What future South Africa?

Submitted by Anton Kleinschmidt

The last thing that South Africa needs is timid submission to political correctness, because our politicians and bureaucrats are so consistently incorrect.

A critical review of current realities and future prospects would serve no purpose if I resorted to watching my every word. One or two of the opinions that I will express are a bit controversial, but this is deliberate because it is my considered view that there is no philosophical linkage between constructive criticism and racism. In a multiracial society, it is inevitable that we will see robust criticism across the racial divide.

Upon reviewing the current state of the nation and given the existing socio-economic-political situation, I am afraid that I tend towards a rather pessimistic view of the future. Unless there are some fundamental attitudinal changes by all role players, there is a risk that we will see:

An increasingly polarised society based on heightened racial divisions, and I am not just talking black/white. The causes will be widespread but will probably include wealth disparities, growing poverty, affirmative action and poor service delivery.

Increasing potential for tribal conflict driven by the ANC’s quest for absolute power and its hatred of political opposition.

A shrinking white community with an increasing number of young South Africans moving abroad and staying there.

An increasing loss of desperately needed skills as young professionals seek their fortunes in more stable societies.

Increasing political marginalisation of white and even coloured and Indian voters. This will eventually give rise to the same type of bitterness and strife experienced during the apartheid years.

An economy undermined by rampant consumerism driven by irresponsible credit granting and the creation of a permanent underclass of “prisoners of debt”.

Business leaders will be looking to maximise short-term results in the interests of their personal aggrandisement and wealth creation, rather than build for sustainable long-term performance.

Declining education standards on the back of ideological experimentation and an obsession with the number of pupils obtaining their matric.

A slow drift towards “Mugabe-ism” given the clear sympathy that his perverse brand of politics enjoys in certain parts of South African society.

Increasing levels of crime on the back of poor policing, growing poverty, uncontrolled urbanisation and large numbers of Aids orphans.

Poor immigration controls will result in South Africa becoming the preferred destination for Africa’s desperate masses and this will speed up the infrastructural decay at all levels of society.

In so far as it matters, our sporting prowess will continue to diminish in the face of political meddling. This will increase racial disharmony and reduce the likelihood of reconciliation.

Escalating political corruption of the kind associated with the arms deal. This will cause investors to give us a wide berth with devastating implications for foreign direct investment.

Declining standards of justice as politicians and bureaucrats seek to impose their will on the judiciary.

Declining medical standards as highly mobile medical professionals seek better career opportunities abroad in the face of bureaucratic ineptitude.

Rapidly deteriorating infrastructure that will never be rebuilt as all available funds are used to carry out patch-up repairs. Eskom is a good example.

A depreciating rand over the medium and long term as the government, big business and the financial sector fail to get to grips with the real issues causing the unit’s vulnerability.

Freedom of speech will be undermined by an ANC government’s inability to deal with criticism.

What can we do as individuals? We can assess where we stand in the context of the issues raised and then decide what we can do to reduce the rather dismal scenario sketched above.

How we deal with these critical issues is entirely up to the individual and depends largely on one’s analysis of the current situation. But one cannot simply ignore the problems and hope that someone else will deal with them on one’s behalf. To do so would be to abdicate one’s responsibility as a citizen and a voter.

It is important that every one of us makes an effort to keep informed and mitigate the negative issues threatening the future of South Africa.

An essential element of this is making sure that government leaders do the right thing for all South Africans, irrespective of race. Use your voice and make sure your reasonable opinions are heard because freedom of expression is your most valuable constitutional right.

Anton Kleinschmidt is a 60-year-old retired banker who takes a very active interest in the way in which our country is developing. He is very concerned that too little effort is being made to reconcile South Africans of all races and feels we need to move towards a mindset that sees all members of civil society reaching out to each other by understanding each other’s point of view