South Africans need to go back to basics

Teach the teachers also.

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Freedom is not only a right, it is also a responsibility.

Freedom to know the truth is regarded as a basic human right in countries where the governing bodies are prepared to take the responsibility for their actions.

Institutions with something to hide or cover up, on the other hand would welcome a secrecy bill.

Is it possible for any leading African country to take a step back to the days of Apartheid with gagging policies on information sharing?

I do not think the world will tolerate another iron curtain.   Instead of hiding information with secrecy bills, the truth will be published in through the international media, which will focus the world attention on other government shortcomings also.

Parallels will be drawn with countries like Zimbabwe and the suppressive era in our history, resulting in negative criticism for the Sub Saharan African region.

The truth will come to a boil in Google, Twitter, Facebook, U-Tube etc through the internet and other international media.   

We are moving towards globalization.       The world is moving towards responsible action and cover-ups are not tolerated any longer.    The global media hunts the revealing of truth behind a cover-up with the same passion as an Astronomer in his search for undiscovered heavenly bodies.

What is Transformation?

Transformation should not aim towards changing the colour of leadership to ‘black or white’. The aim of transformation should be towards perfection, or so that it can deliver a better service (which is another measure for perfection).   The aim should be to be better than before, not only look better.    Majority will rule in the long run, if they are given educational opportunities on par with the best, but then they will also need strong role models; people in charge that stand head and shoulders above their subordinates.    They need to aim to win by being the best, and not aim for an emotional sympathy vote.

The drawbacks of putting someone with lesser qualifications (but a better skin tone) in charge will have negative kickbacks.
•    The more qualified co-workers will criticize the decisions made by the leadership.
•    They will neglect their own work because they are disillusioned by the system.
•    They may complain to the press who will report on the weak decision making process and the country concerned will loose Brownie-points from the global community.
•    The sky-limit will just be another step lower than it can be; the best would have been downgraded.
•    A developing country will be another step further from being included in the global decision making group (or a step closer to loosing that position).

In South Africa employment decisions should not favour colour above competence.   If we do that we shall continue to be a developing nation.   We need to break out of the ‘apartheid’ mould to become a developed nation.

No part is bigger than the whole.

No one race is more important than unity, because only a united country can break barriers.   Only a united country can work together to achieve greatness.

Using the same measure no country is bigger than the continent.    South Africa is not bigger than Africa.   A continent is measured both by its best and worst nations.

No one continent is bigger than the world.   No nation is bigger than the world of nations.   No race is bigger than the whole of humanity.

We should transform according to the measure of humanity; it is the only way to be a developed nation on the global platform.     To measure against humanity is the only way to rise to leadership.

EX UNITATE VIRES

The photograph below is the headlines of an article from the Cape Times 10/04/13 which was the inspiration for this blog post.   The contents should be regarded as fact because it is incomplete.  

Low-cost broadband internet for schools

SOUTH Africa is involved in trials to provide low-cost broadband internet to rural schools.
 This project will make of unused parts of the television (TV) frequency spectrum to provide low-cost broadband internet.
 The feasibility study is being funded by Google.
It was launched in Cape Town on 25 March 2013in partnership with the tertiary Education and Research Network (Tenet) of SA and the Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Television white spaces
(TWVS) are unused spaces in the television spectrum that can be used for broadband.
 The advantage of white spaces is that low-frequency signals can travel longer distances. This ability makes the technology suitable to provide low-cost connectivity to rural communities with Poor telecoms infrastructure, according to Google.
 The above is an extract from an article in Cape Times 26-03-20

Ex Unitate Vires.

The above post is a synopsis of an article from The Cape Times 26-03-2003

In 2000, leaders from 189 nations signed on to the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) designed to significantly the reduction of  global poverty and disease

Since 2000, tangible results prove that dramatic progress is possible when developing countries and donor governments fulfil their ends of the bargain. But despite these successes, much more needs to be done to ensure that MDG are met by 2015, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, which is the region farthest off-track from reaching the goals.

The same political parties have been in power in South Africa since the global decision to make poverty history.

How do the South African politicians demonstrate through their own lifestyles that they are prepared to share wealth with the poor?

One only needs to read the local news on government and political spending to find that answer.   If the government leaders cut their own wasteful spending then it would not have been necessary to tax the 25 percent of citizens, with sustainable jobs, into the poverty bracket.

If BBE companies were being built from the grassroots up, instead of hijacking the employment selection of profitable companies, the 75% of black managed companies would have been a reality and not just a dream.

One can not exchange experience or education for skin pigmentation.

The failure of poverty reduction lies in the fact that the government wanted to steal white positions instead of building international trading centres.    The money was there to do it.   There was a time when the world poured cash into African countries, until they found out that it all ended up in the hands of executives while the poor grew poorer.

It is time to reflect on past failures on the home front;   the failures of the last twenty years.   Think how much money would there have been if companies did not move overseas to escape government interferences.

How much money and expertise would there have been if people were not made redundant while they were in their prime just to make way to empower other with less experience.

It is time that executives realize that decisions do not need to be made in expensive restaurants or in private jets.    Much money can be saved if the system of video conferencing is utilized to its fullest.

Perhaps we can, from now on, calculate spending, like the cost of executive dinners, with the number of basic wage packets spent on one sitting, instead of just considering dollars and pounds.     We need to see actions in perspective.      

The penny has to drop in such a way that each leader evaluates his own financial footprint.

RW