Does SA need a rich president? – Gayton McKenzie

2012-04-22 10:00

Gayton McKenzie

Besides the fact that it is probably next to impossible for someone who is dirt poor to suddenly get elected state president, this debate is more about whether the person will find that he or she actually needs the salary.

Sure, the salary is not bad, although even I have been paid more for doing far less in the private sector. And if in fact the president does need the salary, is this a good or bad thing?

Perhaps the idea is that a man with money will be less likely to be bribed once in office and perhaps be less eager to plunder public coffers. The problem, however, with this kind of thinking is that a rich man may already be owned by big business, and without the need for business to even have to make the effort to corrupt him. How are we to know?

There are endless examples in our history of rich men coming to power (rich men coming to power are in fact the norm) and then abusing that power to become even richer, and make their friends even richer.

In the USw America, for example, government decisions overwhelmingly favour big business and not everyday, average Americans.

Although Harvard-educated Barack Obama was not a poor man, half of his 2008 campaign contributions came from everyday, average and middle-class Americans who pledged small and big amounts to see him bring about change.

President Obama has been noticeably trying to make a difference to the lives of these people. He wasn’t born rich, wasn’t always rich, and without his salary, I doubt he would carry on doing the job.

And why should he?

Donald Trump has tried to run for US president from time to time. Despite his popularity, he always fails. He just doesn’t have the muscle born from years of political struggle.

Globally, heads of states are famously remunerated quite poorly. Tony Blair’s wife earned more than he did. She was a barrister; he was the prime minister.

He needed that money. He was a professional politician and had worked his way up the ranks. Getting the salary and the pension, albeit a humble one, was his reward for a lifetime of service to the state.

In 1997, India elected KR Narayanan, who came from India’s lowest caste, the Untouchables. This undid centuries of discrimination, but social change is still needed. South Africa is the same. Only a man who understands what poverty is is able to overcome the challenge it poses since he knows – intimately – his enemy.

Statistically, to stand a chance of being rich, you have to come from a rich family. Or you have to be an exceptional human being whose gift lies in making money. Being able to make money does not guarantee that you will be a good human being, and Ferial’s qualification that doing it for “the love” is no reassurance either.

A president who leads “out of love” may be very reluctant to step down, because he “loves” what he does too much. In any case, love is an irrational thing, and who wants someone irrational in charge?

The best presidents are often those who are reluctant to take the job because they know it’s one hell of a tough job, and it’s a largely thankless task. To be a crummy dictator – well, now, that’s easy. I would love to be a dictator. I would hate to be a long-suffering servant of the people.

And that is why a president should need the salary we pay him. He is a public servant.

He works for us. If he doesn’t do a good job, he might in any case go on a fat pension for the rest of his days, but if we so demand, we could impeach him.
A president who doesn’t need or care for the salary we pay him may just not need or care for us.

The bottom line is that a rich person could be as great or even a greater president than one from poor, humble stock. But to simply presuppose being rich as a matter of principle is something that smacks of class discrimination. And class discrimination leads to civil war.

» McKenzie is a millionaire businessman and former bank robber

Gayton McKenzie on The Best T In The City

Gayton McKenzie on The Best T In The City

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Gayton McKenzie is a South African motivational speaker and author. McKenzie has turned his back on crime after spending time in jail. After his release, he went on national campaign to combat ever-higher levels of crime in South Africa. McKenzie talks to school children, parents and business people. Thus far, he has reached millions of them and was voted the country’s top corporate speaker for the last three years.

Catch Gayton McKenzie on My Top 10

King of Bling ‘stands for the truth’

Carly Ritz

Kenny Kunene doesn’t apologise to anyone for his lifestyle. He has no regrets, except he never meant to disappoint his grandparents.

To the media and the public, Kenny Kunene is an Agner suit with Blue Label in hand – extravagant and over the top. But he was once just a boy who wanted to make his grandparents proud.

Raised by his mother and grandparents in Kutlwanong township after his parents divorced, businessman Kenny Kunene learned the value of hard work early. His grandmother was a midwife and his grandfather a retired teacher. To their grandson, they were heroes.

“In everything I have done in my life, I never meant to hurt them,” Kunene says, knowing his life is peppered with mistakes as much as it seasoned with success.

Kunene wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn’t mince his words. “I’m successful and I am entitled to celebrate.”

His anecdotes about his childhood tell the story of a boy with big dreams. His friends came from wealthy backgrounds and Kunene wanted in on the good life. He also wanted to wear the labels. But at home things were challenging. He grew up in a two-bedroom house with no electricity, no fridge or television. When it was hot, the fruit would be put in the coolest room in the house, on the floor, so that it wouldn’t spoil – a far cry from the man he is today with his fancy cars, expensive suits and bling accessories.

He ate pap and jam all the time. “Food is food”, his grandfather would say. He was a stern and logical man. “The reason we eat is so that we can have energy,” he would say. “You won’t be able to play if you have no energy and all the children will talk about you. When you go out after you have eaten pap and jam it would be as though you ate meat or chicken – no one will know, just don’t tell them.”

Kenny was a good student. The value of education was drummed into him early on and his peers came for help with homework. His teachers loved him and forgave him his sins when he stepped out of line.

His grandparents could not afford the fancy labels and told their grandson that if he wanted these things he would have to earn his own money. So that’s what he did.

His grandmother loaned him the start-up capital he needed for his small business – selling fruit at school during break. He would leave class five minutes before break to set up his stall. He made enough money to buy himself clothes and groceries for his grandparents. All they asked was that he repay the loan.

When his fruit business closed, he moved on to the taverns at weekends to clean up tables. He started DJing – music was always a passion – and running errands for illegal gold smugglers. They paid well.

Kunene followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and received a teaching qualification. But the money for his studies was not always available and he turned to petty crime. He would gun for the wallets of the “missus”, he explains. “There’s always money in the missus’ purse.” He was a hustler.

