The paradoxes of the Republic of South Africa
Dear South African friends,
Hope that some of you will help me to shed light on some of my observations about your country. Most of my observations are purely subjective and biased by my own values and cultural background.
I know only a little about the history of SA and the political system before and after the end of the apartheid. Therefore excuse me if my observations and questions are totally wrong.
Be aware that all of the following stories have been told to me mainly by local white people. A few have been confirmed by black or coloured people and some by native people immigrated (legal or illegal) from neighboring countries like Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
I don’t expect anybody of you to make comments on all of these claims or assertations. But if you can add something to one or two of them – please take your time to do so. The purpose for me is to be able to tell a story, not only about the golf in this great country, but also about the daily life and culture.
You can answer directly on the blog or send your answer by email to finn@garuda.dk.
Here are some of my stories/observations.
1. It seems to me that you have a democratic system with political parties and general elections of members to the parliament. But also, below the party system, a kind of tribe-system where tribe leaders – some of them unofficially called kings – are representing a power that kinds of over rules, or implicitly, dictate the national policy and as a consequence hereof the wealth of the nation as well as the distribution of wealth?
2. You have a rail road system connecting major parts of your country and cities but it doesn’t work. Apparently due to lack of resources and professional competences?
3. You have an electrical power system logistically reaching all private houses and public institutions in the country, but the power supply is regularly closed down for some hours within a day?
4. You have a road system connecting all parts of your country, but some roads are in a very bad condition, many with (what you call) big potholes. I have heard of cases where the residents have joined forces to establish a private fund to improve the roads to their homes?
5. I have heard a story of the government starting 16 years ago putting loads of money into developing and building new modern power plants, but so far no one of them have been finished and therefore not supplying any public or private sector with energy?
6. It seems that in some parts of the country the water supply system is temporarily out of function for some times. Often the locals that I have talked to are pointing to lack of resources and competences in maintenance?
7. In many places (along roads, in smaller towns, townships, cities and even on some golf courses) plastic and other garbage are just left behind. Asking questions about this issue, I also heard of individuals who privately are trying to organize voluntary pick it up activities, because the communities doesn’t have the money to do it and/or are hiring unemployed people to do the picking and sweeping up?
8. Some public statistics indicate that the unemployment rate is somewhere between 25 and 30%, but people tells me that unofficially it is closer to between 50 and 60%?
9. It is obvious that the distribution of wealth in SA is very unevenly distributed. The Gini coefficient, a measure of the degree of inequality in the distribution of income. Denmark is one of the lowest in the world (around 24%) and for SA it is one of the highest in the world (around 66%). Why is that so?
10. I have heard stories about farmland taking away from white owners and farmers and given for free to the black part of the population. With the consequences that the production and economy in these farms in few years have decreased to about nothing?
11. There is a high correlation between the Gini coefficient in a country and the general level of education. In Denmark there are still relatively more children from families with high incomes who get an higher education, than children from families with lower incomes. But the difference is definitely not very big. We think that the biggest factor for equal opportunities is free education independent of family income. And that (education) is a big factor for achieving a more even distribution of income. Sorry for this long introduction to my question: Why doesn’t this seems to work the same way in SA. Is it the difference in sub-culture, attitude, IQ, ethnicity or whatever?
12. We have been recommended – if not warned against booking flights with SA Airline, because the Airline in reality is bankrupt and doesn’t have the financial resources to do proper maintenance on their flights. Many of the people I have talked to also point to lack of competences among staff and top level management?
13. I have heard and read about the Affirmative Action act and the Black Economic Empowerment. After years of apartheid it is easy to see the background and intention, but now after 2 decades the methods seem to have some negative consequences.
In according to Wikipedia South African jurist Martin van Staden argues that the way affirmative action and transformation policies have been implemented in South Africa has eroded state institutions, grown corruption, and undermined the rule of law in the country.[40][41]. Do you have any opinions and/or examples?
