MUCH TO CELEBRATE

It’s a quarter of a century since this country came to its senses. We have a lot to acknowledge but it will take a long time to undo the legacy of Zuma

In 1985 I was accepted at the journalism department at Technikon Natal. The problem, however, was that even though the department had approved my application based on my matric results, I had, in terms of the law, to prove to the minister of education that there was no black institution that offered the course. At that time, the two nonwhite technikons in the province — ML Sultan and Mangosuthu — did not offer journalism. Based on my appeal which was informed by this fact, the minister approved my application. Guess who the minister was? FW de Klerk.

Anyway, I started my studies. But, of course, being black I was not allowed to stay on campus. I had to take my classes during the day, and afterwards take the train back to Hammarsdale — an hour-and-a-half commute each way.

Needless to say, I was one of a few blacks in class but friendships across the colour line were made. That is why I can proudly count such people as Fred Kockott, Gail Steytler, Paddy Harper, Ricky Naidoo, Lesley Duff and others as personal friends. We defied apartheid.

He does not know it, but one of our icons was Amarnath Singh, who is today one of the assistant editors of this publication. I can imagine the racial prejudice he had to endure simply because he happens to be a South African of Indian extraction.

I am writing this on April 27. This is a major milestone, especially for those of us who, not so long ago, were not regarded as fully developed human beings. The system was so petty as to prohibit us from using the same toilets as white people.

Why am I writing about this? Simply because it’s a quarter of a century since this country came to its senses. We have a lot to acknowledge and celebrate. Many of you privileged people reading this do not know that for the majority of South Africans accessing such basic things as running water and electricity only came after 1994.

Now we get to the big but and a big sigh. The many gains in our progress to full nationhood have been undermined by a number of factors, especially the profligacy of the Jacob Zuma administration. What happened in government sadly trickled into society. Inevitably, so many people — from your nurse at a public hospital to your policeman at a street corner — are unashamedly corrupt. As the Chinese say, the fish rots from the head. It will take us a long time to undo the legacy of Zuma, which in itself has complicated our fight against the more entrenched nightmare of colonialism and apartheid.

These were the thoughts that were going through my mind as I sat down to a decadent lunch at O’vicente in Bedfordview. The clincher for me was people enjoying themselves on the veranda. As a person who was raised in an overcrowded four-room house in an overcrowded township, I appreciate space. Yes, 25 years ago I wouldn’t have been allowed to dine at that place.

I do not regret having gone there. My starter — snails in an amazing lemon butter sauce — was a tantalising indulgence (R50). However, the sangria was, at R75 for half a litre, nothing to write home about. The half-chicken and six-prawn combo (with boiled potatoes on the side) floored me — so much food (R180). But, please, we need more spice. Portuguese cuisine can’t be bland. Now I have joined the class of the privileged.

The chicken and prawn combo floored me, but it needed more spice. Portuguese cuisine can’t be bland — now I have joined the privileged

O’vicente

★★★★

16 Sovereign Street, Bedfordview, Joburg Tel: 011-616-2249

★★★★★ Cyril Ramaphosa

★★★★ Julius Malema

★★★ Kgalema Motlanthe

★★ Poor

★ Joseph Mathunjwa