Kunene reflects on some of the lower moments in his life. “I stabbed a school teacher on a school trip,” he says. “I grew up fighting, so I carried a knife everywhere I went.” He should have been expelled, but his grandmother begged the school to keep him on. She bled for him, he says.

He reiterates that he never meant to hurt his grandparents – it’s the only tangible tinge of regret he shares. As she aged and became ill, his grandmother asked to see her grandson get married in her lifetime, so he dutifully married the woman who became pregnant with his first child.

The teacher, DJ and criminal put on a big white wedding for his grandmother and, two weeks later, she died. He is satisfied knowing he met her final request.

Family is key to Kunene and he will take on anyone who says otherwise. He talks about his time in prison from 1997 to 2003 openly, with the insight of a man who has had time to mull over it all. He has no regrets and is a better man for the experience, but his first comment about his time in prison is how difficult it was.

Kunene is a father of three, but cares for six children in total. His team of boys and a seven-year-old daughter live in his home in Welkom and he sees them regularly. He has a special relationship with his Grade 12 daughter, who lives with him in Sandton.

“I will not plan my kids’ lives, I can only guide them, but they know the rules,” Kunene says. “My daughter knows that if she falls pregnant, she must pack her things and the man must take care of her. Being a father of daughters is difficult.” It’s a hard line, but he only wants the best for his children.

“My daughter calls me Robert Mugabe,” he laughs. “She says there is no democracy in the house. If you saw the phone my daughter carried, you would not think she is Kenny’s daughter.” The world is not served to his children on a plate. He wants them to learn the lessons he did, to work for things they want in order to truly value what they have.

Kunene has always had a good rapport with youngsters and when he spent time in prison he was asked to offer counselling to the juvenile inmates.

“Prison is the house that made me,” he says. “I have no regrets for going to prison.”

Always the socialite, he threw parties in prison to boost the morale of the inmates.

The Bible presented itself to Kunene in prison. Now a born-again Christian and spiritual man, he is often hauled over the coals for his lavish lifestyle in the face of the poor. To the naysayers he responds thoughtfully: “The Bible says all of us are sinners and those who say they are not are making God a liar.” He doesn’t profess to be righteous and admits to mistakes. But where in the Bible does it say we must be poor, he asks. “I don’t make money to give it away. I make it to enjoy the finest things in life. I never had them, but always wanted them.”

He watched movies and wanted the lifestyle reflected on the screen. “The reason I am driving a Porsche is because of Scar Face,” Kunene says. “I watched it years back on VHS and this man, Al Pacino, who comes from Cuba, tells his friend I am not in America to wash dishes. He becomes a drug dealer. I don’t give a f@%^ what he becomes, but it’s his vision that I understand and I always said one day I would drive a Porsche – it was a dream.”

He hates being called a black diamond. “It’s an insult,” Kunene says. “The reason black people are called black diamonds when they make it in life is because Europeans always perceived us as slaves – destined to be poor – so the one who makes it must be rare, like a black diamond because they made it beyond expectation. You don’t hear about ­yellow diamonds or pink diamonds.”

Kunene has also been accused of degrading women – a statement at which he scoffs. “I am not degrading to women,” he says. “I love women. Show me that I am raping women or beating them up.”

There is one special lady in his life. But he won’t say who it is. “I don’t like going into very private things, but I will say every woman in my life is special to me.”

He doesn’t like talking about his philanthropic efforts either because that’s what everyone wants him to do – like he’s justifying his lifestyle – which he won’t, but, together with business partner Gayton Mackenzie, Kunene runs business mentorship programmes. He visits schools to talk about the dangers of crime and drugs. He shares his personal experience and story of upward mobility with the pupils who can relate to and are inspired by him.

Highly critical of local media, Kunene has had his fair share of bad press. Now he runs his own website, which he expects will rival newspapers. “Every journalist in this country will check my website for news because it will carry news that no one else will have – and about everyone.”

“Media in South Africa do not have balls. Some people are considered too powerful to write about. Media in this country is so biased. My website will have information about these people. News that will shock this country. I have given the team one mandate: to get the website up and running. I want to see a million views by the end of 2012.”

So who is Kenny Kunene in his words? “I’m a normal guy who stands for the truth. In everyone’s life there is something that can inspire you – we can learn so much from each other. Take what is good from each and every person that you meet – even if it is a hobo or a madman – there is something to learn from everyone and don’t judge.

The luxury cars and whisky existed before Kenny Kunene and will last long after he’s dead, he laughs.

Yes he’s a wealthy man with a dark past and penchant for pleasure, but he’s also just a dad worried about his daughter falling pregnant and a grandson who never meant to disappoint.

carlyr@thenewage.co.za

Same old 'So What' mumbo

Same old 'So What' mumbo
ANDILE NDLOVU |


With the second season of Kenny Kunene's reality TV show So What, premiering tonight, nothing about the first episode suggests that the second season will be better than the first.

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The high life is still on show - drinking expensive champagne straight from the bottle, being driven around in the best cars and flying around in private jets - but is far from being original.

The opening sequence shows unfavourable TV headlines and newspaper clippings screaming: "Has Kenny's cash run out?", "Kenny's last sushi dinner" and "Zar to shut down".

He then spends the next few minutes fretting about an accident on the road to Lanseria Airport, where he has to catch his private jet to Durban to give a talk as part of a mentorship programme he runs with business partner and friend Gayton McKenzie.

Even though he loses his temper because he is late for the talk, he still has the time to turn down the first helicopter they find to take them to the airport because it's not big enough.

"For us, it's a normal arrangement. It's the same as a guy being left by his bus and then takes his car," Kunene says.

Once in the more spacious chopper, Kunene and hip-hop artist Hydro (signed to Kunene's record label, Nu Money) indulge in tripe, sheep's head and dumplings while McKenzie and his daughter Moloko have a vegetarian meal.

