The Afro-realists

Submitted by Muhammad Karim

I have been bombarded of late with a series of emails and conversations around Afro-optimism versus Afropessimism, with the ultimate aim being to answer this question: What exactly is going on with this country and where exactly is it going? I think it is appropriate to look at all the arguments for the two sides and see where we can come up with a balanced view on things, and some plausible solutions going forward.

The Afropessimists
This group ranges from the sick-and-tired-of-non-delivery population of South Africa to the self-justifying expatriate population of South Africans abroad. While the arguments they use are based on facts in the present, they also point out what seems to be a rising trend in non-delivery by the South African government.

The arguments of Afropessimists often revolve around the following:
1. Electricity shortage and load-shedding
2. Prices going through the roof and the rand falling through the floor
3. Wide-spread corruption in government
4. Ineffective police force
5. Extremely violent crime and high crime rate
6. Stakeholders abroad becoming increasingly unhinged about South Africa’s economic status.
7. Crap education
8. Emasculation of the Scorpions
9. Jacob Zuma
10. Zimbabwe

Most South Africans are aware of these issues, but what is most disturbing is not that these problems exist, but that there was no foresight to prevent some of them (especially the electricity shortage) and there seems to be very little being done about it.

From this unkindly foundation comes the pessimistic view of the future of South Africa filled with the failure of the 2010 World Cup (infrastructure falling apart and tourists getting robbed and killed), fewer jobs, a worse economic situation, even higher prices, crime rising to the status of total anarchy and a country led by an accused rapist with an ever-increasing amount of wives, a corruption scandal and a shower ad with the tag line “How to not contract HIV/Aids”.

As recently as February this year, there also appeared an article in the UK’s Sunday Herald by Fred Bridgeland titled “Wounded nation“, which says Zuma has done for South Africa’s reputation what Borat has done for Kazakhstan. Fred also goes on to state that that the current crises in the country are “a perfect storm as the rainbow nation slides off the end of the rainbow and descends in the direction of the massed ranks of failed African states”.

The Afro-optimists
On the brighter side of the playing field we have the Afro-optimists. These guys see the potential of what is available in South Africa, and the positive elements that currently exist in the country, stating unequivocally to the Afropessimists: “Oh, stop bloody complaining, it’s not that bad.”

This group includes David Knowles (headmaster of St Stithians) and Alan Knott-Craig (MD of iBurst) who have in recent months published their views on the state of the country and try to cheer everyone up on the state of the nation.

The arguments they use are:
1. Economic growth in South Africa and Trevor Manuel
2. The wonderful weather, scenery, greenery, wildlife, heritage and so forth
3. Nelson Mandela
4. Tremendous potential and opportunity
5. How far this country has come in such a short time

There’s even a website (www.sagoodnews.co.za) to combat the many negative blogs and websites that bellow the doomsday siren on South Africa. Many I have spoken to write this website off as a justification for the government’s failure; however, the website and its newsletter quote statistics that are as convincing as the facts of those who focus on the negative aspects of the country.

Some of the facts are that even though there are price increases for electricity, we still have the cheapest electricity in the world. Economic growth this year is pegged at about 3% to 4% despite the increasing oil prices, electricity crisis and so forth. This comes from a base of 1% growth a year in the 1980s, 2% growth during the Mandela years and thereafter 5% growth for the past seven years.

The ultimate aim of the Afro-optimists is to see the good that is happening all around us in this country and not only to focus on the negative facets of our situation. We need to hinge the growth of the country on the positive things we already have going for us. Besides, this is not the first time we’ve faced a crisis, and all those times before (1989, 1994, 1998, 2001) we’ve survived and grown.

Afro-realists
I propose a balanced look at this situation. We all know of our problems and most of us would be doing a great disservice by not finding out the good things that we have going on as well. I feel we lost the plot when we stopped taking responsibility for ourselves. We cannot go on blaming everyone for the problems around us. We are the people of South Africa, for God’s sake, and we’re made of sterner stuff to just sit around complaining and not doing anything.

For everyone complaining about the government, when have we ever really held it responsible? I only see opposition parties making statements and holding rallies and people striking all over the place. We owe it to ourselves to hold the people we put into power responsible for the jobs they have to do. We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we sit around at braais and bitch about the current state of the country when the only difference we’ve made recently is giving change to the guy at the traffic light.

We have problems. Problems have solutions. We’ve sent a South African to space, for God’s sake; you’re telling me we can’t solve an electricity crisis? You’re telling me we can’t get over this economic slump? And yes, there’s a solution for the increasing crime too. We need to think beyond ourselves when it comes to changing this country; our only responses cannot and should not be limited to complaining, bitching and putting up higher walls in order to stop crime.

After the amount of crap we’ve been through with apartheid, we’ve come out swinging and winning. These problems we’re having now are nothing compared with some other countries. Even New York and China are facing electricity shortages. We need to face a single fact that we as South Africans have to be responsible for ourselves and our communities.

If we’re all feeling like we’re in prison with the high walls and increased security and we haven’t done anything positive in terms of holding people accountable or trying to change the situation actively in our own communities, then we have put ourselves in prison. If we have a little more extra than most, then why don’t we try helping others? The world is facing a crisis with food shortages and some of the poorest are being hit, especially in South Africa.

Realistically, as at any other time in history, the power is in our hands. Start something; do something.

Muhammad Karim is a marketer and part-time blogger based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. He wrote this piece because he sees a tremendous number of viewpoints taking sides on the current state and future of South Africa. He wanted to add in a balanced perspective with an angle towards action