Look ahead and don’t waste time licking wounds

THE NIGHTMARE is over at last and South Africa can start waking up after nine wasted Zuma years. Philosophers say it’s not how many times you fall that matters; it’s how many times to pick yourself up. You can decide whether each recovery makes you stronger, or each fall leaves you more damaged. We can learn from our mistakes and we certainly have some valuable lessons to take away from those nasty nine years.

Maybe the first of them is that we need to be very, very careful about the leaders we choose in future. Singing and dancing are all very well, but don’t count for a great deal when it comes to running a country.

Another important lesson is to be very suspicious of gifts. This applies to businesses as much as to a country. At a lunchtime meeting a business associate offers: “Feel free to use my holiday house in Hermanus any time you like. It stands empty most of the time.”

And later, when that associate is among the bidders for a big contract, can you really say no? Even if you know his product is not as good as his opposition? Corruption comes in many sneaky guises.

Maybe this is a time for looking ahead, rather than licking our wounds. Will we use our enormous potential to the full?

South Africa is rich in almost every mineral and metal the modern industrial world needs. We also have access to the most modern technology the world has to offer.

We can use it to make our country great, or we can grab it to make a few political pals wealthy. The choice is ours now. Will we make the right one this time? In one way the messy fall of the corrupt House of Zuma has been a good thing. There can’t be many left in South Africa now who don’t see what a mess a bad leader can make.

For a few moments back there, all political parties were united in a shared goal – everybody realised we needed change, and we needed it fast. We can work together without coming to blows.

Wouldn’t it have been an historic occasion if the entire House of Parliament had recorded its first unanimous vote!

Let’s make sure we are never again impressed by the singing or dancing abilities of those who bid for leadership. We will sing and dance together when we have something to celebrate.

I have a good feeling that those dancing days may be a lot nearer now.

Last Laugh

A WOMAN went into the cinema and was interested to see the seats in front of her were occupied by an old man and a large dog.

From time to time the man would lean across and murmur something to the dog, and the dog would nod. In the funny bits of the film the dog would grin from ear to ear, and when the story ended sadly the dog whimpered pathetically.

The lights went up and the woman leaned forward and said: “I’ve been absolutely amazed by your dog’s reaction to the film.” “Frankly, so have I,” said the man. “He hated the book.”