Let’s turn off Twitter, accept our leaders are flawed, and work on our problems

On hot summer days, the deep furrow between the potato plants at the bottom of my grandmother’s vegetable garden was my favourite spot to lie down, stare at the sky and contemplate the state of the world. My other childhood hideout was the coal shed, where shards of sunlight through the holes in the tin roof created an ethereal glow around my bed of stones. My grandmother’s fury and the severe scrubdown I got when I emerged from my filthy sanctuary were sometimes a deterrent to my contemplative interludes.

During the festive break, I realised how little time people actually spend thinking because of the deluge of information coming at us, particularly via smartphones.

Information is empowering — I simply can’t get by without a GPS, the weather app and googling what the ANC’s chaplain-general said to get him booted off the party’s anniversary programme.

But what use is there in reading Donald Trump’s every inane tweet, monitoring Tito Mboweni’s Rwanda crush or watching Jacob Zuma troll President Cyril Ramaphosa by trying to reinvent himself as something between a policy sage and a creepy uncle?

Why also do Helen Zille’s tweets still trend and why are people like Hlaudi Motsoeneng still able to gain traction?

The biggest waste of time is to attempt to counteract social media trolling. Unfortunately, too many people still believe that bot armies are reflective of societal thinking and get lured onto fake news sites designed to manipulate public perception.

Last year was a political roller coaster with a change in the presidency, two commissions of inquiry piecing together the damage during the Zuma years, sweeping changes in the state, and revelations of more massive corruption eroding the moral fibre of our nation.

Ramaphosa’s main target points for 2018 were obvious for SA’s process of recovery.

The Gupta stooges had to be booted out of the cabinet; Tom Moyane and Shaun Abrahams had to be removed from the South African Revenue Service and National Prosecuting Authority respectively for these two vital institutions to begin functioning again; and there had to be a dedicated focus on stateowned enterprises to eliminate the rot and restore governance.

The president also initiated an investment drive using special envoys, and announced an economic stimulus package. The economy is in serious trouble and both initiatives were necessary confidence boosters.

However, until the sixth national elections are over and there is certainty about the composition of the new government, there are unlikely to be major new ventures to boost the economy other than what was pledged at last year’s investment summit. Investors want political stability and policy certainty before they go beyond the Ramaphosa fanfare.

The election outcome is difficult to predict as there are high levels of disenchantment with politics generally, and controversies plaguing the three main political parties are likely to affect voting.

The next five months will be dominated by election hype and rhetoric, which will detract from rational discourse about the state of the nation. We have to cross our fingers that the elections will be credible and not wholly influenced by disinformation and manipulation of voter sentiment.

But for SA to emerge from its weak economic state and worsening social conditions requires that we break our heavy reliance on political leadership. There cannot be continued expectation that politicians will come up with solutions to all the country’s problems when all they do is recycle old ideas.

The new government, whatever the configuration, is bound to lead to further disappointment if people believe that those they elect will conjure up a magic fix to our systemic problems.

Across the world there is a growing dependence on populist ideas to win or retain political power, and SA is no different.

What our country needs is deep thinking and a new national vision.

Twenty-five years after attaining freedom, we cannot keep plodding on without any clear direction, hoping that jobs will fall out of the ether, that a dysfunctional state will suddenly start delivering services efficiently, that people will stop being corrupt because a few get caught, and that good performances by our national sports teams will create social cohesion.

Across our nation, there are people with brilliant minds, activist spirit and the desire to improve the state of society. The answers to our country’s many challenges require more than just the president and 76 ministers and deputy ministers deciding on our future.

We need innovation, better use of technology, civic activism, an even spread of resources, and the sharing of knowledge and skills to even get near the starting line of what it takes to be a thriving nation.

For this to happen requires a common vision and strong leadership across society. The anti-intellectualism and political bullying of the past few years need to come to an end. Fresh ideas and diversity of thought should be encouraged rather than being seen as competing with political power.

Our destiny cannot be left to people we are not even sure we can trust with our vote.

So, let’s start thinking.