ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS
FORTY years ago I planted a little Manatoka tree in front of my house. Manatokas thrive in the salt-sea wind and mine grew into an attractive shrub and eventually died.
I kept its outstretched branches as a garden feature, rather like a spooky gnome. Last week a strong wind blew my Manatoka over and I had it chopped up and taken away. Although I miss my Manatoka I now have an uninterrupted vista across the bay.
It’s rather spectacular, actually. From my front door I can see the grey and yellow suburban train crawling along the rocky coastline, heading for Fish Hoek station, and watch the wind surfers skimming across the waves off Fish Hoek beach.
Sea kayakers wave to me as they ride the swells toward the beach. Some years ago I took two American guests to False Bay Yacht Club for an evening drink and as we sat watching the moored yachts nodding at anchor in the sunset, one of them remarked: “You know, if this was in America you’d have to pay a million bucks to be able to come to a place like this.” He wasn’t joking, either. We have all the ingredients to make the Cape the most soughtafter millionaires’ playground in the world.
There’s superb surfing, safe swimming, supervised scuba diving, kayaking, yachting, shark spotting and craft markets, all linked by a regular commuter railway line that runs along a rocky shore. But where are the millionaires?
Drive along the suburban streets and you’ll see “For Sale” notices displayed on garden gates wherever you go. People are leaving.
House prices have dropped. What should be the most sought-after property in the world is turning into a ghost town.
Stupid, greedy politicians have ruined it. They’ve ruined it by stealing taxpayers’ money to enrich themselves and their pals rather than spending it on maintenance, repair, security, education and all the other essential services that keep society running smoothly.
The great sadness about all those “For Sale” signs is that the houses belonged to the people we could least afford to lose – qualified doctors, engineers, teachers, technicians, craftsmen and women who know they can sell their skills and knowledge in other countries.
They also support the families of unskilled workers – housekeepers, gardeners, dog walkers. Their loss hurts many people.
The people who stay behind are those who cannot afford to emigrate. Our leaders talk loudly about “turning the country around”, but so far it seems like idle talk.
We need to see stolen tax money recovered, corrupt officials jailed, more training centres established for teachers and nurses, policemen and women employed. Very few people actually want to leave. Most South Africans love this country. But when it seems to offer no future for our children, it begins to look like time to go.
Last Laugh:
A politician wrote the following memo to one of his colleagues: “Dear George, I want to assure you that I was only joking when I wrote that I didn’t mean what I said about reconsidering my decision not to change my mind. I really mean this most sincerely. Regards Frank.”