Once upon a time in a land at the southern tip of Africa, there lived a people so adept at making the rest of the world scratch their heads until their hair fell out that it became known as the Kingdom of Alopecia.
Like most countries on the continent it had undergone a period of colonialism but that came to an end in 1961, when the white half of the kingdom decided, in a referendum, that it was time to go it alone.
Of course when the colours, other than white, asked to join in they were told: “No, genuine okes, when we said alone we really meant it and don’t let us catch any of you in our areas”. (Today, blacks have adapted this somewhat in that they don’t like to be touched on their studios).
This was called apartheid — or separate but equal development — with whites claiming the Transvaal, Orange Free State, Natal and Cape Provinces as theirs while blacks, coloureds and Indians shared Number 71, Sterling Avenue, 4th Avenue, Yeoville.
In order to ensure the non-whites did not move out of Yeoville, the new government, called the Gnats, implemented a whole raft of legislative measures designed at making it somewhat unattractive to “koer their moer”. Not that it became suffocating, mind you — simply that they covered every angle, eg: “No black while wearing a shirt and open-necked pant may be found breathing in a area designated for whites because why, because why crime are prevalent”.
These were underpinned by the Gnats taking control of, inter alia, the army, police, prosecutions and intelligence.
Of course, there is something very wrong with a system whereby a small minority of the country has everything while the vast majority live in abject poverty.
So the Gnats, humanitarians to a man, stepped back and asked themselves the following question: “How are we ever going to justify it?”
They then devised a plan so cunning you could brush your teeth with it.
What if nobody local was able to criticise it, knew very little of what was going on and the overseas opinion and influence was hidden from everybody?
Brilliant!
So they introduced censorship, which ensured that South Africans got to hear only what the Gnats wanted them to and went about imprisoning or killing off opponents of the system. In fact, answerable to nobody but themselves, they pretty much did whatever they wanted.
Everyone was delighted.
What?
Didn’t you read the papers?
They loved it.
REALITY CHECK: What you can’t see doesn’t mean that it does not exist.
While white South Africans went about their somewhat happy daily lives, there was pressure building on the Gnats. Financially, their policies, which were occasioning international sanctions, were becoming more and more unsustainable every year. That, together with the opportunity cost of not rejoining the planet — see our section on “North Korea: The joys of going it alone” — would have left the country lagging so far behind the rest as to make it almost beyond redemption.
So from the directors who brought you such moving moments (on account of many moving overseas) as Apartheid, Sharpeville and Crossing the Rubicon, came a movie so touching that the planet even bought it. Released in 1990, it contained extra dinosaurs so even the kids loved it.
Nelson Mandela
In courtroom in Johannesburg in 1964, Nelson Mandela told the judges that he had fought for — and was prepared to die for — a country free of white or black domination. Given the chance, he would make South Africa a multiracial democracy the world could be proud of.
The judges, humanitarians to a man, deliberated long and hard before delivering a decision which has become one of the leading precedents on international human rights: “Guilty”.
Why? Because why he are a black and crime are prevalent. (NB, don’t order copies. That’s it in its entirety. It’s very good).
So in 1990 when Madiba was freed, the white community was delighted because they knew everything about him through their censored press. In short, he could be expected to order the killing of every first-born white baby while leading a terrorist movement known as the ANC to bloodshed unparalleled on the continent … the rest of the country will be fine and mild-to-warm with scattered thundershowers over the escarpment. There are no Jackass Penguin warnings. Why? Because why Charl Pauw has left the building.
Then Mandela did the darndest thing imaginable. He went about creating a country free of white domination and black domination in a multiracial democracy the world could be proud of.
Who would have guessed?
Then Madiba gave way to former president Thabo Mbeki, who gave way to President Jacob Zuma.
The multiracial democracy was holding with plenty of teething pains along the way. Notably, there was the question of an arms deal with billions — that should have found its way to service delivery — going on weapons to fight the country’s arch enemy known as the … (suggestions on a postcard to PO Box 45, Yeoville, 8987).
Then of course there was other corruption which was becoming so prevalent that the government was forced to shut down the best anti-corruption unit in the country known as the Scorpions. But wait! The bloody press were now harping on about tenderpreneurs and corruption.
The reason why the media were going after corruption in such a big way was because service delivery was nowhere near where it should have been and communities across the country were rising up. Much of this failure was down to ineptitude and corruption.
