SA owes itself to get smarter and better

WHY “trading places” will never be the answer to South Africa’s problems.

I grew up in Johannesburg and was always concerned about the state of affairs that came to rule and divide the country. When I grew up I wondered why all the black people lived in Soweto.

I wanted to go there and have a look for myself. It was so close and yet it was so far. The divide seemed to be absolute in many ways. I had a friend in Montgomery Park and I used to visit him, and his father was a colonel in the army. I would listen with avid attention when he talked about what was going on in Soweto, and he would sometimes bring videos home for us to watch the mayhem that was going on there.

Later on, in around 1990, I met a friend, his name was Thomas, and I used to visit him in Diepkloof. I found it amazing that people were so friendly, and that I could walk around openly without any threat of violence. In fact, they loved to see a white face in the townships.

I used to visit my other friend Henry, who was in Soshanguve, and I found it equally friendly.

Fast forward to 2018, and I have to wonder if the country has lost it course. It is understandable that maybe communism seems to be an attractive option to many in South Africa. I mean, if you have nothing, well, hell, it looks great. You can get all those things you wanted and there would be more equity. And there should be more equity, anyway.

South Africa needs to have more equity. Just trading places between what were mostly privileged white people and not-so-privileged black or coloured people does little to help the country. It has to go forward and it has to get richer, more creative and smarter.

And the race card cannot be pulled out every time there is a problem in South Africa, to blame the past. The country owes itself to get smarter and better.

If Singapore can do it, then surely South Africa has the capacity to do it. MARTIN LEVY Durban