EDITOR’S VIEW
It’s time to tap into our DNA to find solutions
“ALL we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”
The quote has been on my mind since I was appointed editor of the POST.
The times we find ourselves in today are similar to those described by JRR Tolkien in his fantasy adventure, Lord of the Rings.
Things were different just over 25 years ago when I started my first full-time job on the POST.
It was the eve of our first democratic elections and despite the many challenges, there was hope. As black people, we had overcome an evil regime. Nelson Mandela would become our president and he would bring out the best in us. He inspired and united us.
Fast forward to November 2010 when I returned to the POST, this time as editor. Even then, things were relatively okay. Mandela and Thabo Mbeki had set a solid foundation and, at that point, nobody would have fully understood the destruction that would follow under Jacob Zuma.
Now, as I return for my third stint on this title, the situation is bleak.
There are too many people who don’t work. Young people are particularly affected. They can’t find jobs because our economy is not creating many. The available jobs are subjected to racial quotas.
Parents face pressures of their own. Changes in technology mean that many of their jobs are fast becoming redundant.
As a result, households are under pressure. In too many homes, families are surviving on the grants of the older generation.
We then have to contend with a health system that is ailing and an education system that is not preparing the younger generation for the world they will inherit.
Communities across the country are having to protect themselves because they can’t depend on the police. What’s more, a dysfunctional criminal justice system means there are little consequences for those who break the law.
In the face of growing levels of intolerance, those who have the means are moving abroad. Alternatively, they are moving their money out.
However, most of us cannot afford to leave. We have to find solutions to the many problems we are faced with, and it is my intention to use the pages of this newspaper to do so.
In the years that followed indenture, families came together to help one another grow and prosper. Today, we begin a process to reach out to our extended family, the readers of this newspaper, to help us find solutions to the problems we now face.
Anyone who has beaten the odds to succeed will tell you that adversity builds character. We should therefore embrace our challenges. In the past, the community survived many hardships. There is no reason why we can’t overcome once more.