South Africa can't get through a week without the threat of Armageddon
It seems we can’t get through a week in South Africa without the threat of Armageddon. Load shedding, National Disasters, and now #NationalShutdown, to name but a few of the grim headlines competing for attention.
It’s as if each upcoming calamity displaces the fear of what came before, or adds to it. And so we flee from one existential dread to the next; from Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the giddying prospect of Vice President Julius Malema in a power-sharing agreement with the ANC.
All of this while also worrying about life’s more immediate challenges such as earning a living, wash dishes, or getting the kids to school on time.
It’s hard to remember a time in our recent past not overshadowed by some cataclysmic event, real or imagined.
Which is why, in my opinion, this week’s #NationalShutdown, ended up providing some unexpected good cheer. Here was another potential disaster, a ‘revolution’ aimed at bringing the country to its knees, delivering such a spectacular no-show that for those fearing the worst the day ended up feeling like a triumph. A triumph of ordinary South Africans just getting on with things, and not sweating the aimless rhetoric. A vote of confidence in society’s ability to see through the bluster, or just to shut it out.
The anticipated ‘red tide’ of EFF foot soldiers did not sweep away Johannesburg or Pretoria, nor any other place. Instead we saw the opposite – tiny groups of ten or less, toyi-toyiing largely unto themselves and sometimes outnumbered by police and journalists. In George the protest march was delayed by an accident involving a police Nyala and one of the protestor’s cars – a reminder that, even when the world seems calamitous, for the most part life has a habit of just carrying on.
Yes there were scuffles, stone-throwing and intimidation. But the day ended with police and protestors shaking hands and heading off home.
One doesn’t want to discount the legitimate concerns of the EFF, which are shared concerns. We all want jobs and energy security, and yes we would all love to know what those dollars were doing inside Ramaphosa’s couch. Yes many of our Ministers are asleep at the wheel. But EFF-style disruptions serve only to highlight the desperate need to build things up, not tear them down. The quickest way to keep the lights on and create jobs is to get business working.
John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce & Industry