14. In according to SA statistics the pass rate for higher education have increased during the past 2 decades, but in according to so-called public knowledges, only because the standard have been dropped, meaning that so that most if not all students can pass the exam. Is that a fact?
15. Some people tells me that the quality of the public health sectors service has declined over time due to a lack of resources as well as to shortage of well-educated and trained staff and due to mismanagement and thereby experts moving to other sectors and/or countries. Is that a fact or just the white man’s opinion?
16. A local told me a story about police efficiency. On a particular point or section of a fence around a farm there had been 13 illegal trespassing and thefts. In all instances the police have been called, but the police couldn’t do anything because their official vehicle is broken and there was no money to repair the vehicle and therefore police is not able to trace the burglars. Not true or?
Please feel free to raise your comments on the blog or should you prefer to stay anonymous and/or find it inconvenient writing directly on the blog you can send it to my email: finn@garuda.dk
Many thanks for your input
Hi Joe. Thanks’ for your response. I am collecting all answers and at the same time I am reading about the history before and after apartheid. My idea then is to try to compose my own overview as it is understood by me – a Dane and an outsider. I am trying to focus on facts well knowing that even facts will be read through biased classes. Anyway, I haven’t heard anyone (coloured or not), who have blamed the current situation on apartheid, but more on a failed transition to a democracy. And then, who is then to be blamed?
But – thinks about this: the picture as I see it is very complex – loads of facts, opinions and bundles of feeling are to be found and kept under the surface. It scares me a little. Sometimes I hope the Corona will soon be over so we can move to our next destination and I can forget my idea.
Hi Finn
To answer most of your questions one has to look at the whole of Africa. Unfortunately in SA everything that is not working or broken is blamed on Apartheid and all the issues that came from it.
In our African countries north of us that are in a far worse condition than South Africa they never had apartheid. They fell under colonial rule years back under various international countries. Since given their independence they slowly started falling into what SA is now experiencing and in most cases have gone into total disrepair. Apartheid cannot be blamed, so what do you blame? Take Zimbabwe under colonial rule it flourished and people from all over the world wanted to go and live there. Since it’s independence in 1979 it started falling apart. Today no one wants to live there. Not even it’s own people hence so many in South Africa.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the King and his Kingdom. The ruler or want to be ruler wants everything and once in power wants to stay there forever.
Unfortunately it is not a South African issue it is an African issue. I will give your more information on your email. Regards and enjoy what you still can of our beautiful country. Regards Joe.
Hi Joe. Thanks’ for your response. I am collecting all answers and at the same time I am reading about the history before and after apartheid. My idea then is to try to compose my own overview as it is understood by me – a Dane and an outsider. I am trying to focus on facts well knowing that even facts will be read through biased classes. Anyway, I haven’t heard anyone (coloured or not), who have blamed the current situation on apartheid, but more on a failed transition to a democracy. And then, who is then to be blamed?
But – thinks about this: the picture as I see it is very complex – loads of facts, opinions and bundles of feeling are to be found and kept under the surface. It scares me a little. Sometimes I hope the Corona will soon be over so we can move to our next destination and I can forget my idea.
Hej Lars. Sidste nyt herfra, er, at vi i morgen tidlig flyver fra Johannesburg til Georg, hvor vi blive hentet af Eza’s søster og kører til deres farm der er placeret et sted der hedder De Rust, sådan ca. i midten af det sydlige Sydafrika. Her må jeg så lære at få tiden til at gå uden at lave noget specifikt målrettet – og dog, har samlet svar på mine mange spm. om paradokser i SA. Dem vil jeg så publicere for et spørgmål ad gangen. Herudover kommer så evalueringen af vores oplevelse af Pretoria Country Club om et par dage. Derudover tænker jeg at sætte et net op der, lang ude på landet, og praktisere mit DJ golfsving. De Rust er et fantastisk smukt naturområde – helt uden turister der helst vil se vilde dyr. Hyg dig og tak for rådene. Som det er nu varer det nok mindst ét år før vi er tilbage i dk.
Response to question 2:
The railroad is not working due to :
1. lack of anticipation – product aging and maintenance (both trains and infrastructure).
