SA Rocks

I caught this link on Twitter just now, I think from GrantNash (of 5FM fame) and RiccWebb (of RiccWebb fame!). I don’t think the video is insulting. I think it’s absolutely hilarious in fact.

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Ed’s note: This post is a contribution from an overseas reader, Jeanine Wardman. Thank you for the intriguing view of South Africa that you present, Jeanine.

Oxford, England

April 2009

To President Zuma, and for my children

South Africa, I tell my children, dear Mr Zuma, is incurably complex and endlessly exciting, in one thrilling instant.

It is, I tell them often, a country in which the world comes together, quite literally – a kind of global microcosm or experiment, even; a place that persistently challenges, and that redefines notions of nationhood and politicises identity, perhaps like no other.

To those who call it home, it offers the opportunity to touch and be touched by lives vastly different to one’s own, every day anew. That, I tell them – its ravishing beauty and abundance of opportunity aside – is their most precious birthright.

My children know the country of their birth is in some ways the custodian of humanity’s greatest hopes and grandest dreams.

However, if there is one particular kind of agony I’d like to spare my offspring in the years following their coming of age, dear Mr Zuma, it is that of pondering their South Africanness – in the manner of the palpable torment contained in those immortal titles Cry The Beloved Country, Country of My Skull, My Traitor’s Heart and others. The source of agony has of course been eradicated, yes. And we have great South African freedom fighters such as yourself to praise and honour and forever thank for this. But will you concede, Mr Zuma, that South Africa is still lamented, still agonised over? At least by some, then? Many even.

Her political future is uncertain, her moral standing is tarnished, and her citizens are systematically traumatised by an all-consuming fear of violent, mindless crime. Perhaps even more despairingly, countless more are ravaged by squalor and hopelessness.

Yes, the country is in the throes, still, of redefining itself, of transition and transformation. Yes, decades of institutionalised discrimination can’t be without consequence. Yes, yes and another irrevocable, unconditional yes.

But where does all this rationalising, defeatism even, leave our children, Mr Zuma; or the Pakatis’ of Kayamandi; or the Reids’ of Constantia; or the Steenkamps’ of the Strand?

As a hopelessly patriotic South African, I cling fiercely to the hope that my children’s relationship with the place of their birth will, one day, be less fraught than mine; less ambivalent, or at least that their citizenship will be less confounding a label to bear.

I am telling my children that their soon-to-be president is a populist of Zulu ethnicity – a man of the people and of humble beginnings; an illustrious and brave liberation hero who sacrificed greatly for the very people he now serves, for the only country he’ll ever love.

And that you sing of machine guns and win hordes of their countrymen’s hearts and minds in so doing…

If only our country was less strange, Mr Zuma.

The media and other critics cast you as a man of dubious moral character and are doubtful history will have much to say to our children’s generation about your leadership and tenure, when the time comes. Others reserve judgment and reckon you to be a pragmatist, a realist even – approachable in a way your predecessor wasn’t – and that all is far from lost.

The polemicist Christopher Hitchens has made the considered observation that, to paraphrase, great leaders do not have to be above and beyond moral reproach in order to lead greatly or even teach lessons of vast moral magnitude, citing the example of Dr Martin Luther King, his problematic personal life, and his monumental role in the American civil rights movement.

What shall I say to my children of your intended legacy, Mr Zuma?

Will we, their guardians and those we entrust, make haste and effort and spare them the anguish, the exhaustion – of being from and of a place destined for greatness, but that forever fumbles in claiming such providence?

Will you, President Zuma, make this your gift to give?

Will their country meet our beautifully unburdened, always joyful children, when the time comes for them to be of age, as an eternal companion striding tall and gracefully alongside … ever-present, but never in need of carrying?

Will the beloved country ever not be cried over, Mr Zuma?

Yours faithfully,

Jeanine Wardman

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I think not. In fact I think the opposite. This is the beginning of uncertain and exciting times for South African politics.