"Some will say I don't have class. What is class? If your class is defined by food, then you have a problem," Kunene explains.

He adds that when black people move to the suburbs they "start insulting our food".

From then on in, the episode is McKenzie and Kunene giving a bunch of teenagers gathered at the Bellagio Hotel in Durban a talk on "making it" in life.

Channel spokesman Matlapulana Ragoasha said this season would see Kunene undertaking more international business trips.

So What, whose first season was, according to the SA Advertising Research Foundation, watched by 1.4million viewers on average, moves to e.tv's 8.30pm slot on Mondays, which used to belong to Hlelo and Ntando Masina's reality TV show, Blame It On Fame.

A happy and extravagant New Year

UK singer Cheryl Cole caused a buzz at tycoon Preston Haskell's New Year bash in Cape Town last year when she was spotted in public for the first time with squeeze Derek Hough
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SPLURGING millions on his New Year's Eve bash is nothing new for US billionaire Preston Haskell, who will again host the most exclusive party to ring in 2012 at his Fresnaye mansion in Cape Town.

Haskell has in the past hosted royals and A-list celebrities such as Princess Caroline of Monaco and her brother, Prince Albert, and Madonna and Elton John were also rumoured to have flown in to attend.

Last year his party made world headlines - it was the first time UK popstar Cheryl Cole was spotted in public with her then-boyfriend, Derek Hough.

So how will he top it this time round? Rumours have it that the property and mining magnate will fork out R12-million for a 1920s-style "Casino Haskell" theme.

Those lucky enough to get invited to the party - so sought after that organiser Sarah Cort is often offered thousands of rands for a ticket - have been promised an entertainment extravaganza with DJs from St Tropez and Greece.

Cape Town will also host the New Year's Eve Music Festival rave at the Cape Town International Convention Centre as well as a bash at the city's newest club, Bungalow . It opened last week and is owned by Chris Coutroulis, the owner of Sandton nightclub Taboo and husband of former Miss South Africa Vanessa Carreira.

Johannesburg nightclub owner Kenny Kunene has promised "fireworks" at his club, ZAR.

Kunene said he would have a display of "never-seen-before fireworks", whereas nearby Taboo will host its annual snow party.

East of Johannesburg, DJs Fresh and Euphonik will be at Nicci Beach at Wild Waters in Boksburg, where they will be joined by 25 other DJs on five dance floors.

In KwaZulu-Natal, a flood of international tourists and local holidaymakers booked suites, villas and grand ballrooms at some of Durban's five-star hotels and resorts.

Wayne Coetzee, general manager of the Oyster Box Hotel, said all three ballrooms - the Grillroom, Ocean Terrace and Pearl Room - were fully booked. Guests will fork out R1200 to eat fine food and have a good party.

Guests attending the New Year's Eve party at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, have splashed out R1100 each for a feast of seafood and live entertainment at the "Miami White" party. - Additional reporting by Sunday Times reporters

'I do' Zizi and Zama tie the Kodwa knot in style

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PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma's communications adviser Zizi Kodwa's nuptials had all the trappings of a fairy tale wedding: celebrities, powerful politicians and a giant white marquee set up in Durban's picturesque Botanical Gardens.

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Ex-youth league money man seals it with a kiss
Zizi Kodwa to tie the knot in sumptuous style

A carpet of peach and cream rose petals created an aisle to a gazebo on the banks of the lake where Kodwa, 42, and Zama Ngubane, 26, exchanged vows in front of more than 500 guests.

They included President Jacob Zuma, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, Eastern Cape Social Development MEC Pemmy Majodina and ANC funder Roy Moodley.

There were interested glances when suspended national police commissioner Bheki Cele and his wife, Thembeka, arrived.

There was an army of police officers, and the presidential protection unit carried out security checks throughout the morning.

The media, seated in designated areas, were given just 10 minutes to take pictures of the couple and decor.

Other VIP guests included Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, former speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete, suspended ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, and a host of cabinet ministers, including Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale. Socialites Kenny Kunene and Khanyi Mbau were also on the list.

Kodwa arrived in a white Porsche Panamera shortly after Zuma's black chauffeur-driven 7-series BMW, which was accompanied by armed members of the presidential protection unit.

Ngubane arrived in a white Rolls-Royce Phantom.

The former model wore a white and silver gown by award-winning designer Ephraim Molingoana.

Her six bridesmaids wore pink cocktail dresses.

The groom's entourage and best man wore grey suits with pink pocket handkerchiefs. All the outfits were designed by Molingoana.

The service was conducted by ANC chaplain the Rev Vukile Mahana and guests were entertained with traditional Xhosa songs.

When the couple exchanged wedding bands, Kodwa gave his bride a tanzanite and platinum ring.

In the marquee, the tables were covered with peach rose petals and sported centrepieces that included miniature crystal chandeliers.

Siyanda Mwandla, one of the wedding coordinators, described the ceremony as "simple yet elegant".

The menu featured a variety of traditional dishes. Caterer Gary Clayton said Kodwa had wanted a simple but "scrumptious" menu.

"The menu included a lot of Zizi's favourite dishes ... including roast beef served with gravy, samp and beans with tripe, and traditional Durban mutton curry," he said.

The menu also featured lasagne, roast chicken served with paprika, potato salad, Mediterranean vegetables, and a simple Greek salad.

The dessert included a variety of fruit salad dishes.

Kodwa and Ngubane had kept details of their wedding secret beforehand as, they said, it was a private affair.

Central Rand Gold reprieve rockets share price

DMR says no formal settlement yet.

JOHANNESBURG - Much beleaguered and controversial miner, Central Rand Gold (CRG) (JSE:CRD), said it had come to an agreement with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to set aside its decision to cancel the company’s mining right.

The company’s share price rocketed upwards of 200% during the day on the news.

