Hey sup man, so last week was a pretty eventful week for us here in SA. 20 years since the great man was released from incarceration. 7 more years and he would have been out for as long as he was in, hope he makes it yeah?! Then there was President JZ’s first state of the nation address.

Now I think about those 2 figures and however similar they may be, they are poles apart in terms of public character. But much has been said about the man called JZ, but as far as I am concerned not enough can be said about the one we call Tata Madiba.

20 years on and where is this country? Has South Africa become the country that he fought for and lost the better part of his life for? Was it worth him not knowing his grandchildren during their earlier years or straining his relationships with his children?

I am not him nor am I a member of his family, but as a ‘young’ South African, I think I have my thoughts on this. You guys might remember or have heard these words before: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination,I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony, and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to see realized. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

That’s a mark of a true hero. I watched the movie Invictus a few weeks ago and man that story made me proud to be a South African man, a few goose bumps here and there and just thinking back I thought if he came out an angry and bitter man, wanting to destroy all the beacons that represented the regime that took away almost 3 decades of his life, no one would hold it against him. But that wasn’t his plan he came out with a message of forgiveness, acceptance and unification. Takes a special kind I tell ya. If the movie is a true indication of the events that happened after his release, the amount of time and effort he put into making sure the country was behind the Boks was phenomenal and a master stroke. To those who don’t believe in God and his ways, this may seem a trivial example but it to me is a great indication of his work. We were poised on a knife edge, if you lived here during those times you would know, I lived in Cape Town at the time and so we weren’t as affected as those living in Jozi and Durbs. The Boks had been playing some disgusting rugby up until the point of the first game of the World cup, no one gave them even half a chance of winning against Oz, because they were the flavour of the month man. But they triumphed against all odds, won a game against The French which some argue to be questionable and then the final against the favourites the All Blacks. I don’t care what anyone says, but winning that tournament and the newly elected president coming out and wearing the no 6 Jersey of the captain of the game of the oppressor, did more to stabilize this country than a lot of us realize.

But I guess more is needed than winning a RWC, isn’t it? His release held high hopes for many. Most of whom I am sure are disillusioned at the moment. There are tons of positives to be noted and it would be amiss not to mention them. We have a financial services system that in my mind works, from reserve bank to micro lenders. Some might argue the ethics behind micro lending but unfortunately the fulfill a requirement that many banks refuse to fulfill, there is a demand, they provide the supply, at a cost, but everyone is happy in the end I guess. The economy is fairly robust. Many people who were once not in a posisiton to freely exercise their rights in terms of speech, movement, education, work etc. have that opportunity. There is a rather healthy black middle class that has developed and mock it all you want, that group is what is really fueling the economy at the moment, BMW’s, Porsches, Louis Vuitton bags, Gucci Sunglasses, Christian Louboutin shoes, Camps Bay Villas for weekends, no man the middle class is rolling hard, and so too the economy. 20 years on we have hosted the Rugby World Cups, the Cricket World Cup, ICC 20Twenty world cup, plenty conferences, Bill Clinton, Music concerts, u name it they been here. We are hosting the biggest sporting showpiece in a few months time.

People know who we are and for the right reasons. We are seen as one of the major economies on this continent. If Thabo can afford to and he wants to, he can live in Booysens, Lens, Sandhurst or Soweto, date Celeste, Kerishnee, Nicole or Nomsa, eat at Wadis or the Villamoura, send their child to St Andrews or Ngangalizwe high…

BUUUUUUTTTTT!!! Its not all smiles and happy places for most, not many, MOST!! 20 years on and still they are where they were 20 years ago. Education has gotten worse. I will categorically state that, not that I am a teacher or in the system. We were lucky in the Transkei cos we were exposed to some quality teaching and syllabus. These politicians are preaching dropping the syllabus, that my dear friends (picture it said in Mike Tysons voice) is ludicrous! What is needed is money in teaching to pay the teachers and train them, but that’s not enough…evaluate them too.

We have money but then we have with all due respect monKeys in some public offices, particularly those offices that are responsible for service delivery. The result being Vusi who lived in a shack in Gugs, after being promised a better life for all, now has not even an RDP house but at least an open latrine instead of the bushes. Running water, no its still coming.

We have an AIDS issue in this country which is ridiculously insane. People are falling like dominoes! It’s the real deal and getting worse by my reckoning, I think the media are just bored about reporting on it. But you know can you blame them when the once custodian of this AIDS crisis, now state president is setting a sterling example.

Then there is this huge bug bear, crime. Crime of need is one thing and as much as no crime should be condoned, it can be sort of understood. But crime here is a different animal. It is embalmed with entitlement and greed and ignited with hatred and violence. It’s a problem, one of the biggest facing this country.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, after taking into consideration the evidence presented. This here country has plenty going for it, and loads not going for it and in my mind a lot of it stems from the attitude of entitlement from many here. I have just had a conversation with a gentleman from Zim. I asked him whether he is enjoying his time in South Africa and he answers no. So I ask him what he used to do back home and he said he used to be an human rights practitioner, but here is a waiter at Doppio Zero in Rosebank. We, my bro Nana and I, looked at him and said that right there is the main difference with hime and a lot of the masses here, he realized that he has to make things happen and instead of bitching and moaning about it, he got on with it.

Yes, loads was promised and hopes were high, but not much has been achieved or delivered but there is still much to be done and many an opportunity out there if you are willing to take off your entitlement hat and get down and do the hard yards. One may have to revise their aspirations.

You know at the end of the day all we have to do is work together and make the circle beega…watch this link for a reminder about why we are such a special kind…http://www.timesurl.at/7a7f6c

Birthdays
14th Barbs
16th Jane and Luntu
17th Nadia
18th Lourie, Sarah Cronin
20th KJ

And that’s a wrap folks.

But before I go though, this Wednesday was what many Christians know as Ash Wednesday, you know the same song…instead of giving up something how about giving something to those less fortunate and also trying to be a better you for the next 40 or so days….think about it

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