Towards a legacy befitting a post-world cup South Africa

One of my failings as an Optimist is that I have a disproportionate amount of faith in the goodness of people, particularly those who are entrusted to lead others. But having spent a little over three decades in this world, I realise that I am slowly losing my look-on-the-bright-side outlook as more and more I allow my perceptions to be tempered by the experiences I have been through. And of all the things I have seen, the conversations I have engaged in and relationships I have had, none has made me more despondent about what is seemingly the hopeless condition of man than the scourge of xenophobia in South Africa and the sorry state of Zimbabwe. More on the latter in another post.

In the case of the recent xenophobic attacks, it is chilling to note how increasingly insular some South Africans are becoming. Notwithstanding the reasons for the resurgent attacks, I can confidently say that even if all the foreign nationals are expelled from South Africa, the country will for a long time to come, still rank as one of the most unequal societies on the planet. It will still be plagued by crime, poor service delivery and all the other social injustices currently being suffered by the majority who live in townships and shacks. Until and when the Leaders choose to take an unwavering and principled stance to always act in the public interest, the very essence of democracy to which the country’s long term peace and prosperity are tied, remain under threat from the very people who fought for such noble aspirations.

Ironically, thus far it is the politicians who have benefited from the misdirected public ire against foreign nationals. Without discounting the perennial strikes and service delivery protests which flare up time and again, we are yet to witness a wholesale act of national civil disobedience as used to happen during the apartheid era – the Defiance Campaign of 1952 being an example of such. Safe to say, so far, the government of the day has been spared the concerted wrath of the disgruntled majority. No sooner than all foreigners are banished from the country will the populace realise that the true enemy was never the Mozambican or Somali immigrant but the government, which has failed to swiftly and decisively channel the fortunes of the country to uplift millions of the struggling poor.

After successfully project-managing the hosting of the World Cup, we can safely surmise that the government is not incapable of providing decent housing and creating much needed jobs first for it’s citizens with some to spare for other skilled workers from elsewhere. Hence, if capability is not the issue, we are drawn to the conclusion that the crux of the matter is a lack of a resolute focus to prioritise the pressing needs of the nation, over other more grandiose projects.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of those crying out for decent jobs and housing, this lack of prioritisation translates to inattention and worse, a failure to act on their needs. Worryingly, it appears that at some point in the course of this country’s history, someone must have promised the populace the earth. That someone committed a terrible error, because a few years down the line, the unfulfilled promises have spawned a culture of entitlement, crime and dependency on social grants. It is quite an unsavoury cocktail.

To avert the danger that lies ahead, the government must with immediate effect, embark on a programme to reorient the expectations of society whilst doing all it can to resolve the pressing problems of our time. People need to be made aware, that social grants without the backing of a healthy employment industry, are unsustainable. They need to know that foreign nationals also have rights that need to be respected. They must be told, unequivocally, that the current problems stem from many causes, two of which are corruption and what now in hindsight appears to have been government’s initial paralysis in tackling the numerous issues confronting a newly born, post-apartheid state.

Finally, the government must admit to the people that in the era before the World Cup, there was a mental block which led many to assume that the myriad problems were beyond it’s capacity to handle. If anything the government should now use the fresh sense of belief stemming from the successful hosting of the World Cup to assure the people, that it can deliver once and for all, the ultimate fruits of democracy – relative prosperity, peace and security for all. Project plans should be drawn up for each community. Immovable milestones should be agreed to. Stakeholder meetings between government and the people should be held in order to stimulate a new culture of mutual accountability and responsibility. South Africa can and must win the war on crime and poverty. In the aftermath of hosting a splendid soccer jamboree that made the world proud of Africa, not only is this a fitting legacy to pursue, it is the only one.