There was a growing belief among ANC members that they were entitled to help themselves because they were, after all, the party of liberation. Where once had stood an elite class of whites, now rose an elite class of blacks. Deployment of cadres overshadowing affirmative action because it was not the best qualified black person but rather the party loyalist who gets the job. Where BEE is meant to empower a broad base of black businessmen, broad shall mean the width of the stomach of the elite few who get everything.
Of course there is something very wrong with a system whereby a small minority of the country has everything while the vast majority live in abject poverty.
So the ANC, humanitarians to a man, stepped back and asked themselves the following question: How are we ever going to justify it?
They then devised a plan so cunning you could brush your teeth with it.
What if nobody local was able to criticise it, knew very little of what was going on and the overseas opinion and influence was hidden from everybody?
Brilliant!
So they introduced censorship, which ensured that South Africans got to hear only what the ANC wanted them to and went about imprisoning or killing off opponents of the system. In fact, answerable to nobody but themselves, they pretty much did whatever they wanted.
Having ensured that the army, police, prosecutions and intelligence are secure they now implement a Protection of Information Act which entitles the media, this week only, to serve 15 to 25 years for transgressing it. An example of an infraction being the use of “state information” to show that billions of the country’s wealth which should have gone to the masses was used for arms, with kickbacks to all concerned.
This Act is to protect national security because if the masses don’t know they’re being robbed, they’ll feel more secure.
And if that is not enough, a media tribunal answerable to Parliament.
So if the journalists who are serving 15 years for telling the masses that the government stole their money is not enough of a deterrent, then the very people who are trying to cover it up will be overseeing a tribunal to sanction those newspapers who just won’t listen.
Reality check: What you can’t see doesn’t mean that it does not exist.
Once these draconian measures are in place the country will no longer get to hear about corruption, which will make it rampant.
The rising anger of the masses, more desperate from less resources becoming available, will also be hidden from local and international media, making people far more frustrated. This will be kept in check by the police and the army.
Where checks and balances were enforced under the scrutiny of the media they will now be ignored, allowing the damages of the inept to surpass even those of the corrupt.
With no outlet via the legal system, media or by way of protest, the enormous pressure building within the masses of the kingdom will ignite.
Then explode.
Exactly. The huge irony is that the new elite have copied the old elite so faithfully. Connie Mulder, Eschel Rhoodie, BJ Vorster – they are all alive and well, only the names have changed. The racial nationalists are all still here, still in charge, still telling the ignorant citizens that Big Brother knows best for them, still saying that what you don’t know won’t hurt you, still terribly culturally sensitive, and the ‘total onslaught’ from the whole world has been replaced by the ‘bloody agents’ from the West. The more things change, the more they stay the same….
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant analysis!
The more things change…
I guess that the only hope would then come from a powerful opposition being able to inform the masses (and make them believe) that the regime is in fact responsible for our current situation.
It may not be too difficult as we all struggled to achieve democracy, yet the proposed media tribunal, the Info Bill and the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act appear to me as anti-democratic.
Hello China!
And we are waiting for censorship of what we put out into cyberspace, what we read on the internet, etc, etc…
And the bleeding heart white liberals continue to vote for and suck up to “you know which party” (don’t think I’m allowed to mention it)
I’ve resisted commenting on your blog. Listen Michael, I know you’re a self-taught blogger. It’s awfully nice of you to take the blame!
Media tribunals are currently the ONLY way to prevent our out-of-control media-circus to hide behind our free speech rights with impunity. The hysteria of crime and resulting economic damage created just before one of the most memorable and safest world cups in history, is proof enough that media tribunals are needed to deter “bloody agents”.
1. Its certainly not a violation of the Constitution and in line with other free democracies e.g. journalists are jailed regularly in the US, UK etc. for refusing to divulge their sources under certain circumstances.
2. Ombudsman are toothless and themselves are biased. A diverse group that constitute a media tribunal makes better sense.
3. Our watchdog organizations, ombudsman and courts are ill-equipped to prevent or contain the damage wreaked by irresponsible journalism in a timely manner, while the damage from hysteria, character assassinations etc. destroys lives!
4. Our media is not conducive to self regulation. More here (http://za.mg.co.za/article/2010-07-26-selfregulation-is-the-only-way-to-ensure-media-freedom)
Its imperative that the media organizations take the opportunity to negotiate NOW with the government rather than facing even tighter controls by a blanket rejection of the governments proposals to prevent abuse of our free speech rights by a few amoral “bloody agent” journalist.
exactly.
What amazes me is that many of our law makers and senior government officials who, by type of job definition, are in 24×7 jobs, don’t realise that they are public servants who get paid by the tax payer and are therefore subject to their bosses (the tax payer) scrutiny. Once one steps into high profile public office ones private life is radically diminished.