DMR spokesperson, Zingaphi Jakuja, said that there was “no formal settlement” and that “DMR lawyers and CRG lawyers are speaking and we cannot at this stage reveal further details.”

The final decision ratifying the agreement reached between the DMR and CRG is to be made on December 22 in the High Court by way of an unopposed consent order CRG said.

CRG said it will continue to discuss its social and labour development plans with the DMR in order to agree a plan that is more appropriate for CRG's revised mining plans.

Patrick Malaza, CFO of CRG, said its revised mine plan makes provision for a much smaller scale mine and expects production to increase from 1 500oz per month to approximately 6 to 7 000oz per month by 2013. The operations are currently producing around 1 000oz per month Malaza said.

The original mining right application assumed more than 50 000oz per month.

The DMR cancelled CRG’s mining right in September citing non-compliance to its social and labour plan, mining work programme and environmental management programme. This was subsequently suspended in October pending the finalisation of review proceedings allowing it to resume mining operations.

CRG committed to expenditure of R32.9m in the first two years of its social and labour plan (SLP) but only spent R18.8m citing lower staff numbers and unavailability of suitable land. The reduction it said was due to a change in mining plan concomitant with acid mine drainage issues.

Malaza said “Our reason for not fully complying with our SLP programme was because we were forced into a corner due to unrealised mine production. Our original plan foresaw production of 4.2moz over five to six years but this has not been the case as most of our resources are under water.”

Malaza said “the water was always there but we thought that a solution could be found”.

The situation worsened substantially in November 2008 when there was a fatality at another miner’s pump station and it was shut down. The effect has been that water levels have increased from 1 000m to 500m below surface Malaza said.

Malaza said a solution is expected by August next year as the pumps purchased to remove the water would take six to seven months to install. Malaza confirmed it has taken delivery of the pumps and is busy with a tender process to appoint someone by January or February to proceed with installation.

Godfrey Makunene, a director for the Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE), said that the potential setting aside of the cancellation of Central Rand Gold’s (CRG) mining right is not welcomed and would be a bad decision.

Makunene said “the interest of management is to misuse investors’ money for their own benefit” and “people have lost confidence from a community point of view.”

“The company has failed to honour their commitments and they come up with all sorts of plans that are unproductive” Makunene said.

CRG’s dotted history includes reports of excessive expenditure, bearish production forecasts, and associations with renowned sushi king Kenny Kunene and Gayton McKenzie. An ongoing dispute with its BEE shareholder (Puno Gold Investments (Pty) Ltd) and local community dissent are also part of the controversy surrounding the company.

The miner said last month that there was still no resolution to its dispute with Puno Gold and it had filed court papers. The dispute relates to funding provisions in terms of a shareholder agreement.

The filing seeks to discharge an interdict that prohibits CRG from calling on an option to acquire Puno's entire shareholding. Alternatively, CRG requested permission to proceed with arbitration.

If the application is unopposed, the hearing is expected to commence tomorrow.

Malaza said “We are waiting for confirmation but think they [Puno] have responded, in which case it won’t take place now but only in January or February next year.”

A vision betrayed

When Pixley ka Isaka Seme placed advertisements in African newspapers such as Tsala ea Becoana in late 1911, urging all “sections of our native people ... to send able representatives to that conference of the races” scheduled for January 8 1912 in Bloemfontein, he proposed the agenda for the gathering. It included the following:

Setting up the SA Native Congress ; writing a constitution for the new organisation; electing office bearers; installing elected officials to their positions; and taking a vote of confidence in Louis Botha, the prime minister of the Union of South Africa, and Henry Burton, the minister of native affairs. Part of the meeting was to be devoted to a general discussion. This would be followed by a concert and a farewell reception.

The topics for the general discussion were: “Native customs and usages , native marriages and divorce, native beer — is it a national beverage?, native schools and churches, the black and white peril, native lands and reserves, native courts civil and criminal, and native labour.”

It is not known how faithfully the 60- odd delegates who gathered in Bloemfontein that January to found an organisation we today know as the African National Congress (ANC) adhered to Seme’s proposed agenda. We do know, however, thanks to historian Andre Odendaal, that there was spirited debate among the delegates over the organisation’s original chosen name: South African Native National Congress (SANNC).

Sol Plaatje, editor of Tsala ea Becoana and one of four newspaper editors present at the conference, wanted a more African-sounding name, something that would have meaning in both the Nguni and Sotho language groups. Plaatje’s motion failed; the delegates voted to stick with the SANNC. The name was changed in 1925 to the ANC.

But expect more than the agenda to be different when the ANC celebrates its centenary in January as the oldest liberation movement in Africa, and then holds its 53rd annual conference in Bloemfontein, called Mangaung in Sotho, in December next year. For one, the ANC will meet in Mangaung as a ruling party, one that will have been in power for 18 years by then. Two, expect the profile of the organisation’s leadership and membership to be both different and much bigger: whereas the ANC had about 60 delegates (all African) at its founding, the Mangaung conference is likely to have more than 2000 delegates, a (very) small number of them white, Indian and coloured and many of them women.

More importantly, whereas the men who founded the ANC were colonial subjects and part of SA’s tiny but modern African elite, the men and women who will gather in Mangaung next year will all be modern citizens, bearers of rights that only a few of the ANC’s original founders enjoyed.

For example, one reason there were so few delegates at the ANC’s founding conference is that colonial officials made it difficult for Africans to travel. Speaking at a meeting with JW Sauer, the railways minister, shortly after the ANC’s establishment, Sefako Makgatho, the ANC’s first vice-president, complained about delegates who had been hurled off the train in Brandfort, in the Orange Free State, while en route to the Bloemfontein conference.

People like Makgatho, Seme and Plaatje were called in the official parlance of colonial SA “exempted natives” — meaning they did not have to live under such restrictions as, among others, the pass laws. As a (largely self)-educated and property-owning resident of Kimberley and citizen of the Cape Colony, Plaatje was among the few Africans who actually could vote in colonial SA .

