which hole is bigger?

two noteworthy things happened today that affect my life. one more directly than the other. both are big problems, but i can only do something about the one. so, which is now the bigger problem?

 

there is a hole in my roof. about this i can, at some point after the rain stops, do something.

 

there is a hole in the cabinet. rain or no rain, i can do nothing about this one. other than living the moment.

 

l.r. and i had supper together tonight, and chatted about what happened in sa politics today. the biggest news by far was that trevor manuel, our finance minister, resigned in support of mbeki’s resignation. he was not alone – was in fact joined by 9 other cabinet ministers and 3 deputies. but his was kind of considered a “stability seat” – in other words that as long as he stays, the financial situation should be ok (especially in the eyes of the international community). i’ll admit that when i heard he had resigned, i felt uneasy for the first time since this whole debacle began.

 

the fact that an hour later he announced that he would be willing to stand for any position the new government might want him in, was reassuring. the markets liked it (and recovered a little), i was glad of it (and recovered a little bit) and the country seems to have liked it (and is still being as negative as possible).

 

i was reflecting on how we are living these moments in this instant gratification time. something gets announced, and we want as much info as possible, immediately. the markets react, the sms channels are filled with messages, the internet is filled with words. yet come 10, 20, 50 years down the line when this is taught in school history classes, that hour between trevor’s resignation and his “i’ll be available” comment will not even be mentioned.

 

think about it – when we were taught about changes in governments of the past when we were at school, it was generally the big things that were taught. like in this case it might be the request of the president to resign, the coming into power of the ‘great fear’ / ‘great leader’ (zuma) and the split of the anc into 2 separate parties.

 

i suspect that this will happen. and i think it will actually be a good thing. there have been 2 factions within the party for a long time now. one part is still revolutionary movement, and one part is playing grown up politics. the party has grown too big to be all things to all supporters and members.

 

i’m sure we will have a new party split off the old block. whether mbeki will play a leading role in this is not clear, but personally, i doubt it. we need this split, so that there is more opposition in government. less majority and more pressure to perform and deliver.

 

i’m collecting all the zapiro books that have been published – and of the 2 that i am missing, i found & bought one today – “the madiba years” published in 1996. i’ve enjoyed reading it tonight, seeing all the things that happened in ’94, ’95 & ’96. all the dirty tricks, all the fears we had. all the issues that needing dealing – and to see how far we’ve come in 13 years. and what we have overcome.

 

like the cartoon of trevor manuel as he became the first finance minister “from the liberation movement” – how people were afraid of that. and how he has become the longest standing finance minister in history. of south africa – and possibly the world.

 

we also chatted about how lucky we are to have had the chance to live through so much in our lives – from the fall or apartheid, the fall of the berlin wall, the rise of the internet, etc etc etc.

 

sure our parents and grand parents had similar things – but somehow it feels like there is more now. more happening. more international. more instant. more aware of the significance? or am i just being young and arrogant? J

 

anyway – i had a super late evening visit to t & c for a braai. had a lovely time just chatting around the fire, talking about this & that, catching up, telling jokes and relaxing. it really is so good to have awesome friends like l.r., t & c. they make it all worthwhile J

 

and now to get some sleep! it is a public holiday in sa tomorrow (heritage day) so i can hopefully lie in.

 

peace.

 

what bugged me today: this damn head cold!

 

what i learnt today: that the monthly instalment on the entry level model of a maybach is r78’000 a month… who, apart from the king of swaziland, pays that??

 

what i am grateful for: the interesting times we live in

 

history in the making

history is in the making in our land – yet again – and it is fascinating to be a part of it.

 

it’s funny, i didin’t enjoy history at school much – mainly because of all the essays we had to write. but that has changed, and i remember clearly the moment that it did.

 

december 1991. new york. the united nations.

 

the minute i walked into the building, the history i had been taught, came alive. and since then i have enjoyed “modern” history. i am still not partial to the tales of grecian and roman times, but even that could change if i was in the right place.

 

since then i have been aware of the times in my life that history has been made – and i am excited to be aware of it at the time that it happens.

 

this is the time that i usually confess to people that i have 2 large boxes of old newspapers stashed under the bed in the study… complete newspapers from the 90s onwards, documenting historical times. and because i get such a thrill out of looking through old newspapers, i have made a point of keeping the complete newspaper, so that in years to come someone else may see what the price of milk was when we had our elections in ’94, or what else made news at the time of 9/11.

 

and so here we are making history again. the anc has asked president thabo mbeki to resign  - or “we recall comrade mbeki from the position of president of the republic of south africa”. it is a momentous day, and full of mixed feelings for so many people.

