Tale guide

I take it all back

I have finally got it. I must admit it took me a couple of years in the United Kingdom, a worldwide pandemic, and a holiday back in South Africa to understand what its all about, but here we are, richer for the experience and with a greater clarity of mind.

At the outset, one size doesn’t fit all. In following the trials, tribulations and happy successes of the many South Africans who share their stories on various Facebook groups, one cannot but be caught up in the excitement that the opportunity of a new life for young families presents those brave new adventurers. The new countries embrace incoming skills and a hard work ethic. They offer safety and security in an orderly, disciplined, functioning democracy where children can receive a quality education and grow up with the prospect of gaining challenging and lucrative employment. There is an almost immediate sense of welcoming and belonging in a world where racism is abhorred, and white people are not marginalised because of their origins.

But there are bound to be exceptions and we are but one of a number of those. We are elderly, albeit reasonably fit and young at heart. We don’t need to find employment nor have we small children that require a future. What we need is reliable and accessible health care, a comfortable home and warm weather. What we want is to be near friends and a place at the seaside.

Amongst the South Coast community at home there are many people who simply do not have a choice of an alternative nationality or could never afford a relocation. There are also many who built successful businesses that provide their families with continuity of life, fulfilling needs but not necessarily creating excessive wealth. Common to all is their identification with friends, family and community. Their satisfaction with the beautiful surroundings and the warm semi tropical climate, not to mention the miles and miles of sandy beaches caressed by a warm Indian ocean teaming with sea life. For these people there is little logic in giving it all up to relocate into the unknown.

The distraction lies in the politics and until South Africans have settled in a foreign land, their only point of reference is the SA government. They are acutely aware of the persistent grand theft and corruption by the South African political elite. The systematic erosion of skill throughout the governing structures all the way down to local level that has occurred as a consequence of 27 years of cadre deployment, all of which has contributed to the increased state of poverty and lawlessness coupled with the virtual collapse of formal education and health infrastructures. The partial or total collapse of railways, power and water supply systems and roads and the incompetence and lack of finance with which to maintain or repair, all contribute to the perception of a failed state either now or in the near future.

I use the word distraction reservedly because although much of the aforesaid is accurate, as I came to realise, the goings on don’t necessarily impact on people who are gainfully employed or with means, as it may first appear.

Setting aside the failures of government at every level and the resultant increase in unemployment, poverty and crime, life for the employed and the ‘wealthy’ continues. For those that can afford it, there are good schools, well stocked retailers, sports facilities, hospitals, doctors and holiday destinations ready, willing and able to service their needs.

Once settled in the ‘new’ world, we quickly discovered that while the specifics may differ, the political distraction is as acute as it is back home.

The UK is a comparatively small landmass with a population greater than that of SA. Its international commitments necessitated an embargo on Russian gas and oil arising from the Ukrainian conflict so the availability of basic energy with which to heat the home and cook quickly became in short supply and now costs four times as much as at the start of the year. Similarly, petrol and diesel has jumped to close on ZAR36 a liter and climbing.

Inflation has reached 10% and there are millions of people who are now suffering from a significant reduction in basic needs. To compound matters the liberals continue to demand an open-door policy for any and all refugees to come and settle in the UK. Just like their forefathers, they seem oblivious to the fact that the continued flow of people from foreign lands, foreign languages and foreign cultures will ultimately overrun and swamp the domestic inhabitants and ultimately destroy all that the English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish have treasured for centuries. The pressure on already limited housing as well as on the national health infrastructure is already close to breaking point.

In short, the grass is not nearly as green on the other side.

But what sets South Africa aside is the can-do spirit and a willingness to make a plan that is a dominant trait of the majority of people of every colour and creed.

Of everything I have missed, it’s this very powerful attitude that manifests itself in so many examples.

If we cannot live with continuing power outages, we augment the requirement with anything from candles to generators to solar powered systems. If we are plagued by the absence of a reliable water supply, we install storage tanks and rainwater tanks and build up a reserve for the dry times and even drop a borehole and secure our own dedicated supply. And if we have had enough of the potholes in our road, we fill them ourselves!

And, as we are increasingly witnessing across the country, if you are one of many likeminded people with a vested interest in your town, you can join forces and take back your town from the incompetent and incapable municipality and fix it together.

In more and more municipalities across the country the communities are taking back control by cleaning the streets, fixing potholes, drilling boreholes and/or repairing broken water supply systems and finding new practical solutions to failing infrastructure.

An increasing number of local authorities have seen a change in political leadership following on from local elections but the incumbents are under much greater scrutiny that any of their predecessors. Deliver or die is becoming the mantra of the people.

In some instances, citizens’ dissatisfaction with the many years of lack of service delivery has already received the support of the high court. In Queenstown, the Clean Queenstown movement is finding fresh solutions to their problems. uMhlathuze in KZN successfully challenged their council. In the Eastern Cape, farmers receive the help from the Gift of the Givers for the supply of water. The Makhanda High Court ordered in favour of the community and dissolved the Makana municipality in North West. In Mahikeng, the High Court handed control of water and sewerage back to the people. In Standerton the council was overthrown as a consequence of its failures while citizens from both the town and surrounding farmlands climbed in and repaired the water and sewerage infrastructures. And so it goes on.

On the South coast a movement of concerned citizens and businesses emerged early this year under the banner of “Tidy Towns Shelly to Margate”. Their activities have rapidly expanded to include communities as far afield as Port Shepstone and Seapark.

The blue flag beaches along that coast have seen beach showers and ablutions revamped and repaired, paving cleaned, painted and replaced where necessary while mountains of driftwood and rubbish have been uplifted and disposed of. The initiative quickly extended into the towns where streets are kept clean, roads are repaired, and garbage disposal bins serviced daily.

Vagrants and homeless drug users have been rounded up with the help of a supportive local Police force and have been dispatched.

Some of them have become employed to help keep the wheels of service delivery turning providing employment and some order in their lives.

It won’t be long before this initiative will expand to include fixing years-old sewerage management and water supply issues that the local authorities have simply been unable to resolve.

Of course, there are naysayers. There are even individuals whose soul objective is to seek glory or selfishly try and dictate the way for their own gain.

Hopefully the communities that are being prejudiced by these individuals will wake up and appreciate that they are a stumbling block in the way of practical progress and will engineer their rapid departure in good time.

For us this enormously effective can-do attitude is a catalyst for positive growth. It is indicative of a community that cares about the place they live, work and play in. The benefit of the collective is also shared out to those less fortunate who in turn respond positively to the kindness and care.

Suddenly the playground that was the south coast of old has become attractive again and it won’t be long before holiday makers will once again come and enjoy themselves on its beaches and in its restaurants and pubs.

Very little if any of these initiatives launched by the people on the ground are in any way impacted on by Government whose antics are considered to be simply of little value.

After many decades of service delivery failure, the people are no longer gullible of the promises and conduct of the politicians and their appointed cadres. At local level the momentum continues to gain as South Africans take back their towns and villages.

A general election is on its way and with it comes the opportunity for change at a higher level.

This is the climate I want to be a part of, so I take back my criticism and my fears for the future.

We are on our way back home from where we will throw our weight behind these positive developments and make a conscious effort to avoid the potholes and any meetings of "our fellow South Africans".

Nou gaan ons braai!