“…All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

Tell me what has become of my life
I have a wife and two children who love me
I am the victim of police brutality, now.
I'm tired of bein' the victim of hate
You're rapin' me of my pride
Oh for God's sake
I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy...
Set me free…” – Michael Jackson

Ola!!

Yeah I know, its been a while, but ey a neega needs a break from time to time, 4 years or so of writing emails almost every week I am at work, it can get difficult conjuring up material worth writing about. And the struggle continued this week till I stepped over to a colleagues desk and we started chatting about arb stuff and all and all.

We have hit a bit of a wobbly at work, government organizations my friends, definitely a no-go and I am learning the hard way!! The work and the vision of the organization is point tight, the working team, I don’t think I could find a better group of dedicated people, but take it a step higher in terms of the board and our shareholders, well my enthusiasm fades, by the bucket load…and then some…..zero confidence in their commitment, the forkers say BEE this BEE that, but that’s all it is political gaming, in the words of Michael Jackson….”all I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us!”

There is a bit of a somber feeling amongst most of us at the moment, plenty of factors leading to it but we wont get into it now, cos it might make me verrrrry angry! But anyway Campbell and I got to chatting and it was concluded that human beings are programmed (well the majority) not to ever be happy and content. And the most susceptible to this behaviour are the ambitious and driven type, the ones always looking for something better out there.

Think about it, Joe Bloggs, working in a decent company, earning a decent amount of tom, has a fly ride or 2, owns a fat pad, a wife maybe some kids, and is able to pay off all his debt as they become due. Has a job that has its moments of demand, but is generally not too demanding, he then hears that there is some crap happening at his job that may or may not affect him, but currently is not really affecting him. What happens? Joe goes into a tail spin, “Fork” what am I doing here? Why did I come here to begin with? What next, I don’t even have a plan for my future, this is where I thought it was at….and the whining goes on…..

My conclusion is we create our own unhappiness most of the time. Lets look at Joe’s life shall we, went to school and thought, fork this, I want something better from this life so lemme go get a degree, as if that wasn’t enough, lemme go and do an MBA too, schweet, done, what next, let me go get a fat paying job, that will help me sleep better at night on the one hand, and also afford me time to spend with my family…done deal, go home and there he lives in the flyest pad that he dreamt of as a little one, parked in the garage, is a car or 2 that he wanted back in the day, maybe he got tired of being the playboy and having to swat off all the fine honies that just wanted a bit of his time, so he got hitched to his varsity/high school/or post all that sweetheart and he always wanted a little boy and a girl and he has that. U’d think Joe would be happy…..Hell no.

Work…there has got to be something better out there, like working for myself or working a job outdoors or a job that gives me steady income, and I don’t have to do all that much blah blah, the house, I need something bigger…or something smaller, I don’t like the neighborhood, the garden is too small…too big…Family…what did I get my self into, all the women out there I decided to stick with this one…till death do us part, motherforker that’s a long time, all she does is just nag, look at her a few kg’s heavier, she’s just letting herself go…and the kids…eish all they do is cry all night, cant get a decent nights sleep, they are adorable during the day when we playing and all…their school fees, varsity fees, first car, puberty will I survive. Oh and look at this car, I am so tired of this beemer, all I want now is a Porsche, will I ever afford one, well not with this job, wife, kids…..

Extreme case yes, but think about it, most people that are ambitious or always striving to be a better person, those in my mind are the ones that tend to generally be full of complaints, perhaps unhappy is a bit of a harsh one, but them people is never satisfied, with their lot in life…cos there is always something better out there…in their minds eye!!

Bottom line strive to be a better you, but never lose focus of what this life is really about…and that is a topic in itself!! Keep on striving, for happiness u shall find thoust be it momentary at times.

Birthdays…
30th Isaac Moletsane’s 30th

Quote
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Much respect to u all and a great week to u all

L8r

Y

“…The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us. We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination….” Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – 10 May 1994

A re-addition to the list…Mandea…welcome back, but should you feel that this mail is cloggin up your mail box, please feel free (as I know u will) to request your removal from the list. Please note again that the website for comments is www.mondaymail.blogspot.com

Easter weekend fast approaching and for those of u who are sacrificing the odd slab of chocolate or the alcohol binge, well ur ‘pain’ is almost over. Gotta love it, 4 day week this week, and then another 4… I mean 3, maybe even 2 if u decide to take off Tuesday too (for those of us who live in South Africa) day week next week…its all good!!