 

i am by no means a political analyst, but i do have a few points that i have been thinking about in the midst of all this:

 

1. in the press conference today, the anc referred to itself as a “revolutionary movement”. this is fascinating and bordering on worrying for me. the anc has been the ruling political party in this country for the last 14 years – as a direct result of its revolutionary activities. therefore i no longer consider is a revolutionary movement.

 

surely the anc should have “grown up” into a fully fledged political body now? who is the revolution against? what are we fighting for? doesn’t a revolutionary movement have different priorities to a ruling government party?

 

2. how can a political party ‘recall’ someone from a position it did not put them in? stay with me here for a second:

a. the anc is the largest party in the government, and it did put thabo mbeki forward as their leader and nominee for president at the last 2 elections

b. parliament, as a body, consists of members from several political parties.

c. parliament, as a body, votes for a president

d. yes, the anc does have a majority, and therefore their candidate is most likely to win. but, it is a vote from all parliamentarians. not just an anc appointment.

e. mbeki is not the president of the anc anymore.

f. therefore, a political party cannot recall their member from a position that s/he was elected to by a multi-party process within parliament (am i still making sense?)

g. therefore, while the anc would like to suggest that mbeki, as their member steps down, it should not have the same immediate effect as if someone from the da or id or acdp stands up and asks the president to resign.

 

yes, it is a technicality, and yes some friends of mine would say i am just stirring for the sake of stirring, but it is an important point to remember i think, in the bigger picture of things.

 

parliament is there for a reason, and in a multi-party democracy its authority needs to be respected by all parties – with or without a two-thirds majority. only parliament can receive the resignation of the president, and parliament has a process for this, as defined in the constitution.

 

1. right now i am feeling a little apprehensive – nervous – about how this may be received on the international stage. because we are vulnerable, and this is the moment when people will begin to worry if we are heading the way that other parts of africa have gone. i doubt we will, but perceptions can cloud decisions.

 

i love how the universe works though…

 

last night i got some music from d & c, but this afternoon i realized that it had not copied from the flashdrive onto my computer – so i got in my car and drove the 15km to their place to collect the flashstick again, to do it properly this time. i was assured it was there.

 

of course, as i got there, we discovered that the flashstick was with c at a friend’s graduation… d got upset, but i told her to chill – because if i had not got into my car to drive there i would not have heard about the press conference, and we would not have seen this momentous occasion live on tv. i had not been listening to the radio at home. so it was all good J

 

and now, i have final preps to make!!

 

 

what bugged me today: coming back from the shops, and remembering at that point that i had forgotten this or that.

 

what i learnt today: that the universe does work in mysterious – and marvelous – ways.

 

what i am grateful for: the anticipation & preparation for a party at your own home – love it.

 

 

happy birthday madiba!

today is the birthday of one of the world’s true gentlemen. true to his convictions, tolerant of others, and respectful – always. what an example he has set!

yep, nelson mandela is 90 today. i am so very very happy for him, that he has had so many years post-prison to spend with his family and loved ones. and that he found love again. i only hope he turns at least 100 – so that his post-prison years outnumber his in-prison years.

i remember so clearly the weekend he was released… i was on a school camp at “froggy pond” in simon’s town, and on the saturday evening (10 feb 1990) i got a call on the call box from my mom. yep – the height of embarassment in many circles – mom calling you at camp!

when i told my friends what i had been told – that mandela would be released the next day – i was not believed. not surprising really, considering the ‘hate’ that had been spread about this ‘evil’ man – no-one had seen a picture of him since the 60s - but considering in hindsight what was happening that month, it was not surprising.

anyway, next morning we were collected much earlier that initially planned, and my folks took us to the grand parade in the centre of cape town – he was to address us capetonians from the balcony of the city hall.

i’m sure that the grand parade has never in its history before or since, had so many people on it, all hopefully watching the city hall. it was a fantastic mood – so many south africans of all colours awaiting their hero -you wouldn’t be there if you didn’t admire him- and wanting to be a part of history. youngsters climbing up the sides of buildings, the throngs pushing forward to get ever closer, the anticipation growing, but everyone remarkably patient. the odd scuffle, but nothing to worry about.

just plain unadulterated anticipation & excitement to see this remarkable man live.

i remember which palm tree i was standing next to, i remember the clear blue sky, above all i remember the electric happiness and excitement.

in the end, we left before he arrived – we had stood there for several hours – and we watched his release on the TV. convenient, but not the same.

and that was but the beginning of a very exciting journey in our history. i’m glad to have been even a small part of it.