THE HAND OF ZONDO

Written 20th August 2018

Before the historic elections of 1994 ended the scourge of apartheid, the ANC was an underground movement, and one of the things they promised their members, so I’ve been told, was that after South Africa was freed from oppression, every black person in the county would be given a free house and land.

When the ANC was suddenly unbanned, the leaders freed, exiles invited to return, and elections organised, they found themselves virtually overnight in the Seat of Power, and many millions expected the fulfilment of these promises - but obviously this would be an impossible promise to meet.

But washed in the euphoria of a fledgling rainbow nation and thrilled by the fact that we were suddenly the darlings of the planet, we basked in the afterglow of what was perceived by many to be the greatest miracle of our times. However many urgent and significant issues receded onto the back burner, to be murmured about glumly around campfires and behind closed doors, on all sides of the fence. And as the years rolled by, service delivery floundered, maintenance was neglected, and conversations were tinted by a never-ending litany of rumours and charges of incompetence, illegality and corruption.

Obviously leaders of government and business could not step forward and offer their heads. A scapegoat was needed. The first - apartheid - was obvious and totally justified. Apartheid was horrific, end of story. But the death of apartheid wasn’t the end of that story as the ghost of apartheid will still haunt us for a good few years.

But when the continuous whining about the legacy began wearing thin, sights shifted, firstly to colonisation, and then to those that were left behind from the colonial powers, the white tribe of South Africa. And the radiant optimism with which we faced each other every day, slowly eroded into hostility firstly cloaked, but with passing time and tit for tat antagonism between unimaginative leaders from all sides floundering in turbulent seas, the hostility became increasingly overt.

And with the land issue now coming to the for, regrettably is seems as though lines are being drawn, and instead of galvanising unity in the interest of peace, prosperity and stability, there are those that seem to be doing little more than rubbing salt into the wounds. And our new President is expected to pick up the pieces.

I must admit, I most certainly would not like to be in our president’s shoes right now considering the state of the nation in the wake of his predecessor. Leaders are squabbling, followers are fighting, unemployment is rising, tempers are flaring, tolerance is waning, unrest is growing, crime is epidemic, education in a shambles, eclipsed only by healthcare, parastatals and power, workers want more, business says it can't afford more, unions are militant, workers impatient, and now the land crisis has some baying for blood, others weighing up options whether to head out or just cash out, and beyond our shores, eyebrows are being raised in speculative curiosity ...and over all, draped like a dark dismal shroud, the all pervasive specter of corruption.

If the president listens to the unions, coffers will be strained, further lay-offs will ensue and foreign investment will be threatened. If he doesn’t, escalating unrest is likely to follow and again international goodwill will be antagonised. If he aligns himself with big business and international pressure against government intervention in mining and the banks, he is seen as a counter-revolutionary and a sell-out. If he entertains dialogue to the contrary, again he will be tempting the wrath of the international corridors of power as well as threatening the future stability of the country. With regard to corruption, to unite his party, he had to dance with devils. But how can he ever extract himself from this humdinger of a ‘catch twenty-two’, and still emerge unscathed and with credibility. And then of course, the land issue. He expropriates without compensation, he will satisfy the masses - at first. But where will it end? Genocides have been sparked my much smaller issues.

So can there possibly be a way out? I believe there can be. But under the current political climate of distrust, animosity and hostility it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. I believe the underlying root of the evil is not the hatred and intolerance which are in all likelihood more manifestations of fear and desperation; an era of lashing out and attributing blame, since no one seems to have a clear and concise idea how to proceed.

The corruption has left an entire nation desperately trying to loot their corner of the sandpit for everything they can, while there is still something to take. And this of course can only lead to total disaster.

We need somehow to move forward with a clean slate. A second chance - and this time, there can be no alternative but to do it right. But to clean the slate, a date must be set and cast in stone for a moratorium on corruption. A date and moratorium agreed to by all political leaders of all parties, agreed to via a signed pledge by all members of government and administration, and by all leaders of business. Obviously the date would have to be somewhere a few years in the future, like 27th April 2021.

So how would we do this? Would all the cookie jar plunderers have to pay back the money? It would be nice, but it would be totally unrealistic to aim for this and would probably cost as much as is owed, to try pursue.

Although begrudgingly, I suggest everyone who has skimmed cream be allowed to keep their plunder - provided they disclose ALL of the assets they have acquired unduly by virtue of status, network or position, to a new Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Furthermore, I believe it would be only fair that once they have disclosed their wealth, they allow their assets to be audited, and they pay the receiver his just due.

I cannot see any other constructive alternative which could deliver us from the mess the country and our people find ourselves in now. Obviously the moratorium would have to be implemented initially at the top, but would have to permeate down the entire structure of the administration and within the ranks of some of their less than shining business partners.

And after Day Zero, obviously a policy of zero tolerance, vigilant policing, and the full extent of the law facing anyone guilty of corrupt or improper behaviour.

A radical proposition maybe, but let’s face it, it’s going to take radical action sometime, whether now or in the future, before there can be any hope at the end of the tunnel.

And could you imagine the euphoria and optimistic jubilation when the population once again starts believing their leaders are honest men of high moral standing, and imagine how much more love there will be to spread around when sizeable chunks of the economy are no longer hacked off for the exclusive benefit of those that have forgotten what it means to care.

But maybe it’s just a pipe-dream...