REFLECTING ON REFLECTIONS

I wrote this article at the end of 2014. Interesting to see some things seem never to want to change...

What an interesting year it’s been, 2014. And what a critical place we are in the history of South Africa, the planet, and most significantly, of mankind.

On the local front, we sure are going out with the last quarter bang. The Seriti Commission basically clears the Man of wrong doing in the arms deal, the parliamentary adhoc committee clears him of wrong doing around his house. The post office has folded – along with SAA, Marikana cops are safe, other cops and politicians with smoking guns are safe, Oscar takes a short walk from freedom, Divani leaves court all happy and gay.

Child rape is on the incline, patience on the decline. Abuse has reached epidemic proportions and crime runs rampant where the call of the protectors has swung from protect and serve to harrass and extort.

Eskom ensures us the lights will still go out for years to come - but there’s no crisis. Everyone knows that only a few pay, while many, many more use. Meanwhile copper lines are taken, stations are taken! How difficult could it be to trace that amount of metal being moved around? Hmm. One will always see only what he wants to see.

SANRAL doesn’t know whether it should run with the hoods or run for the woods - And not least of the cause of their woes, Julius Malema who has moved from arch villian of the rich and saviour of the poor, to catalyst for effective governance and mouthpiece of a united by interests opposition, and on to chief disruptor of a parliament which talks more about personal shit than running the country.

Courts of law see more cases against politicans than criminals – and taxpayers money pays the price for all.

Education is still on a slippery slope – as is SABC top gun who hid the fact that education was her slippery slope. And the basic plan of action is to unleash Cyril to fix all, while ‘where the buck stops’ makes mundane speeches and gives out medals.

Strikes have crippled the economy and leaders are in a catch 22: They make the right moves to boost the economy, the masses explode. They pander to the masses and the country will implode – and then explode.

And with rising poverty, this is not an easy task.

The good thing is, from here, the only way is up. Or that’s what we’d like to hope. But if leaders of government, public and private sectors continue to make decisions based on themselves, their friends and collectives, and don’t think about the good of the country, unfortunately yes, we could still sink lower…

But what if some good decisions were made. What if in 2015:

Jacob Zuma admitted at least negligence re Nkandla and paid back the R26 mill. Bang! One problem disappears from sight and his credibility gets turbocharged – at least for the short term.

Jacob Zuma opened a no-holds barred inquisition into the arms deal – and accepts whatever the findings. His name would be cleared once and for all in history. He could put forward as mitigation the fact that they were naïve, inexperienced. Being exposed to the most vicious, mercenary commercial predators in existence. They made mistakes. Whether they offer reparations or not is another question, but they will be forgiven.

What if SANRAL got rid of the tolls. The problem is money owed and favours on call. This is a hard one. But an effective answer will only emerge through transparent dialogue will all players, including the public. The operative word being transparent. If heads must roll for wrong doing, so be it. It’s about time we clean the SA slate.

Eskom is a biggie. Surely the place to start would be to call the guys that were running it effectively 20 years ago out of retirement and come up with a cohesive action plan which is then effectively communicated so people can get on with their lives. There’s not much anyone can do about it in the short term, so let’s all get on with it and do what is needed to get it done.

Which brings us to illegal connections, free services and copper theft. The stealing has to stop. It is crippling the economy. This is terrorism and treasonous – and should be treated as such with all players up and down the power chain eligible to have the book thrown at them should they digress - and get caught!

The greatest cause of poverty is the dismal shape of our economy. People earn too little – or are unemployed, they have no buying power, production slows to the pace of dwindling demand and slowly we slide down a downspiral which can only end badly.

If people earned more, they could buy more which would put us on an upspiral. Business should not be looking to cut their costs on human resources. They should look to stimulate them since they in fact constitute the marketplace and the success of business and the economy depends on people spending.

National harmony is the place where work is needed. In 1994 there was a sense of jubilation as the rainbow nation made the first hesitant steps towards national unity. The feeling has ebbed and disintegrated as racial fingers are pointed to justify failings on all sides in the wake of the waning national and global economies.

We need to blame the failings of the system on what they are: wheels of progress which continue exponentially to enrich the rich and enslave the poor. This has nothing to do with black and white. The massive migration of previously disadvantaged into the middle and upper classes bear testament to this fact. It has everything to do with the widening gap between the social, political and corporate elite and the rest of society. Wage disparities between directors and workers continue to widen, and it is these disparities which rob the marketplace of spending power and continue to enthrone those at the top. Salaries at the top are unjustified, salaries at the bottom are unacceptable. Narrowing the gaps and getting rid of incentive bonuses will go a long way to re-igniting trust, stimulating productivity, and ultimately kickstarting a revitalised economy.

Moving onto the world stage.

Almost two decades of turbulence in the Middle East has left this part of the world in more chaos probably than ever before. And the common denominator: Western intervention. And then one wonders why a horror like Isis can emerge.

There is no doubt that Muslims – or at least their lands of origin have been targeted. Iraq is in tatters, Libya is in tatters, Syria is in tatters, Yemen is falling apart. Saudi Arabia and Israel continue to wag the dog while the world looks on in effective silence as Palestine protests in vain against their shrivelling birthright.

Brazil plays tit for tat with drug lords who swell collection coffers, Conferences on climate change squabble ineffectively since everyone wants a better world but those with the most to lose feel ‘after me the fall’.

And now the clouds of war grow darker as Russia and the US lurk in the shadows of NATO and the Ukraine, both squaring off around the power of power, claiming once again in the interests of the people …who care about little more than being allowed to continue their lives in peace and modest prosperity.

US fears China’s power of the people, China fears US and Japanese eyes scouring for unseen riches in the South China sea. The world is held ransom by the IMF and the Eurozone bleeds members as an antithesis to the sentiment that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

Extremism has become the flavour of the day where common man has become the pawn in a game of cat and mouse between left and right. Refugees run from extremism in third world countries and are confronted by extremism on the other side acting in their minds, in retaliation to unwanted aliens invading their space.

It is quite obvious that disparities in lifestyles will always result in behaviour change and migration to where the grass is greener. Only when all people in all countries on this magnificent planet benefit equally from the wares of the world, will there be a global society ensured of peace. And this is the vision which we all should strive for - for our children, and their childrens’ children.