Firstly, Zuma is probably not going to be in the presidents seat just yet which is a great thing. The party is sort of keeping its head and has said that it is not mature enough yet with Zuma at the helm to lead a country. This means that we’ll have an interim president.

The likely candidate for the interim president is the deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka according to the constitution of SA. However there are still a few options that need to be heard. We’ll know the outcome of this at noon today.

All things aside is this really such a bad thing? I don’t think so. It gives us time to breath, to come to terms with what is happening and gives the public time to grasp the politics that are taking place.

It would be slightly concerning if we were pushed in to an early election this year. That I do believe, but I don’t think that will happen. Firstly because the IEC is more than likely not prepared for that and secondly because I don’t foresee a hung parliament regarding the election of a temporary president.

On the back of all of this I am very surprised that the oppositions in SA have not come out more vocally regarding Mbeki’s resignation. Why is Zille so quiet? Where is De Lille and her aggressive politics and what of Holomisa? These people have all been relatively tame instead of the outspoken usual.

The last and most interesting thing that could come out of all of this is a break-away party that will form from Mbeki-ANC supporters. This could make for interesting times as an offshoot party has been in the offing for a while. Now however, there are open talks about the potential for another party to rival the ANC. In my opinion, this is a good thing and shows that our democracy works and is working hard to maintain its democratic outlook.

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki’s involvement would be the “kiss of death” to any attempts to form a strong alternative to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in the aftermath of his recall by his party.

Mbeki would also face condemnation by the international community for seeking to hold onto power should he form or lead such an initiative, an opposition leader warned.

Opposition political leaders and analysts said that while an alternative to the ANC would be good for democracy in the long run, it was unlikely that it could get off the ground before the next general election. – source

And:

THE most exciting unintended consequence of the train of events that led to the firing of President Thabo Mbeki by his beloved African National Congress is the possibility of a new opposition party springing up from within the ruling party.

Murmurings of such a party have been heard before.

But until a momentous event such as the sacking of Mbeki by the Jacob Zuma- led ANC leadership, such a possibility was remote indeed.

But now it is being openly talked about , with defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota and his deputy, Mluleki George, linked to such a move.

The emergence of a strong opposition party would be great news for South Africa.

After all, the abuses that Mbeki is allegedly being kicked out for are largely because the ANC acted with impunity on so many issues because its leaders knew the party was unlikely to lose an election. – source

From where I sit it is difficult to decide who is telling the truth. But guess what? This is politics. This is democracy and this is happening everywhere. Just yesterday the Israeli Prime Minister resigned due to charges of fraud and other criminal charges. Things like this happen. I am personally glad to see Mbeki go. I like to hear from a president on a regular basis. I don’t want a president who takes his resignation address to announce his CV to the nation and then bugger off.

I want a human being, I want a person who stands for me, for the people and not for a political party and conspiracy. I think that this moment in South Africa’s present history could be a defining moment in our future.

The one thing that stuck with me which emerged from Mbeki’s mouth was this:

“Gloom and despondancy have never defeated adversity”

– Mbeki

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I don’t often provide negative criticism on this blog. I leave it to the mass media, the negative blogs, and pessimistic social commentators. But I have been increasingly surprised that there has been no social commentary along the lines of the South African citizen in relation to the ANC and their approach to the Jacob Zuma trial and the arms deal being “investigated”.

Answer me this: Why is no one talking about the affects on South African citizens while the ANC is spending all of their time trying to keep a man from being tried by our democratic systems?

Time spent by the ANC on keeping Zuma away from a fair trial is time wasted by the ruling party on matters of governance.

The priorities seem to have gone awry in our leading/ruling party. The priority should be simple: Let Zuma find his own lawyers, let him run his own course, let him face the trial as an innocent man until proven guilty. This is a democracy and this is why we have a law system in place that is not ruled by the government.

Instead we have a ruling party that is being consumed by the trial of an individual who needs to face up to the accusations against him. What the ANC should be doing is dedicating their time to the citizens of this country, the people without running water, without basic human rights and the citizens of this country who need their attention the most. That person is not Jacob Zuma.