So, Mangaung 2012 will mark a significant advance on Bloemfontein 1912. The conference next year will be testament to the ANC’s success as a political organisation.

That, however, is the positive side.

There is a negative side to Mangaung 2012.

When Seme called for the establishment of a national political organisation for Africans, he wanted Africans to slay the “demon of tribalism”. Seme said “the aberration of the Xhosa-Fingo feud, the animosity that exists between the Zulus and [the] Tonga, the Basothos and every other native must be buried and forgotten, it has shed among us sufficient blood. We are one people!”

Seme believed that lack of unity among Africans was making it impossible for them to speak with one voice when confronted with the depredations of the colonial state.

The ANC was not the first organisation founded by Africans in colonial SA to fight for their political rights. The Transvaal Native Congress and the Cape Native Congress, to give just two examples, were much older. But the ANC was the first national organisation to bring together Africans from around the country. It was the first organisation to try to speak with one voice about the concerns of Africans. If its early success is to be measured by whether it succeeded in slaying the demon of tribalism and forging African unity, the answer must be a guarded yes. The ANC survived years of colonial disdain and apartheid repression by speaking for Africans in particular and for freedom- loving South Africans in general. It was able to win power in 1994 as a truly national organisation — despite its general lack of support among white South Africans of all classes and, to some extent, working-class Indians and coloureds.

It could be argued, however, that, contrary to slaying the demon of tribalism, the ANC merely tamed it. One only has to listen to stories about tribal cliques in exile to know that the demon never really went away. There is certainly no doubt that since the beginning of President Jacob Zuma’s troubles with the law and with his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, it has made a forceful comeback inside the ANC. We saw it in Zuma’s “100% Zuluboy” campaign, where Zuma sought to portray his aborted and failed prosecution for corruption and rape as tribalist persecution, part of a conspiracy driven by dark forces to prevent a Zulu from becoming ANC and SA president.

The return of the demon was definitely confirmed in 2009 when, in Zuma’s first election campaign as ANC president, the party lost votes in every province except KwaZulu Natal. The 100% Zuluboy slogan scooped up the Zulu vote in his home province, largely at the expense of the hapless Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), previously the cultural and political home of conservative Zulu nationalism. The ANC’s decimation of the IFP helped the ruling party hide the fact that only a substantial Zulu vote had allowed it to keep up its national share of the vote. The ANC under Zuma has in fact become a more Zulu party, if by that we understand nothing more and nothing less than that Zuma’s ANC has increased its share of the vote of people who identify themselves as Zulu while dropping support from those who do not .

What happens, then, when the ANC elects a non-Zulu as its next president? What is going to happen to the Zulu vote that flocked to the ANC in 2009 for no good reason except that Zuma was 100% Zulu and a homeboy? Where are those votes going to go? Will they go back to the IFP or, worse, will they find an outlet in KwaZulu Natal’s secessionist streams, which have always been stronger than those in other parts of the country?

This, in short, is the challenge that confronts the ANC. But it is by no means the only one. Led by a president with no obvious interest in ideas or their power (despite his years in the leadership of the SA Communist Party — the supposed party of ideas) the ANC is today an organisation bereft of them. It is a party without collective imagination. How different that is to the ANC in its early years.

The men who founded the ANC were not angels. Neither were they democrats in the full sense in which we would understand and use the term today. They were colonial elites who believed in a qualified franchise. They took for granted the imperial claim that Africa was a land of darkness and that Africans were at least 2000 years below Europeans on the ladder of civilisation. They adhered fervently to the so-called civilising mission of the imperial and colonial enterprise. Above all, they were loyal subjects of the British Crown.

But they were men of ideas. They respected knowledge and fought for the education of Africans. Through their campaigns for the extension of the qualified franchise, the education of Africans and against segregation, they were able to shame the imperial government and the colonial state.

This does not mean they succeeded in their campaigns. Despite sending numerous deputations to London, for example, to plead with the imperial government on behalf of Africans, they did not succeed. But they were able to hold the British up to their much-vaunted belief in fairness. They were able to show up the hypocrisy of the colonial enterprise. They did this by presenting their own ideas, by asking why it was, for example, that the British were failing to live up to the claims of the civilising mission, which had promised acceptance into the colonial political order of any African who could show, by means of education and industry, improvement and civilisation.

These men were the forefathers of the ANC activists who proclaimed in 1955 that SA belonged to all who lived in it, black and white, and that no government could claim legitimacy unless it was founded on the will of the people.

It is easy to forget, 17 years since SA became a democracy, just what a radical claim that was at the time. It was radical precisely because it offered a vision of the future vastly different from that offered by successive apartheid governments and the colonial state before them. That inclusive vision of the future sustained the anti-apartheid movement and helped give the ANC and the freedom movement in general the moral victory it scored so decisively . Remember that a moral victory against apartheid was the only victory available to the ANC and its allies, none of which had the military means to take on the SA Defence Force.

The moral capital that accrued from the ANC’s righteous fight has been frittered away in corruption scandal after corruption scandal, and in a bitter, low- intensity civil war in the ANC .

The ANC may argue that, far from being without ideas, it has produced a slew of them: RDP (the reconstruction and development programme), Gear (growth, employment and redistribution), Asgisa (the accelerated and shared growth initiative for SA), cadre deployment, transformation, the national development plan, the new growth plan, and so forth. The only trouble with these plans is that they have what in township Zulu we might call a bamba-yeka — clutching-at-straws — quality about them. Compressed into an alphabet soup, these ideas read more like recipes that are constantly being changed, all because the kitchen staff does not know if it is coming or going (the chef, Zuma, is Awol). SA deserves better than this.