2. Limited know how – poor or no succession planning
3. No transfer of skills of old generation to new.
4. No information sharing – people become selfish and don’t share information.
5. Mixing politics with business
Response to question 4:
Roads deteriorated due to:
1. Poor quality – road development process was never followed or applied properly. Process deviation.
2. Not using the appropriate skilled people. i.e. qualifies road engineers.
3. Chasing delivery than quality (quality vs quantity).
4. Business awarding process not robust enough to identify the correct and capable candidates for the scope awarded.
5 Profit driven than delivering good quality
My good man Jeremia. Thank you for your answers. My plan is to collect all answers I have received to each question and publish them one by one. Hopeit will give me and other followers – especially from out of South Africa – a better understanding of your country.
Jeg fornemmer, at du ikke kender situationens alvor og hvor lang tid det vil tage vore samfund at komme over denne coronavirus. FYI er Spanien no go – udgangsforbud, og til trods for dette stigende smittede/døde!
Se i Europa er regeringer bange for egentlige sammenbrud af sundhedssystemerne, så Syd Afrika vil måske have sværere ved at modstå truslen!
Jeg har kopieret fra appen “Rejseklar”:
Vi fraråder alle ikke-nødvendige rejser til hele verden, inkl. Sydafrika. Det gør vi, fordi mange lande i øjeblikket indfører omfattende tiltag med kort varsel, som kan have betydning for danske rejsende. Tiltagene kan omfatte indrejse- og udrejserestriktioner, karantæne samt begrænsninger i visumudstedelser for at forebygge smittespredning med coronavirus/COVID-19. De lokale myndigheders udrejserestriktioner kan besværliggøre hjemrejse, og flere fly- og transportforbindelser kan være indstillet eller aflyst.
Alle danskere, der i øjeblikket rejser i udlandet, og ønsker at komme hjem, opfordres til at gøre det nu. Denne opfordring gælder ikke, for danskere, der er fastboende i udlandet. Har man sin hverdag i udlandet er rådet, at holde sig orienteret i forhold til anbefalinger og henstillinger fra lokale myndigheder.
Du bør læse mere om lokale forhold hos den danske ambassade i Pretoria. Du bør altid holde dig opdateret om lokale restriktioner, og følge de lokale myndigheders anvisninger.
Kære Finn & Eza
Pas på jer selv👍
Mvh Lars 😊
Hallo Lars og tak for din respons og råd. Lige nu klapper vi hesten og ser tiden an. Har lovet Casper at de kan “låne” huset i Studstrup frem til sommeren 2021 – så de kan spare sammen til deres eget hus. Så Studstrup er ikke lige ledig. Torremirona er en mulighed, men efterretningerne fortæller at der nu kun er meget få ikke spanier tilbage på resortet og at banen er lukket for spil. Så det er vel heller ikke så attraktivt. Her i SA bor vi gratis og er tilbudt det i måneder fremover, vejret er fantastisk til golf og der er mange baner (ingen baner er pt. lukket for spil). Så lige nu vælger vi at blive her og se tiden an. Ideen om selv at blive smittet med den virus er ikke kommet til os – endnu. Som de siger i “An hitchikers guide to the calaxies; Don’t Panic”. Hyg Jer . . . . .
Hej Finn
Tak for mange sjove og tænksomme betragtninger om golf og interessante mennesker i møder på jeres vej!
Se verden ændrer sig markant i denne tid, hvilket betyder, at golf er ganske ubetydelig. Jeg håber virkelig, at du og Eza snarest vil finde et fly til Danmark førend det europæiske luftrum lukker helt til.
Er I tilmeldt “danskerlisten” på udenrigsministeriets hjemmeside og har i den app der hedder “rejseklar”.
Bedste hilsener fra et Danmark der er på vej tilsat lukke ned. Eksperterne forventer, at dette kan tage flere uger, ja måske måneder førend en slags normal vil indfinde sig – SÅ KOM HJEM,
Keep swinging
Lars