Yip election time is upon us.

South Africa…10 years on, has it changed? Hell yeah, for better or for worse, well what do u think? 10 years on we have a government for the people by the people. 10 years on we have a government that promised much but delivered some. 10 years on we have a government that is plagued by flaws…but we have a government that has instituted a constitution that encourages freedom of speech and thus allows itself to be criticized in the public domain.

10 years on we have a country where 80% of the land is still held by the minority, we have a government that has promised to at least deliver 30% of the land to the people in 15 years, but in a decade has only managed to deliver 3%....this in my mind is an issue that could explode very soon. Unfortunately though, the blame cannot be rested solely on the shoulders of the government, because for any sale to be effected, one needs a willing buyer and a WILLING SELLER, and I am of the opinion that these 2 parties are failing to reach an amicable agreement (lets forget the fact that the seller may well have obtained this land using some underhanded tactics). Many landless people are of the opinion that the government isn’t doing enough to address the land issue.

Speaking of land…10 years on we have 1.5 mil housing units and closing in on 2mil housing subsidies being offered, a drop in the ocean perhaps, but a drop nonetheless!! It is estimated that a further 2.2 million houses need to be built, and this was echoed in the ANC’s 2004 manifesto, but they have wisened up and they didn’t state any figures that they would be held accountable for….should they fail…because u and I both know that if they succeed in attaining these numbers, very little would be said, but dare they fail….

Still on housing…10 years on and you can live where you choose…provided you can afford it ofcourse, the acre plots laden with swimming pools and tennis courts, once reserved for the chosen few, are now accessible to the chosen all. Bus seats, restrooms, cinemas, hotels restaurants that many dared not peer into, other than to ask for “the job” are now open to all and you can freely tell the owner what you think of their service without starting the sentence with eish sorry boss…People forced from the homes in district 6 in Cape Town, to settle in the Plein or Gugs or wherever else were given back the keys to their new homes. Even though some, very few of the previously discriminated few are returning to the sa-barbs (suburbs), this number is few due largely to the economic inequality the years prior to the recent 10 years but what I haven’t seen though is the influx of the haves into eKasi, I mean afterall land there is cheap, its not too far out from our place of work, and hey it’s good enough for people to live in isn’t it?

10 years on and we have a society where the opportunity exists for any- and everyone to make money, we have a society where you can buy a beautifully designed house but who can see it because your walls are higher than the house and on top of that we have electrified fences? You can buy a flash car, because you like the look of the machine and well cos you can, but hey you not the only one who has an eye on that car (forgetting the fact that you are the only one who is sweating blood to make the payments). Is the crime worse now than in the past? Well I aint no expert, but my view is that now, more people are speaking out, come, think about it, 1989, would Marinda Boysens be caught dead at a police station reporting domestic violence to Superintendent Koos Basson? Hmmm I think not, cos, that action in itself (colluding with the enemy, as the police were known to be in the past) would book you a spot 6 feet under. Has crime increased, I don’t know, but what has happened though, is that we are all becoming more aware of it because its happening right under our noses, and not just in the townships etc. so we cant switch off from it. Just some stats from the Medical Research Council in 2001, Blacks are 17 times more a victim of murders than blacks more whites killed themselves (676) than were murdered (465). In ’99 some stats released were that 364 murders per 100 000 would happen in Hilbrow compared to 16 in Parkview, 502 rapes per 100 000 inhabitants would happen in Gugulethu compared to 49 in Claremont.

In 1999 only 1 in every 4 police officers was literate, now you tell me how they are supposed to police the community effectively being so under equipped? And, to top it off its not just the ‘burbs they have to patrol, its eKasi too!! But the government is trying, hiring and training new cops, getting them new fancy cars, there are camera’s all over the show linked to armed response, there are the scorpions that sting any-and everyone they deem to be dirty, but for some reason politicians seem to be immune to the sting.