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Jon Hrusa / EPA / Corbis
Time, every year, tells us who is in it, on it and above it all in their Top 100 list. This year under the category of Leaders and Revolutionaries you will find South Africa’s very own Jacob Zuma featured.

The piece on Zuma is written by award-winning South African author Rian Malan.

Here’s a quote:

The controversies didn’t hurt Zuma, 66, an unabashed populist who revels in traditional African polygamy—he has several wives—and whose massive rallies feature the Zulu anthem Bring Me My Machine Gun. His pro-poor rhetoric resonates with many ordinary South Africans who have not benefited from Mbeki’s business-friendly policies. That explains how he easily trounced Mbeki in an internal vote last fall to become the ANC’s chairman, a victory that has put him on track to win South Africa’s presidency next year.

Other’s who’ve been featured include Dalai Lama, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and many more (100 of them!).

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Todays post is a guest post from Darren over at Out-Think Blog.

Just this week, JZ became president of the ANC, and not by a small margin either. And while some commentators [and bloggers] believe this has little relevance to us, I think in times to come we will look back and see the real importance of this change.

Leading up to it, this moment cast absolute fear into the hearts of many, with some people predicting great disaster, but thankfully so far so good [it seems the markets had already priced this in, with no marked effect on the JSE or on exchange rates, as some were predicting R20 to the British Pound].

It’s reminiscent of the 1994 miracle that occurred in this country. Yes, things could have been better, but they also could have been much worse. While its easy to fault the decisions of those in power at the time, I really have to ask myself whether I could have done any better given the circumstances. And besides, we can’t change history, only move forward. As my favourite book says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead…”

And as far as us wanting to be able to change the outcome of the vote, I think it was Jim Rohn who so brilliantly put it – “The sun rises in the East and set in the West. That’s just the way it is.” Mbeki is out, Zuma is in, that’s just the way it is.

There are questions about countries’ leaders everywhere [its actually inherent, isn’t it, that all leaders will be questioned and hated by somebody, since you can’t please all the people all the time]. Look at how many stories you hear about George Bush’s intellect, or Robert Mugabe’s morality. And the grass is always greener… [you know where].

Some people [some I know too] left this country ten to fifteen years ago to get away from the new government. Didn’t like the thought of what might happen. Moved to Zimbabwe. And now, again, the grass is greener somewhere else.

Well, I maintain that for our generation, our lives have been changed forever by this moment, in ways we do not yet understand, even if we think we do. But the sun still came up this morning. And it will still set tonight. And our lives will continue, shaping the only reality that we know.

And yes, I believe everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t like it at the time. What the reason for this is, it may take a long time for us to understand. But the bottom line is that those of us who remain here are here for a reason. And we have to believe that things will turn out right and that we have a part to play in it. The stage is set for some amazing young people to shine in SA, and they [we] will be presented opportunities not yet dreamed of. So if you have chosen to stay, I urge you to choose to believe too, because if you’re just going to be negative about this change [or indifferent for that matter], your actions may well be negative or indifferent too. But if they’re positive… that’s what will help shape and build our nation.

Choose to believe.

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There is a lot of hype at the moment about who is going to be running for president of SA and the ANC. I think that it is one of the most interesting debates and situations that we have seen in a long time here in SA.

I wont delay my question any longer:
Who would be your ideal presidential candidate?

There are talks of Cyril Ramaphosa, Tokyo Sexwale, Jacob Zuma, Trevor Manual and others. I think that there are some interesting candidates.

When it comes to the ANC many people face confusion with the relation between the ANC president and the country’s president. Let’s explain: The ANC president can be Mbeki again, for another term, but the country’s president can not be Mbeki. Zuma is running for ANC president too and so is Sexwale. Any of these candidates can become ANC president. The trick is that if Mbeki becomes ANC president then the ANC will put forward another candidate to run for president of the country. If Zuma or Sexwale become ANC president then they can run for president of the country themselves.

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