The reason why we buy the news is so that we pay journalist to check on our public representatives.
These laws are aimed primarily to stop basic scrutiny. There is no higher thought than that. Just shows the low level of our law makers.
No statesmen here anymore. No one with a 100 year vision for southern africa.
The question is, will there be enough left after the explosion to rebuild this kingdom or will we be forced to adopt the currency of another country to stabilise our economy?
Ah traps – while I may not occasionally agree with what you say, I really do enjoy the way you say it! you take on serious issues while not taking yourself too seriously!
Well, what does your little object lesson teach us: it teaches us “The Who” was right all along: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Politicians do their jobs for the same reason all of us do: for the money. Not an ideologue among them. All to do with feathering nests. Call it Apartheid, Cadre Employment, Nepotism is nepotism, regardless of who done it. The Gnats taught the ANC very well, the only thing the New and Improved anti-apartheid government did that the Nats never could, is steal and lie without the world thinking they are assholes – this is quite an achievement!
This government (note, not MY government, as I never voted for them and they never did anything for this white oak except take away my right to live my own life and force me to pay for everything myself what my tax money should have given me, thus, I cannot call them my government at all) just reminds me more and more of the closing paragraphs in Animal Farm… Who is whom? The Nats and the ANC – one is an exact copy of the other!
It must be very necessary for the safety and the future good opinion of the government that the ANC and its cadres be more equal than the rest of the country. This is necessary for them to protect us from the racist and reactionary media.
Brilliant!
and that’s it in a nutshell. Brilliant !! Beware we are going the wrong way, close the circle.
Nicely put. Who says history is not cyclical? It just doesn’t usually repeat quite that quickly and obviously. Or maybe its just not quick or obvious because the information has been kept from us.
Of course, at the moment, “we the people”, have the information, we’re just too damn lazy to do anything about it. We’d much rather bleat later about how terrible the government (of, for & by us – the people) is while we are led to the “slaughter”. (lamb metaphor – don’t get carried away)
As South Africans, we need to realise that whether we voted for the current government or not, they are our “chosen” representatives – i.e. they speak/act on our behalf – they work for us. If they are saying/doing something that we disagree with – that we ourselves would not do/say – then it is our responsibility as their employers, to take them to task.
Democracy delegates tasks to government, but the responsibility remains with the people – us!
Interesting to see your columns becoming less ‘gentle’. At least I can now understand them…
Awesome piece, Traps!
Absolutely brilliant!
The Protection of Information Act demonstrates that the ANC confuses itself with the Government. Political parties come and go from term to term but the principles on which governance are based remain.
At least, that is how it’s supposed to work. It’s simple really: all any government has to do is serve the needs of the people who elect them–and pay their salaries. Governments do not RULE. The Constitution RULES and the Government is sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution.
This is what the majority of SA-cans don’t “get”: the Constitution is about US. all of US and we also have an obligation to protect and uphold it. The Government did not give the people the right to vote; the Constitution did that.
The Government does not generate the responsibility to use the country’s revenue (derived from tax payers) for the good of all; the Constitution mandates that.
The ANC are not THE Government. Because this is a Democracy, WE THE PEOPLE are the Government and we are entitled to fire the party that happens to win an election if they fail to do their jobs.
But WE THE PEOPLE would not know when the government of the day was stealing from us, diverting money to private use, and subverting the Constitution except for one thing: the press, the FREE press.
But even the Press are subject to the law as laid down in the Constitution.
TBC
But WE THE PEOPLE woumedia
Brilliant Traps… Brilliant!
You’ve summed it up quite nicely.
The Press cannot knowingly and with intent publish untruths about anyone. If they do so, the citizen can take the Press to court and sue for libel–as President Zuma himself has done!
The Press cannot knowingly and with intent DISTORT what is true. Again, the Courts are there to ensure this.
Those who argue that the Press has “too much freedom” are really saying “I don’t like what I read/see about my political party in the press/media therefore I want to be able to censor the press/media”.
The Press does not exist to make us happy; it exists to keep us FREE from corrupt and law-breaking people in government (including corrupt or inept Judges and Prosecutors), education, business, political matters of all kinds, trade deals, use of Donor monies for ‘upliftment’, churches that dodge taxes whilst enriching its leaders,etc.
In short, the Press is what stands between FREEDOM for us all and the abuse of power by all of the institutions that exist that to SERVE US.