10 years on and gone is the death penalty and ‘true’ democracy reigns, so much so that even criminals have rights (sometimes it seems like they have more rights than the law abiding citizens), criminals can vote…hey wait, are u a criminal? How would you feel about walking free, like I did, after all it is my birthday…

10 years on and unemployment is sitting at something like 40%...unofficially speaking. Many are linking the inability of the current government to create jobs as a reason for the ‘high’ crime rate. But can u blame this government, sure they have embraced privatization of state-owned assets, sure they have instituted acts that prescribe a minimum wage that should be paid to employees(but this minimum wage is far from a back breaker, if u take a step back and look at what these labourers have to deal with), all this and more this government may have done in the hope of a better life for all, but what can u do if a man of 30 was unable to achieve a matric pass or a university degree, because well because he merely didn’t have the opportunity, and even if he did, the opportunity was of such a substandard nature, that he may as well not have bothered!? What the government inherited in 1994 was “ an economy in an advanced state of decline, 10 years my friends is far from long enough to rectify this. 1.5 million houses have been built, about 700 clinics have been built 9 million people have access to water a further 4 million have electricity…this wasn’t no magicians wand being waved, jobs were created, to build and lay down this infrastructure, fair enough these jobs aren’t all sustainable, but hey in my eye its better than a kick in the balls.

10 years on and we have Health Ministers in the news…more often than not, but not to show the world how beautiful they are, hell no, its just one controversial statement…action or inaction after the other. African potatoes, olive oil, lemons are suggested instead of AZT or whatever anti-retroviral being administered elsewhere. There are still many doctors leaving the shores to go abroad, because y? well the working conditions are horrendous not to mention the remuneration, but hey no one cares, Y? because we can just import some under-trained Cuban doctors, hey if the patient dies, he wont really care much! Although I think this may be the most disasterous ministry, I have to applaud them for the provision of free primary healthcare to children under the age of 7 and pregnant women (which began in 1996), the provision of vaccines against Hepatitis B and other child immunizations, legalizing abortion (which some people might disagree with, but I believe the parents to be have the right to choose!)

10 years on and the Rand is sitting at less than R6.50 to the dollar compared to R3,70 in 1995, prime interest rate is at 11.5%. 10 years on and inflation has moved from a double digit figure to around 4%, net open foreign currency position has moved from a $25 billion deficit to $4.7 billion surplus. GDP broke the R1 trillion mark compared to R482 billion 10 years ago. The tourism industry in SA has been one of SA’s most prosperous industries, and y not? Other than an odd hijacking or mugging or being murdered by prostitutes, this country is a pretty safe place.

10 years on and South African sports is (maybe was) a force to be reckoned with, and what a fairy tale return it was picture this 1995, South Africa’s democratically elected president steps onto the stage to open the finals of the sport seen by many as the sport of the old regime, and what is the man wearing? Nothing other than a rugby jersey with the captains number on the back, that gave me goose bumps and to complete the fairy tale, the Springboks won their very first World cup they played in. The emotions all over the country even though there was anger in my heart (my team lost), there was definitely a lump in my throat. Lets not talk about whats happened since though. Then a year later and Madiba magic strikes again, this time on the soccer field, lets forget the fact that they humiliated my Ghanaian brothers to get to the finals, but Niel Tovey and his men took their place at the top of Africa’s table, things have gone a bit pear shaped since. SA’s cricketers haven’t been as fortunate in terms of winning world cup trophies but for many a year they were up there with the best if they weren’t the best themselves, earning not only money (legally or from the devil), but the respect and the recognition of their peers. In between there have been a few Olympic golds, silvers and bronzes.

10 years on and we have the self proclaimed Dr Death walking free, we have the Mr Robert Mcbride, apartheid bomber, cruising the streets armed with the title police superintendent.

10 years on and we can boast the first African in space….10 years on and damn a man’s getting old….10 years on and I still say it’s a beautiful place this South Africa…in spite of itself.

Birthdays…

If its your birthday this week hope u have a happy birthday. I don’t seem to have anyone’s birthday listed this week.

Quotes
“Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.”
“We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.”
“We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.”
“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign.”
- Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech 10th May 1994

Much respect to the masses, happy and peaceful Easter and Pesach to you all.

Y