Come January, there will be birthday parties galore all right — many involving the corrupt use of public funds. Some of these celebrations will be tacky affairs organised no doubt by the likes of sushi king Kenny Kunene, a convicted and celebrated criminal (at least within certain circles) who helped organise the wedding of one of Zuma’s daughters not so long ago. Kunene’s qualification for the job ? None other than that he can do tacky like no one else among the class of tenderpreneurs whose ostentatious display of easy wealth and conspicuous consumption have come to stand, sadly, for black success in Zumaland.

Will next year’s celebrations of the ANC’s centenary be the beginning of the end of the ANC? Seme and his colleagues founded the ANC because they could imagine a better world, albeit one in which there was justice for all with certain qualifications. This vision was enriched and broadened from the 1940s onwards. It would be too easy to resort to cliché at this point and claim that Seme and Plaatje must be turning in their graves. Easier still is to point out that Zuma is presiding over an ANC with neither imagination nor ability to think of a better world. That is the greatest betrayal of them all.

Jacob Dlamini

A box of treats

December 15 2011 at 09:39am
By Debashine Thangevelo and Munyaradzi Vomo
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DRAMA

It’s so hard to say goodbye… to the Walker family, but we did. After five fantastic seasons of Brothers and Sisters, we couldn’t help but be completely immersed in the family and relationship woes of the tight- knit family from Pasadena, with Nora (Sally Field) being the glue as the meddlesome, albeit endear-ingly so, mother. With a stellar cast of Rachel Griffiths, Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe and Patricia Wettig, among others, delivering such sterling performances in what was arguably one of the most engagingly pertinent family dramas of our time, it was difficult for fans to let go.

This show should have come with a defibrillator… as the intense plots of Grey’s Anatomy certainly left aficionados strug-gling to breathe. One of the most-talked about episodes was centred on a heavily pregnant Callie after her car accident. The Glee-twist struck a chord with viewers. Although the drama, at times, bore the stamp of a soap, it was a captivating seventh season. By the way, season eight airs on M-Net on January 16. And, just so you know, Patrick Dempsey isn’t leaving the show – he was apparently misquoted.

Fighting the good fight… is veteran actress Kathy Bates as criminal defence lawyer Harriet “Harry” Korn in Harry’s Law. After being fired from her top-level post, Harry, operating from a rundown shoe store, offers legal help to a needy community in Cincinnati. Bates’ trademark chutzpah bolsters the appeal of this show. The script is razor-sharp, with character quirks thrown in for good measure.

While on the subject, the fourth instalment of Damages, with Glenn Close as Patty Hewes, was lapped up by TV buffs because of the underlying elements of danger and deception, combined with the high-stakes as Patty goes all out to take down some of the most influential figures in the US.

Making history… were The Borgias and Game of Thrones. The former, spearheaded by Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander V1, was lapped up by viewers. The story documents his rise to power, with the help of his family, and is imbued with sex, bribery, backstabbing and an ambition that borders on destructive.


Meanwhile, the first season of Game of Thrones boosted audience ratings. This medieval fantasy drama was addictive. Featuring a captivating cast, the story, set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, follows the power struggle for the throne. The pervading debauchery intertwined with incestuous affairs and homosexuality proved too titillating to miss. Now we anxiously await the follow-up series.

Down and out… and utterly Shameless about it! That’s William H Macy in his new role as Frank Gallagher, who is in a constant drunken stupor and leaves his six children to care for themselves… and him.

While this show debuts on the small screen on Tuesday, it has already received rave reviews. A dramedy that is most intoxicating.

ACTION/SCI-FI

To serve and protect… that’s the foundation of the Reagan family of police officers in Blue Bloods (pictured). While crime dramas abound, this show ingratiated itself with viewers by merging the perso-nal and professional worlds of one family.

There is no denying that Tom Selleck was a big drawcard, but that isn’t discounting the nimbly written script and the sterling efforts of the supporting cast.


The mystery deepens… in the Canadian TV series, Haven. Loosely based on Stephen King’s book The Colorado King, this story looks at the strange supernatural events that transpire in Haven.

The investigation is lead by Nathan, the new chief of police, and Audrey, a former FBI agent. Simply put, Haven is as captivating and hair-raising as Supernatural and Fringe.

Corruption runs supreme… in Boardwalk Empire. Quality programming abounds in this series (with Steve Buscemi cast as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, the crooked treasurer of Atlantic County), which is co-executive produced by Martin Scorsese. It is a stylish saga that explores the fraudulent underbelly of the city during the Prohibition era. This critically acclaimed series has been renewed for a third season.

Remakes are on the rise… and sure-fire hits. The two that come to mind are: Hawaii Five-O and Nikita. In the former show, with Alex O’Loughlin cast in the lead role as Steve McGarrett, a former Navy Seal and the Lieutenant Commander of the Five-O task force, he left viewers weak-kneed. And he is a damn brilliant actor too. As for Maggie Q, our renegade agent in Nikita, she is sexy and lethal – a powerful combination. Unlike V, which should have never been resurrected, these remakes have won over fans of the originals as well as a new generation.

You want to sink your teeth… into Vampire Diaries. The Salvatore brothers, Damon and Stefan, may have chalk-and-cheese personalities, but they are a united front… and they happen to be in love with the same woman – Elena. And they are seriously hot! The plot unfailingly leaves viewers on tenterhooks, waiting to see what curve ball the writers will be throwing their way next. The series continues to gain momentum and has left die-hard fans thirsty for the next instalment.

COMEDY


Just your average dysfunctional American family… meander down a rib-tickling path in the Emmy Award-winning show Modern Family. Centred on three interrelated families, the scriptwriters also tackle several ethnic and homosexual stereotypes. The comical situations that arise from the brilliantly written script make this an all-around winner.

In being boys… The Inbetweeners took viewers down memory lane. This BBC comedy was centred on a group of high school friends as they tried to figure out girls, deal with their raging hormones and, at the same time, also focus on getting good grades. The themes were universal and inevitably left viewers in tears with the side-splitting humour as the friends tried to “fit in”.

