SA isn't perfect - Thought Leader

No doubt South Africa still has the potential to be one of the super-nations on earth.

Yes, we can be one of the most powerful and influential players on the world stage. It is just that we measure our success in terms of problems and not the solutions that we have provided for some of the greatest challenges in this world.

Perhaps it is time that we removed our negativity, especially to ourselves. Severe self-criticism and success just don’t mix. Our own attitudes to this country, its people, resources and what it is going through is only half of our problems. It is our lack of faith and confidence in the country’s chances to succeed that easily complete the disaster.

It will only be when we put on our rose-coloured glasses to see only beauty and the positive that we can begin to rise above our challenges. After all, our problems of racism, inequality, unemployment, poverty, joblessness and lack of skills are nothing else but challenges that can be overcome. We must give ourselves a chance and truly believe that we can beat the challenges.

Although there are serious shortcomings in service delivery, for instance, there is absolutely nothing that those outside government can do about it — except to vote for someone else if they think that is the best solution. After all, we can now anticipate the thinking and behaviour of those who should be serving the citizens.

Over the last 17 years, there are many people who have done things that they should not have. But, most importantly, there are many more that have not done things that they should have done. What makes the problem worse is that, increasingly, there are many more people who, for self-interest, have not said things that can make things better while those careless with their tongues have said things that should not have been said.

If wishes were horses, all those people who live in informal settlements would wake up in exclusive golf estates or posh five-star hotels. But it is time that we choose not to waste precious time and energy focusing on what could have been and is not.

For instance, the late Joe Slovo — who was the first minister of housing — his advisers, planners and architects they worked with made a huge mistake in creating the kind of RDP houses that some people have been forced to live in. But we cannot go back to the late 1990s and try again. The past is dead and gone and is not ever coming back. What was done was a mistake and we can only learn from it. However, this does not mean that we must erase history and the memory of things that have taken us back as a nation. We can only take whatever good lessons we can from it.

Many of the problems that plague South Africans are, largely, of our own making. We have to understand that the solutions to the very challenges we face are in our heads and hands. We can be that winning, happy and working nation only if we change our focus to concentrate on things that advance our national development plans. Trevor Manuel’s commission has a 2030 grand master plan.

Far too many are not agents of the change they want to see because they think they have better ideas of how things should unfold.

Sometimes, it is not that their visions are misguided. But other major challenges that confront us are not only negative thinking and self-criticism but duplication, rivalry and competition instead of working as a team towards the same goals. There is a tendency to demand something that is perfect instead of what is practical. A whole lot of energy and time is wasted on quibbling about the map and not the destination.

South Africa is a young nation, a fledgling democracy, if you like. Its growth has to be seen as a process of self-refinement. After all, this nation is like a recovering alcoholic who has just come out of rehabilitation. Thus we cannot exactly be perfect after only 17 years. Instead, we have to hone our skills and understanding of the process. This is very important to achieving our goals.

There is no doubt that we, as a people, are taking giant strides towards turning our imperfections into perfections. Yes, there are some people, starting with corrupt public servants, for instance, who get their dirty hands into the work we trying to do. They screw it up and make us feel like throwing up our hands in the air because of discouragement and hopelessness. But we have to let go of the idea that building a great nation is an easy thing. If it is perfection we want, we are not going to achieve it overnight or in 17 years.

Perhaps the first step towards being the great nation we all desire is for us to be humble. We must let go of the notion that we must always be Number One or be this perfect nation. The second thing is to keep our eyes on the prize and focus on the work that still needs to be done. We have to discard the idea that we will always come out number one or perfect in what we do. We have to be practical, human and accept that nobody is perfect. If we do not, we may cause unnecessary stress.

But there is no doubt that we need to reinvent ourselves. If not, we have to put in new tyres to the old battered car that is South Africa burdened by colonial and apartheid baggage.

There is a lot that South Africa can learn from great and small nations. Let us observe how those who are winning nations, like China, are doing things right and stop obsessing about being right. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.

We were the first nation to pick up arms for liberation and, ironically, the last nation to be free. As we prepare to celebrate the 100 years journey to freedom, we should adopt thought processes of a winning nation. And to know victory, you must first taste defeat.