Five years ago, we were jogging with the President but has he taken a stroll around the neighbourhood since? Has he really seen the actual State of the Nation? This is “from the desk of Good Things Guy”. A weekly bite-sized look – into the good and bad – of South Africa.
Johannesburg, South Africa (15 February 2023) – Five years ago today, Cyril Ramaphosa became South Africa’s 5th South African President since the 1994 elections.
It was a momentous time.
The country had collectively forced Zuma to step down. It took a lot of work. What started as a petition turned into marches around the country (remember those Zuma must go grannies?) and a wave of anger that couldn’t be calmed. The majority of South Africans were exhausted from all the allegations. From all the mismanagement. From all the non-leadership.
For nine years, we watched as dishonest and fraudulent actions (mostly in government) spread like a festering wound, causing so much devastation in its path.
Back handers. Money laundering. Bribes. Fraud. Corruption. Nkandla. That stupid fire pool. The Guptas. State Capture. Almost every single Parastatal being impacted. The Post Office. Our National Airline. The SABC. PRASA. Eskom. The list seems endless.
And then there was Bell Pottinger – a PR firm paid (a lot of money) to create a divide in South Africa with narratives like “white monopoly capital” and “land expropriation”. Good grief, the hurt they caused will live on for decades. And most won’t even understand why they feel a certain way about certain things… when it was all created by a group of people in a conference room and slowly seeded into newspapers, magazines, TV shows, social media and sometimes even through conversation at your local.
You wouldn’t even know where it came from. Or what was/is the truth? People just slowly started believing in a thought… that became an opinion… and then eventually a fact (even if the thought was fake news to begin with).
Evil personified.
And who were hurt the most by these actions?
The people.
Poverty just continued to rise. Crime, almost congruently, got worse and worse. House Break-Ins. Hijackings. Murders. Hate crimes. Gender-Based Violence. Police Brutality. Years later and our Minster of Police will openly tell you to “Shuddup” if you tell him how bad it is. Ask Ian Cameron. And then there’s everything else. The cost of living. Petrol Price. Groceries. The cost of those damn Woolies bags.
It’s all just a lot.
Well, the country was feeling good about the future five years ago today. Cyril was jogging on the promenade “with the people”. Hi-fiving South Africans as he passed them. He wooed us with his speeches (which eventually became family meetings). We believed in him. We had hope. We all thought that it would be different this time. That maybe, he would lead us into a better future. Together!
What was that thing we were all saying?
We were being led!
Or were we just being lied to again?
Like Kim Nicola Stephens wrote to Zuma in 2016, perhaps Cyril should take a little jog around his neighbourhood again to see the actual state of the nation.
Yes, SONA took place last week but I’m not sure the President is “in touch” with the people. I’m also not exactly sure what Cyril and his cabinet have done for South Africa in 5 years… except maybe implemented the most “State of Disasters” this country has ever seen. How many has it been now? How many is it right now? I’ve lost count. And, of course, more corruption (What’s In The Couch? should be a new game show), more backhanders, more fraud, and more non-leadership.
Our poverty is worse than ever. Over 90% of our population live below the dignity line. Most South Africans cannot afford food, let alone solar to keep the lights on (because our power is being turned off for up to 60 hours a week). WTF??? Our crime is absolutely out of control. For perspective, AKA was tragically murdered, along with 72 other South Africans that same day. That is our current murder rate. 73 people a day.
It’s a lot.
This entire government should hang their heads in shame.
But where am I going with this? I’m the Good Things Guy right, so why is this week’s “From the Desk of” so negative? Well, it’s real. And a conversation we need to be having.
After hearing about a crime on Grayston Drive where drivers, who were sitting in traffic due to loadshedding, were approached by robbers and forced to hand over their possessions car by car, I tweeted asking who we collectively vote for in 2024.
“South Africa, who the hell do we vote for in 2024? We cannot continue like this. Can we all agree to do something good for our country together? I have no clue who to give my vote to but know that we need to make a change (in the right direction) together.”
The answer was that we cannot agree. Not even in the slightest. Everyone had a different response and a different opinion. Some said that voting for “a certain party” was obvious. While others vehemently disagreed. It showed me that we need to speak about the 2024 elections openly and discuss our plan of action. If we can somehow agree on what to do in 2024, maybe things will change for the better.
Perhaps we can have another 1994 election moment. That year was historical because it ended Apartheid. It introduced new leadership with compassion, empathy and a plan to move South Africa forward.
Maybe 30 years later, we can create a historical moment again. Imagine in 2024 we can collectively say “no” and put an end to corruption and bad leadership.
Now that would be a good thing!!!!
That… and our Dear Mr President going for another “jog”.
by 