It’s dark… but you will like it. I am, of course, referring to The Big C with Laura Linney as Catherine “Cathy” Jamison. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, the teacher and mother of a teenager boy refuses to allow it to get the better of her and tackles life with renewed vigour.

Her family aren’t the only ones who notice a change in her… although they find it a bit strange. In taking a rather gloomy subject and mixing it with humour, and a smidgen of irreverence to go with Cathy’s willfulness, they ensured the prognosis was favourable.

So much so it made it to season three.

On the prowl… Courteney Cox had no trouble finding her prey with Cougar Town as the bait. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of this show, but it is critic-proof. Forget How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Cox offers a more laughable side to rusty dating. Recently divorced, she finds it’s a far cry from what she imagined, despite the help of her “girlfriends”.


A men-acing Sheen… caused one of the biggest TV controver-sies this year when his slandering of producer and co-creator Chuck Lorre saw him lose his job. In calling Lorre a “clown and a stupid, stupid little man”, he was subsequently replaced on Two and a Half Men by Ashton Kutcher. Hullabaloo aside, it is still one phenomenal show.

VARIETY SHOWS

The I Am A Relationship Expert, Yet Multiple Divorcee Award goes to all the celebrities who are invited to The Marriage Ref panel. I used to think there was something about this show until Eva Longoria popped up to give her advice to a troubled couple. We may love to love our celebrities, but not to follow whatever they say.

The We Don’t Have Any Holy Cows Here, Everyone Is Fair Game Award goes to Headlines. So Khuli Roberts is notorious for being crude in her interviews, but every time local celebrities see her at events they hope she’ll come their way and she feeds off that. Having Trevor Gumbi take some shots at the subject in question keeps the show fresh. Well done.

The We Are Unique Shows Offering Never-Before-Seen Concepts Award is a draw between Masters of Rhythm, Step Up or Step Out, Jam Alley: Crew vs Crew and Turn it Out. Seriously, why do these shows even exist? SA might have a great dance culture, but these shows fail to capture that, or remain different from each other.

The You Can Have 90 Days Of My Life In Exchange For Booze, Food And A Little Fame Award goes to all the Big Brother entrants. The question is: where are they now? Only one person won the prize money, but even he fell into oblivion as if the whole thing never happened. As for the rest, all they do now is RSVP to events and sip on free booze.


The You Don’t Have To Be Pretty To Impress Us With Your Talent Award goes to The Voice. Forget that the name of the show sounds like that of a newspaper, it is a great concept. Unlike other talent shows where the “total package” is translated to mean “No Ugly Contestants”, The Voice takes away the vanity aspect and replaces it with objectivity. Two thumbs up.

LOCAL

The We’ve Got Jokes For Days Award goes to LOL (pictured). The previous season of this show was a strange one. When M-Net is stran-ded and needs to air something, it is cringe-worthy to see the so-called jokes that were told back then.

So it is a huge relief that Rapulana Seiphemo’s team have greatly improved the quality of the show, making it more relevant to viewers today.

The We’ve Been Telling The Same Story For Yonks, But Still Got You Glued Award goes to Soul City. Some great shows have come and gone, but few, if any, have thrived as long as Soul City has. We are talking 11 incredible seasons and still the story goes on. Well done to all involved and here’s to 11 more.

The Knock Knock Who’s There? Award goes to Opening Guys, a show that brought young, unknown comedians into the limelight, making them household names overnight. Now people such as Tall Ass Mo, Mo Jack and Mpho have a fan base to talk about. The newbies can be seen doing their own solos and also appear in TV ads.

The Don’t Talk To Me, Talk To My Lawyer Award goes to Sokhulu and Partners. These guys make getting in trouble with the law look so cool. With the team doing thorough research on their stories, some of which are based on true events, the content never gets boring.

You have to wonder why the rest of the so-called local crime dramas do not make for viewing as good as this.

The Reality Check Is Long Overdue Award goes to Intersexions. The deep Akin Omotso narration that goes with this programme is the first thing that sends chills down your spine.

The show sets itself apart from others of its ilk because it has a unique way of approaching the much-dreaded subject of HIV/Aids. You will be shaken up for days after watching it.

REALITY

The I Made My Millions Through Selling Fish And Now I Have My Own Reality TV Show Award goes to flamboyant businessman Kenny Kunene’s So What? Honestly, so you blow a couple of hundreds of thou-sands every weekend and some commissioning editor thinks that’s something worth making into a television show? Kunene is the apt definition of New Money and it’s only a matter of time until he starts hanging out with Mandla Thembu in Brokesville.

The Ugly Girls Need Some Loving, Too, Award goes to Diamond in the Ruff. Okay, “ugly” is a harsh word, let’s try “rejects” from other beauty contests. Kudos to the producers of this show because now the girl who is a little short, or little on the plus side, also gets noticed. Some of us never liked those thin gals anyway.

The I Made It And You Can All Follow Me And See How I Live Award goes to Top Shayela (pictured). First, our artists/ celebrities are poor. Let’s just get that out of the way. So for Top Shayela to try and pull an MTV Cribs on us is actually laughable. And, say, for interest’s sake you do have that money, why would you want to show it off? Does that bring investors, or only attract thieves? The funny thing is, once the money is gone the same people do not want the media to touch them.

The We Are Tired Of Being Backing Acts At Gigs Award goes to Running With the Reps. Who, you might ask? Okay, Vuzu had aired a programme about a bunch of dancers who used to back Jozi and various other hip hop artists. The young dancers then cooked up the idea of a reality show where we see their behind-the-scenes lives. Sigh, and sigh again.

The Sister, Sister Act Award goes to Hlelo and Ntando Masina’s Blame It On Fame, which was not a bad idea and not badly executed either. Like it or not, the girls are famous enough to carry off the show’s title. Let’s just hope e.tv does not pull a fast one on the twins and replace them next season.