The Press, like the Judiciary, MUST BE INDEPENDENT in order for Democracy to survive. Governments tend to grow bloated with power when they are not subject to scrutiny by US. The Press is mandated to perform that scrutiny for on OUR behalf–not to serve the interests of the party in power.
The Press is not here to make anyone happy; it is here to INFORM.
Without it, you get Mugabe, Mobutu, Obiang, Kabila, Kagame,Amin…Malema.
Interesting times we live in. I guess political culture is more difficult to change than a Constitution. One wonders what arose from the parliamentary debate over this piece of legislation. If anything or nothing, would that too soon become classified information worthy of incarceration if revealed? Great piece Traps. Inspiring and thought provoking stuff.
Is it an excuse that their role model was not great? Or should the have learnt from the predecessor’s mistakes?
Surely the question is whether it expodes or implodes?
Good one, Sir.
nicely written…
history repeats itself, all i hope is that people learn from the past, instead of blaming it for everything.
respect to the journalist and long live freedom of speech. hopefully.
Shame Dave H at it again with his reactionary “logic”. What pray tell have the media done to deserve this? What harm have they caused? Shown too little respect for struggle cred perhaps? Get over it and start running the country without corruption and other criminality and the media will leave you alone.
Brilliant! And EXACTLY the same thing happened in another country north of The Kingdom of Alopecia. But with one massive, deal-breaking difference: They solved the financial thing by getting donors to pour money in (no questions asked) annually on a per-person scale unlike any other. Ever. And with “no outlet via the legal system, media or by way of protest, the enormous pressure building within the masses of the kingdom will ignite.” But because of the massive amounts of cash injected it will take longer for the Kingdom of The Yarmulke to Explode.
A thought! Do you think that the old “Apartheid regime” could apply to have all their transgressions listed as “Secret”, and, in addition have the word “Apartheid” banned too so that the new ANC Dictatorship (that replaced the old, Nationalist Government Dictatorship), cannot blame “Apartheid” for all the ills that are inflicted on South Africa these days. A new Dictatorship that replaces an old Dictatorship, always become more dictatorial and draconian than their predecessors. Read Animal Farm and the writings of That Great Democratic Leader, Mao Tse Tung. Thank goodness for the Internet as the New ANC Dictators will never be able to muzzle it. Perhaps Selebi should apply to have all the dealings of the Police Force, including his own transgressions as secret and then he to can carry on regardless. What happens when a document is declared ‘secret’ after it has hit the public domain??
It will be a very sad, sad day if these gangsters get away with this.
Why does Dave Harris take it for granted that there should be media controls? He’s been so indoctrinated by the Nats it obviously seems perfectly normal to him.
In any democratic society one is allowed to take a newspaper to court if they print an untruth of any kind. And I don’t know much about the law pertaining to these things but logically the cost of that court case surely depends on who is guilty. Which would mean that newspapers are careful about what they print. It also means that the ‘victim’ can’t hide, either.
I find Reg Rumney’s column ‘The press must be free, not dom’ extremely logical. It’s rubbish to expect the press to regulate themselves, other then by making sure that what they print is correct and true. Make the government be perfectly clear about what it considers ‘National Security’ by putting it into words that everyone, even the likes of Dave Harris, understands – and then we will all be able to see exactly what their intentions really are.
And then, because the King was in his counting house counting all his wives, and all the King’s men and all the King’s horses were raking in their tenders, and obviously no-one was going to do a darn thing about anything, there rose up in all the little hamlets and villages of the kingdom, those many brave serfs who had once before forged their ploughs into swords for democracy, and the few White Knights who had done so too, and they said to one another, “Verily brothers and sisters, we have fought for all these precious freedoms once before when there was TOTAL darkness in the land, and a blacking out of words in the newspapers, and absolutely ZIP democracy (except for the Chosen White Oaks), and we can bloody well do it again! So rather let us not scratch our heads and moan and groan. We know what we have to do.” And indeed it came to pass that they did it. And the next time they were MUCH more careful; they did NOT melt down their swords. They kept them sharp and used them to make sure the new elite could not (under cover of being pretty milkmaids), milk all their precious cash cows. And in time, that land prospered, and was known far and wide as The Second Rainbow Nation.
