We all need a long weekend

THERE has rarely been a time when South Africans have been in need of a long weekend than perhaps this year – and 2017 is not even properly four months old yet. We have had all manner of issues to contend with, but none can quite beat this week: last Friday’s protests decried as racist opportunism by a white minority, only to be met by 120 000 South Africans of all creeds, classes and colours marching on the Union Buildings against the continued presidency of Jacob Zuma.

That same day, we had the president celebrating his birthday with a huge cake, against the backdrop of one of the poorest and most deprived parts of Johannesburg – Soweto’s Kliptown.

That night came the news that the Guptas’ PR practitioners, Bell Pottinger, had dropped them – after successfully sowing the seeds for a vitriolic (white peril) shock campaign blaming “white monopoly capital” for South Africa’s woes and inequalities 22 years after the advent of democracy and ANC rule. The PR company claimed it had been forced out because of a smear campaign against it.

South Africa is an incredible country to be in right now – if you’re a journalist. If you’re a citizen, things are slightly different because we find ourselves on the cusp of change all the time.

This long weekend offers us a welcome time out. Some of you will spend it in worship, remembering the life of Jesus Christ; others will use the time to reconnect with family or friends. All of us, though, can take a break.

We hope you all will. Most of all, we hope that if you are going away or have already done so, you’ll take extraspecial care on the roads and return ready for whatever lies ahead.