despondency? Well, I cannot speak for you, but I can give you my perspective. First of all, I make no apologies for being passionately South African.
I was not born in South Africa. I was born in East Africa (I moved here at the age of seven), so becoming a naturalised South African was a choice for me. It was a choice I made in the mid 1980s – a terrible time for South Africa. The country was in turmoil. We had sanctions, very low economic growth, the country was bankrupt, civil war was looming, there were bombs in schools, riots in the townships, young men, many of them my peers, fighting and dying on our borders.
During that time, I gave up a British passport for a South African one. Some might call that foolish. So be it. I have never regretted that decision. Why not? Not just because South Africa is such a beautiful country – it was because I believed in the people of this country and I believed that God had a plan for us. This was proved right for me when the miracle of 1994 happened.
Still, the levels of violence and crime make me mad. I believe that we need to apologise to our youth for not doing more to protect them.
I get mad when I visit black schools and see how little they have and how poor some of the teaching is. I get mad that there is still massive poverty in our country and an Aids pandemic. But being mad about these issues do not make me any less passionate about South Africa.
I especially get mad that some of our leaders lack moral standing – whether they be a judge, the top policeman or the top politicians.
The issue is not whether they are guilty in a court of law. Leaders should not be tainted by even a hint of corruption.
To be a leader means to be a dealer, a purveyor and a deliverer of hope. It is our job – yours and mine – to be deliverers of hope.
So am I optimistic? Yes. I cannot believe that, after all we have been through as a nation, that a future Zimbabwe scenario is God’s plan for us.
Yes, I am optimistic because I believe that we have the people here in South Africa to overcome these challenges.
Yes, I am optimistic because I refuse to believe that we can continue to be held to ransom by a criminal minority.
Yes, I am optimistic because we are resilient and tough, as a people and a nation.
Yes, I am optimistic because I believe that the challenges ahead are surmountable, as we wage war against poverty and crime and corruption.
When it comes to the economy, let’s remember that economies work in cycles – expansion; higher expenditure, the economy overheats and there is a readjustment (recession) which is normal.
In 1998, interest rates hit 25%. Are we better off now? In a lot of ways we are. During the 1980s we had 1% growth. During the Mandela years, we had 2% economic growth For the last seven years it was 5%! Next year it will be 4% – despite worldwide recession, oil prices, electricity crisis.
What else is up? Business confidence (until January). Employment is up. Number of houses built – up. Tourists visiting – up. Taxable income has gone from R188-billion in 2000 to R660-billion in 2007. Money for housing for the poor has gone up. And we have built 2.6 million houses since 1996.
Yes, we have challenges. Eskom is one of them and there is now a 2c levy on every kilowatt/hour. But think about this: Electricity was cheap, now we are paying more We had electricity cuts before. In 1981, there was no power in the whole country for 18 hours
We are not the only country to have power cuts. In China 12 million people were left stranded over Chinese New Year.
There are other challenges. The world oil price has gone from $60 per barrel in 2007 to $90 now and it is not coming down. We may be heading for a situation like the UK where they pay R15 per litre.
HIV/Aids is another major concern, as we see fit to spend R17-billion on the World Cup, but less on handling this pandemic.
There are no easy answers or solutions and 2008 will be tough. However, we have had it tough before and we handled it and boom years will come again – such as in 2010.
So what do we do? Emigrate? An option for some I suppose and I am always sad when I hear about people leaving. But where to? Is it guaranteed that it will be all cherries and rose blossoms on the other side of the fence?
Or do we toughen up, get creative and get active? Next time there is a power cut and you can’t read e-mails, play computer games or watch TV – celebrate – you can instead talk to people – your family or colleagues.
With regard to the environment, here is an example of being creative: water availability is always an issue in SA – did you know that the average house has 120 000 litres of water running off its roof every year in the form of rain water?
By “getting active”, I mean thinking about what we can do – like Trinity House holding their march on Tuesday; or writing letters; or petitions; or getting involved to help fix it.
“We have one freedom inside us that nobody can take away, the freedom of reaction/attitude in any given circumstance,” wrote Viktor Frankl, the psychologist and concentration camp survivor. Our reaction to a setback will determine if we are going to stay with our heads buried in the sand or look up and do something about it.
If you are an ostrich and have never faced a setback, you need to learn these facts about solving problems first:
Face it! Confront the problem and get the picture clear. Rake it! Work through your denial, aggression or depression around the problem. Make it! Look up, stand up and take action.
This is important because just as the sun hardens mud and softens wax, trials can either break us or make us.
Finally, here is my resolve and my truth: To be positive To stop whingeing To stop blaming. To ignore the doomsday jokes sent out by people who want you to feel as bad as they do. To read the Good News website regularly
To join the “stop crime, say hello” campaign To find goodness in people To commit, regularly, to this beautiful country of ours To believe in God’s plan for us
One final thought: Matthew Lester writes a column in the Sunday Times Business Times Money. He is Professor of Tax Education at Rhodes University and an advisor to Trevor Manuel. Yesterday he had this to say: “South Africa is my life, it always has been and it always will be.” Amen to that.