THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

Mr President, it’s in your hands.

Hoorah! In just three days time voters will go to the polls to put their crosses against the political party of their choice. Once all the votes are counted and Bob Mugabe – as the elder statesman of southern Africa - has been called in to verify the accuracy of the count, we can hopefully then get down to focussing on some small and insignificant things like countering the global economic meltdown, improving service delivery by emptying the buckets once a week instead of never in those townships where the bucket system still exists, and maybe fixing a pothole or two around the country. Such things have been ignored over the past years and understandably so. After all, where could we possibly have got the money from to empty toilet buckets or fix roads when something like R100-million had to be spent over 10 years on the legal process of getting just one man his desired day in court. If those were my lawyers, I’d fire them. After 10 years and R100-million, they still didn’t get their client what he asked for. 

Oh well, by the time you read this, you will know which party has won, which has come second and which one was ruled by Bob Mugabe as having tried to jinx the vote. Whichever one it was that you voted for, I just hope you didn’t put your cross next to that party based on its pre-election promises. I say this because you are going to be sadly disappointed. I haven’t heard so many empty promises since 2004 - the year of our last election. I’m sure each political party employs someone as the ‘Keeper of the Empty Promises Chest’. The responsibility of that person is to draw up a list of pre-election promises that can be hauled out and used at political rallies to attract votes. And hey, don’t think it’s an easy job. The promises have to be ‘sexy’ which means realities just won’t cut it. “Hey guys, there’s a global economic meltdown in progress and many of you are going to lose your jobs through retrenchments that are going to take place through no fault of the bosses. I really don’t know what the heck to do about that one but I’ll try, OK”. Forget it. The Keeper won’t let that one through. There’s not even a hint of vote attracting ‘foreplay’ never mind full-on ‘sexiness’ in that one. “Too much truth and reality,” thinks the Keeper and scraps it as he searches for a sexier one. He digs deep into the chest. Ah, here’s one. ‘Crime and corruption has become endemic in this country and I’m going to work tirelessly to stamp it out.’ “Much better,” thinks the Keeper. “We used that one in 2004 and it worked well. Let’s use it now and I’ll pack it away in the chest immediately after the elections and hide it until the next election comes around.” Yeah! 

Anyway, whoever comes in – and my bet is that as you read this Jacob Zuma will be the new President of South Africa - here’s a humble message to him as we move into our next era. 

Without the proper care this diamond will once again become dull and lack lustre. It's up to you Mr President to make it shine.

“Mr President, you are inheriting the custodianship of a jewel, one that is more valuable and beautiful than any diamond you have ever seen. The name of the jewel is not ANC or DA or COPE. Rather, it is SOUTH AFRICA. Yes, we all know the jewel called South Africa has lost its shine and sparkle over the past few years having been caked in dust and mud. However, the cloth that can get this jewel to sparkle again is in your hands. Are you going to leave the cloth in your bottom drawer and let even more dirt gather to obscure the potential value of this jewel; or are you going to take that cloth and spend your time and energy polishing the jewel to highlight to all the world the true beauty of the gem that is now in your hands? Should you take up that cloth and start polishing, you will find the sparkle of the jewel will reflect in the enthusiasm of all South Africans as they shine both as individuals and as a collective. It has been difficult for South Africans to sparkle as a collective over the past few years for the simple reason that since our great former President Nelson Mandela handed over custodianship of the jewel - which he had polished to a dazzling shine - no-one has been seen to be caring for it. It’s almost as if the jewel did not exist and I’m sure you will be the first to admit that it has been a messy time with a lot of divisive mud-slinging obscuring the true brilliance of the jewel. Yet the jewel is still there. All it needs is for its custodian – which is now you Mr President - to reapply the cloth and polish it. You see, a diamond never loses its inherent strength and qualities. It can, however, lose its shine if not cared for. Also, like a diamond, this jewel called South Africa has many ‘faces’ to it and you cannot polish just one ‘face’ and expect its true brilliance to shine through. You have to polish it as a whole. Do that and like a diamond, this jewel called South Africa will glitter and dazzle just as it used to post 1994. Mr President, it’s in your hands.” 

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor