Glass half full/empty...SA

I have been reading all the inspirational things that have been going around from the likes of iburst etc regarding our beautiful country. I agree with most of them but I noticed that I seem to cling to the words ‘we have been here before’. In reality though, I don’t think we have. At the risk of being labeled a pessimist [more like a realist] I think we have finally crossed over into another place as a country, a place not many of us know or understand. We have gone off track and need some drastic help to come back to a new version of normality.

Lets review our country ‘killers’ at the moment:

-Lack of credible Leadership
-Violent Crime
-Corruption / Greed
-Poverty
-Non-Delivery by Government
-HIV
-High Illiteracy & Low level of Education
-Infrastructure decay
-Uncontrolled entry of Foreigners

Now I would feel optimistic about being able to sort these out if we had some sort of future plan, a strong leader and a credible and effective government channel and legal system. Our people also need to start understanding that for every negative action there is a negative consequence [that is why laws are created].

It is sad for me to sit in discussions when youngsters are discussing the possibility of leaving the country because they don’t see a future. At this point how many people have actually left is pure speculation and no-one in government seems to think this is a big problem. So many families being split out of fear.

All this at a time when we need all hands on deck…I am beginning to feel like I have no voice and the constant state of lawless [a growing number of incidents now involving police] is wearing me down. Too many terrible stories…. its becoming difficult to remain confidently focused on how beautiful our country is....the lack of balance at the moment is awful.

So here’s the thing…I will continue to post my views on these topics as they are close to my heart and if my words contribute even 0.001% to the pressure required for change then its worth it.
We need to stand together sure...but first.....we need to be led.

Bye, Bye Mbeki...

What is our president thinking when he says 'Zimbabwe is not in crisis'..? People are starving, leaving their homes to cross our border… with nothing and in total desperation and yet.....'they are not in crisis'?? Thabo has finally lost the plot…..totally….maybe he has spent 2 much time out of the country and cant remember who he is and that S Africa is an important leader country on this continent… Any leader that treats his people the way Mugabe treats his people should never be tolerated.
In retrospect it is now clear what an ostrich Mr Mbeki has become…..
Supporting people within his team that are non-performers, taking a apparent Marie Antoinette [‘Let them eat cake’ or rather garlic and herb] approach to important problems such as HIV/Aids, Crime and lets not even mention his 'silent leadership' style which has positioned him as a remote leader with limited personality and now sadly a limited credibility.

It would be a lot easier if we had a powerful, credible leader waiting in the wings to lead us to salvation and deliver us from ‘evil’ intentions…
Whatever your intentions are Mr President, it seems you are supporting evil in Mugabe…. if I were you I would make some attempt to salvage the shredded threads of your credibility and do the right thing!
I cannot believe I voted for you.

Unfair Dismissal: David Bullard

It is totally undemocratic and sad for me that David Bullard [who I am personally not a major fan of personality wise] was fired yesterday for his controversial article. I do enjoy reading his column even though I don’t agree all the time.

Assessing the situation there are a few dodgy things with the whole firing episode:
The guy is paid to be controversial. He is paid to piss people off… is he not? I know that I have been mad a few times with what he has written BUT that is his opinion and if you don’t like it don’t read it..The last time I checked we lived in a democracy? I mentioned to someone earlier today that part of a democracy is that you will sadly always have to listen to some siloed arse’s view of life on a topic…tolerance in these situations is key [even with arses]. We seem to have a lot to learn looking at the reader comments made under David's post.
Secondly, it seems he submitted the copy for checking to the Sunday Times 3 days before ??? Who is getting chopped there???
An important point that seems to be missed was his mention of China. I have a strong view that....a new, silent form of colonialism is being driven by greedy African leaders. ‘Selling’ our precious Africa bit by bit to the Chinese for 100 year [concessions] at a time. These guys don’t care, they will be a long time dead when the African people wake up to the fact that they don’t own Africa anymore! Is that not the colonialism we as Africans should all be fighting?? That would be better than fighting each other! I just wish we would stop looking back to the old form of this problem and start seeing the new looming problems so we can deal with them..
It scares me a little that things like this Bullard thing can happen…what does it say about our democracy..? Sure we preach Freedom of Speech but the small print seems to read ‘only if you conform to 'our' view’….We need help. [Sunday Times has lost so much credibility with one stupid political decision which seemed to be based on uncontrolled emotion]

The Tale of the Africa Liar..

Being such I lover of this magnificent continent I simply could not avoid the Zim discussion. There is so much to say….

Robert is a very clever man. He has successfully managed to ‘convince’ [force whatever you want to call it] the few that seem to have voted for him that ‘colonialism’ is the real reason his people have no food and are entirely isolated from the ‘West’. What is sad is that some actually believe that story.. and some of those people, [with their anti colonial thoughts] have probably hopped into SA.
So that brings me to my questions/comments….

1. I wonder how some of those Zimbos see the white people in SA? It would be interesting to see if violence against white ‘colonialists’ by foreigners has in fact increased over the last year or so, now that we have millions of illegal desperate people trying to survive in a new country… are whites targets? [I am a white African and proud of that fact]
2. When will Africa move on from the tired ‘colonialist’ speech? I am certainly not saying we should forget the past BUT I really wish that as African’s we would spend more time talking about our independent futures – now that we have had them for years.
3. What is scary is that ‘Mug’ has clung onto power for so long committing horrendous human rights atrocities yet he can still find a ‘home’ for his ‘hard earned African wealth’ in Banks in the west?. How is that possible? How can financial institutions be allowed to harbor this kind of ‘wealth’? Where is George on his ‘white horse’ running in to save the day…..OH YA I forgot…not enough oil there to give a damn. [I don’t believe that would be a solution anyway, real change comes when the people rise up and say enough is enough]
4. When are African people going to reject the rape of their own country by their own leaders? Ahhhh Leadership…..something we in SA once had…Many times I have mentioned that Leadership is a servanthood. Serving ones people not taking from them… novel idea…one that Madiba clearly understood.

So I have heard that a lack of strong opposition Leadership in a policed state is the reason for Mug’s long political ‘career’. That may be very true, lets be honest Tsvangirai is opposition but the simple fact that he is not Mug makes him better. Not sure if he will set the world on fire. As for Makoni…the dude is pretty…Mug hasn’t thumped his face in yet…? I would question that…a puppet maybe?

I hope for the people of Zim that this whole sad tale is sorted soon, and that they finally get their democracy without violence and further pain.

As for Africa, I may well be blogging about my dreams for this continent for many years to come. Lets just hope by then Africans still own it…A different form of ‘colonialism’ approaches… a silent one driven by personal greed has been unleashed by our so called African ‘Leaders’. Land concessions for 100’s of years are being signed and land handed to foreign countries like China without much thought for the future. The people are the only ones that can stop this… Long live Africa for Africans