A historical comparison of the current proposal for press censorship under the new regime compared with that under the old regime is interesting. National security under the old regime was defined during the Cold War by an insecure and autocratic political elite that was running a morally bankrupt state besieged by a low-key internal guerilla war, civil chaos and disorder, several low-key external wars, a global anti-SA campaign, no international support worth mentioning, a weakening economy, sanctions and disinvestment, and an internal opponent backed by one of the 2 global superpowers – seriously heavyweight threats even on a global scale. Press censorship, whilst appalling and unjustified, was presented as being justified by clear and present external threats. The current press censorship drive in the absence of any of the above facts makes one think very deeply. I suspect that the new ‘Suppression of Information Act’ is not based on concern with generalised criticism of politicians of the new elite, or even more sinisterly to protect the state from the people, but is rather to ensure that whichever faction in the ruling party is ascendant can use and abuse state security apparatuses (police, national intelligence, the military, the treasury) at will to further their internal faction fights, with this information never getting to their political opponents within the party and the alliance. Such information would be devastating during political infighting, presuming the law and the courts retain their normal functioning and independence.
Hence despite all the sound and fury from the general public, the key threat from the Bill is probably directed against any politicians in the ruling party who may fall out of favour with the ‘centre of power’ in future, and find themselves ‘biting the tail’ of a dictatorship. And the great irony is that all the members of the party are forced to toe the party line and support the bill. The law of unintended consequences may well come to haunt them in the future.
A well wrought and congenial journey through the decline and fall of governments and the State’s they set out to loot.
Ironic really.
Every government inflicted on our ‘beloved country’ since before the 17th century has been primarily concerned with living off the land. rather than living from the land as is the case in less well resourced regions.
The model into which we are rapidly morphing is called a “Feudal” model and it works well so don’t knock it.
The revolution has simply given a new set of wannabe feudal overlords the opportunity to live off the land. Expecting people who have been fed the belief, that when their own guys took over thing would improve is wrong won’t wash… because it’s not true… For instance i now routinely observe chic ‘kugel’ mammas driving around in the city in their cool kusheshe’s whereas before ’94 i have no recollection of ever seeing a black woman drive.Better life yeah.
You missed the key thought in your succinct wandering … the apartheid state and other feudal variations all failed to develop; they stagnate, at best eking along on rolling critical mass The core reason is information starvation.
For all the reasons given this government needs to control information flow… However without free information flow, with all its warts, markets cannot assess value. So capital costs more. Tax revenues decline: knowledge becomes scarce. Government become less and less effective … and then comes the boom… and we start again.
..only this time around the rest of the world won’t say a word!
@ Michael…great
@ Dave Harris…..I was impressed to read your comment…. “I’ve resisted commenting on your blog”. Please stick to your principles.
Let’s not confuse “multi-racial” and “non-racial” – the latter is the founding value enshrined in section 1 of the Constitution, to which the nation “united in its diversity” aspires. The rainbow of multi coloured hues needs to intermingle into the colour-blindness of non-racialism in which all people are judged by the quality of their character, not the pigmentation of their skin.
To Dave Harris et-al
“I have often said that the media are a mirror through which we can see ourselves as others perceive us, warts, blemishes and all. The African National Congress has nothing to fear from criticism. I can promise you, we will not wilt under close scrutiny. It is our considered view that such criticism can only help us to grow, by calling attention to those of our actions and omissions which do not measure up to our people’s expectations and the democratic values to which we subscribe.”
– Nelson Mandela
“Freedom can never be taken for granted. Each generation must safeguard it and extend it. Your parents and elders sacrificed much so that you should have freedom without suffering what they did. Use this precious right to ensure that the darkness of the past never returns.”
– Nelson Mandela
MT, your writing and commentry is of the top shelves. Thought provoking, thoroughly entertaining…brilliant!
I wonder if Mandela has revisited the worlds he spoke as quoted by @Marsden. I doubt. I think we see what does not exist, and we manufacture seeing it even if it is not there. We talk about and argue from the perspective of apartheid, and though we know it no more exist, some of us invent it, to establish their own comfort zones. ANC understands an they in turn behave as if what they think we think exists, keep on inventing old ones to feed our not believing that division no more exists, but we keep on reinforcing it in our writing, discourses and existence. To show us that it exists even if we thought we did not think so because we cannot see it(In the minds Eye?), the ANC comes around with the Protection of Information Act to begin the ball rolling around the issues in which we are divided, therefore we cannot unite to oppose the Act and what will follow it. As others pointed out, Scorpion was set up and trounced. Were being marinated for the long broiling headed away in a form of draconian laws censorship and news Blackout like apartheid regime. The ANC was sure that they are not going to change anything in the form of structure they inherited, instead, they’ve worked assiduously hard to elongate, reform and overhaul. Pity, we as South Africans should grow up as a nation and begin to fashion the new nation in our unified perceived Image….