State of the Nation 2024
OSCAR VAN HEERDEN: There may have been potholes along the way, but South Africa has good people
My good friend, Marianne Thamm has been entertaining SA’s at the Baxter these last few weeks around the state of our nation. When asking why she decided to do this I guess it’s about the constant negativity and pessimism that prevail. And yet we have good stories to tell. We, the people. Our constitution and Bill of Rights that have demonstrated its resilience and fortitude these last thirty years.
The problématique is easy to discern and there’s plenty to go around.
- Crime
- State Capture
- Corruption more generally
- Triple challenges od poverty, inequality and unemployment, to mention but a few.
We are all in agreement on these, yes? And yes there are probably better places one could immigrate to but hey, this is our country and to many this is simply not an option nor a desire. With the economy biting at the moment and there’s talk of possible increases in taxes and god forbit also a wealth tax, we are constantly reminded that high net individuals are leaving the country in droves, which immediately solicit a “let them go” response from many SA’s. I think its rather unfortunate that some citizens remind the majority in the country that either things go our way or we out of here. If you don’t feel welcomes here or you think you can indeed get better for your buck elsewhere, by all means, no one is going to stop you.
Now, let’s look at our democracy over the last 30 years. We have a great,
- Constitution
- Bill of Rights
- Independent Media (Gupta leaks)
- Democratic Institutions (Casac)
Our constitution is our local product, in other words we did not import it from somewhere, its unique. Andre Odendaal in his book “Dear Comrade President” tells the story of how the then ANC President Oliver Tambo set up a constitutional committee in exile already in order to prepare for the eventual negotiations. In other words the blueprint was already laid by the time Roelf Meyer and others from the Nationalist Party came to the negotiations table. That was foresight on the part of the ANC. Similarly, it was ANC cadres that insisted that we must have a bill of rights. Because of our independent media and their investigative capacity and in no small measure being allowed by the state to write what they like, journalist exposed the Gupta leaks and the overall corruption associated with it. And finally, we have great institutions. Chapter 9 ones and others that protect our constitution but also our cumulative rights. These cannot be taken for granted.
I hear some of you saying what about corruption and this is a valid point but consider this, State Capture stole R57 billion (3.5 billion USD) and yet Markus Jooste stole R100 billion. Not to mention the numerous fines issued to private companies in the country who collude (which is also a form of corruption) by the competition commission.
Though there is maybe not orange overalls for the big fishes yet but billions have been recoup by the Asset Forfeiture Unit and numerous public servants have been arrested over the years.
Some good changes in our public servants are also underway with cadre deployment under the spotlight from all political parties. I guess the point some of us are trying to make, whether through theatre, literature or the arts is that it boils down to attitude and personality. Are you a glass half full kinda person or a glass half empty sort. We have traversed a remarkable journey thus far filled with potholes and plenty more, but we have also got amazing people. Active citizens. Together we can make SA a better country and we will.
I say again, we know what our problems are, and we talk about them openly and candidly. We do this so we may fond solutions and implement these. Can it only be done through the ANC, of course not. That’s the beauty of our democracy, you can vote for whomever. But the stats show us that more and more young people are disaffected and don’t come to the voting stations to cast their vote. This is a mistake, because so many people have struggled and died for this privilege and as such I would encourage you all to come out next year and effect positive change or uphold the political status quo.
We have good stories to tell as Marianne reminds us and hopefully come the quarter and semi finals of the Rugby world cup, we might just have another good one to tell future generations. Lets be positive and active citizens. As Mandela reminded us, the journey has only just begun there are plenty of hills still to climb.
This article originally appeared on News24 and is republished here with permission from the author.
Read the original article here.