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The very best (and worst) of a year of jolling

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INLSA

Kenny Kunene

We blinked and 2011 was over. Well, actually I blinked and the noughties were over. Anyway, the year was a non- stop party from beginning to end with stunning events in each corner of our beautiful country. Here are my highs and lows for the year.

The Michael Jackson Award

Mshoza. Like, what the hell are you thinking, chicky? Apartheid’s over and it is now cool to be black.

Worst Event of 2011

The MTN Samas. They moved it from Sun City to a tent in Montecasino.

Many of the bigwigs and nominated artists were denied access to the tent and media partner SABC1 was forced to entertain clients in a restaurant and watch it on television, as opposed to the live experience.

The stage was too wide, so we were craning our necks and the after parties at the different venues were just dull. All, except for the Kalawa party, which was great fun.

Event of the Year

The Metro FM Awards held in Nelspruit.

Although the show was a tad long, it was tight and delivered with imagination. The awards were given to the right artists and the fact that they gave Spikiri a lifetime achievement award was the cherry on the top.

Plus Nelspruit’s surrounding areas are so very beautiful.

Best Venue of 2011

The MTV Base tent at the Vodacom Durban July was rocking. It was a black and white dome which included a chill garden, cool bars and endless food and great entertainment by SA musicians. The stage was moveable and folded out into a dancefloor when the DJs played. Plus, it had all the cool people in the music industry on the invitation list.

This included AKA, who is my current favourite musician to hang with at parties.

Most Imaginative Launch

Winchester Mansions in Cape Town’s Sea Point relaunched the venue’s four-star hotel status and revamp with exclusive tours of the hotel. The tour included industrial theatre and installations, which added to the fun.

Irritant of the Year

Without a doubt, Kenny Kunene was the most irritating person of 2011. While I managed to avoid him at most events, his queen number at the Feather Awards was unbearable. He was surrounded by cameras and lights, and had a little drag queen running around like his very own praise singer. Then there was the silly pink traditional Indian outfit. Perhaps it’s time to leap out of the closet, sweetie darling.

Babe of the Year

Cindy Nel became a first-time mother recently. But she has bounced back with an even better figure than before. She is glowing with happiness.

Coolest Moment At An Event

This is a tie between Pabi Moloi winning the overall SA Style Awards and Spikiri winning the lifetime achievement award at the Metros. Pabi was genuinely surprised and Spikiri was just so sweet in his little kwaito way. They are both deserved winners.

Most Fun Person To Hang Out With At An Event

Shugasmakx is funny, caring, affectionate and genuinely has a good time at an event. When I see him entering an event and lurching towards me with his googly eyes behind those glasses and his friendly smile, my heart skips a beat. I know we’re gonna have a great time.

Most Overexposed Celebrity

A three-way win between Bonang and the YFM Twinz. Bonang has her own clothing range, a television show, a radio show, a huge Twitter following, is a constant tweeter, has her own internet reality show and is regularly seen at all the right parties with all the right people in all the right social pages. It must be so exhausting being her right now. The YFM Twinz are also the darlings of the magazines, have their own television reality show about nothing – à la the Kardashians – their own radio show, their own... Thank goodness I am going to Durban for the holidays where their reach isn’t as strong.

Best-Dressed Celebrity

Anyone dressed by designer Gert Johan. He is thriving creatively at the moment with designs which understand and enhance the beauty of his clients, from Bonang to Cindy Nel.

Worst-Dressed Celebrity

Channel O’s Dineo presented that television station’s annual awards.

But at some stage she thought it would be a great idea to wear a pink, shiny slack suit that gathered around her crotch area in a most disturbing way.

Oddly enough, it was designed by Gert Johan. - Saturday Star

Why are South Africans so heavily indebted despite stringent criteria that banks are forced by law to follow before they dish out loans?

Many of South Africa's social ills, including over-borrowing, the bling culture that has infiltrated politics and classrooms - where schoolchildren compete for latest designer labels - require a change of mindset

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If STATISTICS quoted by National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel at the Consumer Rights Forum conference last week about the level of indebtedness among South African consumers is anything to by we are in trouble.

The recent figures released by the Reserve Bank show that household indebtedness is at 75.9 percent of disposable income.

This means for many the word disposable income is a fallacy since the bigger chunk of their earnings goes into debt repayment.

Manuel estimates that looking at the middle class alone - at least those who have reasonable jobs and drive flashy cars - their indebtedness is way above 100 percent of their earnings.

Why are we spending beyond our means?

Manuel says either the marketing strategies of companies are so powerful we cannot help ourselves or we are trying to keep up with the likes of Kenny "Sushi King" Kunene.

Manuel's concerns are well founded. What is even more troubling is that many of those who have incurred debt have borrowed heavily to fund consumption. This unproductive spending is what Theodore Veblen called conspicuous consumption.

It would be better to borrow with a view to funding an income generating activity than to borrow merely to spend.

But why are South Africans so heavily indebted despite stringent criteria that banks are forced by law to follow before they dish out loans?

There are two key reasons. Firstly, consumers are still suffering from the hangover of reckless borrowing before the National Credit Act was implemented.

Secondly, the fact that numerous regulatory mechanism do not seem to have had the effect of taming borrowing appetite suggests that more needs to be done to ensure responsible spending.

Clearly, any regulatory attempt by the state to tamper with an individual consumer's appetite to spend would fail.

Manuel's attempt at finding a solution by beginning to address the problem at a psychological level is welcome.

Many of South Africa's social ills, including over-borrowing, the bling culture that has infiltrated politics and classrooms - where schoolchildren compete for latest designer labels - require a change of mindset.

No amount of regulatory instruments would guarantee social responsibility. Education holds the key to the problem.

Research has revealed that over-indebted employees are poorly motivated and less productive. Now, that's something we cannot afford.