Tale guide

No place like home

reflections of a bushman abroad

No place like home

It’s wrong to try and differentiate between the United Kingdom and South Africa. They are both unique and have their own strengths and weaknesses not to mention idiosyncrasies, and I have come to realise that how they respectively meet our individual needs is largely dependent on our personal circumstances. Both nations are warm hearted and friendly people who welcome visitors with open arms.

The UK is a thriving first world country influenced by its historic ties to ancient empires like the Romans and Saxons. Everything works in its high impact economy which strives to deliver a liberal socialist quality of life to its people. There is plenty of work to be had for those who want it and for those who don’t the Government provides for unemployment and old age support.

The national health historically provides a fast and effective response to everyone’s health needs and excelled itself during the Covid pandemic. The roads are top quality as are dependable power, water and transportation, all of which are dutifully paid for by the responsible citizens and maintained by an educated, highly skilled, disciplined and competent workforce.

Consumers want for nothing and have become so used to these fundamental ‘luxuries’ that they seemingly no longer really appreciate how very lucky they are.

British society is built on principles of integrity, honesty and courtesy and this shines through at every level of interaction from the bobby on the beat to the postman and the shop keeper and the neighbour next door. ‘Civilised’ is the word that constantly springs to mind.

In the UK the weather is the downside. It is generally cold, wet and grey and drives the British to an indoor lifestyle.

British citizens are certainly spoilt in their world of choice, excess and efficiency, and can be hyper critical of those who fail to meet the expected standards, but they are equally a very forgiving people.

But from within this highly protected environment, a segment of the population has emerged that is unhappy with the status quo and constantly seeks revolution. These people manifest in the so called “Woke generation” or “Cancel culture”. A form of consciousness that seeks to call out transgressions of the past like slavery and racism and seek reparation from today’s leaders for the actions of historical figures long gone. In addition, they wish to impose on society, ultra-contemporary ideas about sexual orientation, with concepts like transgender and nonbinary becoming the order of the day. They demand that statues be dismantled, and remnants of an historic past be destroyed. Moreover, they shout down any and all who do not agree with their views and aggressively pursue their agendas to the exclusion of opposing opinions. They conduct themselves with an often violent, undemocratic purpose whilst perpetuating an ignorant misaligned faithfulness to the principles of democracy and the freedom of speech.

Interestingly enough, it is the actions of these fringes of society that attract the most attention in the media and thus become central to the daily public conversation. By way of example the UK has been grappling for months with issues around government holding Christmas parties during Covid lockdown a year or two ago.

Despite the milieu of opinion, the average man in the street finds the goings on of both the leadership and their antagonists, laughable and a nonsensical distraction from the real matters of the day like the cost of living, the failing National Health Service, the Northern Ireland border and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the other hand, South Africa today is a shadow of its former self. A sustained attack by the representatives of its ruling party on the nation’s resources over the past 28 years has left the economy in tatters, national and local infrastructure barely functional or completely destroyed and very little financial resource with which to rebuild.

In the year 2022, the country is no longer able to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity. It has a national railway system that is being destroyed railway line by overhead cable, including stations and platforms being systematically torn to the ground. Over the past seventeen or more years many municipal fresh water supply systems have not been properly maintained and are no longer able to deliver to the country’s constitutional guarantee of ‘access to water for all’.

And if this is not enough, not a month after some of the most devasting floods experienced on the East coast in decades and which state of disaster is crying out for central government support, the Minister of culture sits relaxed on national TV justifying a R22 million project approved for the erection of a new flagpole! “Flagpole?” you ask, “Yes, Flagpole!”

But it is still a very beautiful country with many valuable resources, plenty of sunshine and a vibrant, can-do society that never seems to give up trying to overcome the challenges of the day forced upon it by largely incompetent, unskilled and dishonest governmental structures.

For up-and-coming professionals, whose goals are to excel in their chosen vocation, provide a quality education for their children and build a happy, healthy and secure life, South Africa today presents serious challenges.

Its weakening and almost broken economy impairs steady employment. Its highly criminalised society, although largely confined to major metropolitan areas, presents dangerous conditions which create underlying tension in the people’s psyche and the real risk of an attack on one’s freedoms.

These are the prevailing conditions that continue to foster emigration to Australasia, USA, UK and Europe, severely shrinking the small group of taxpayers whose contributions struggle to keep the rest of the population afloat.

So South Africa has seen a steady exodus of an educated, skilled and experienced workforce and South Africans can be found amongst many of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and specialists, breaking new ground and adding enormous value to the economies in which they have chosen to live. A massive capacity that South Africa could have hugely benefitted from if encouraged and included in the politics of the day at the time and a terribly sad loss for its future generations.

But for some, the call of the African bush, euphemistically speaking, remains difficult to resist. In the case of retired pensioners having to deal with the pressures of old age, the warmth of the African sun, the breathtaking beauty of the South African coastline and moreover the affection and community of longtime friends and associates combine to make the decision to stay, irresistible.

Unlike post Covid UK, where accessing medical services is an uphill struggle with delays extending to beyond three years in many cases, access to doctors and specialists in the South African private sector is very easy and will only be put at risk if the ruling party succeed in collapsing the private medical sector into a national health infrastructure, another nationalization plan that is bound to fail like all the others.

In South Africa today, if you can take your home off grid with solar power and access a source of subterranean water, you can find yourself in a stunning home with breathtaking views away from the madding crowds of the big metropoles and protected by private security technology to keep you safe in a bubble.

You can get to see a doctor when you need to. The cost living is definitively fifty percent less than Europe and the UK and you can continue to enjoy the ‘world in one country’ that offers some of the most attractive and exciting tourist adventures in the world.

Moreover, you will learn to appreciate the warm smiles and the “Sawubona Baba,” traditional African greeting that you will encounter every day in the streets from those who have never known excess and you will navigate the potholes on the roads without a care in the world.

At this late time in life, peace of mind is best served by ignoring the perpetual noise of politics and enjoying the simple things in life amongst good company of likeminded, good-hearted people. For in both countries, there are still plenty of those!