SOUTH Africa is an absurd stage play of contradictions.
The state of the nation 16 years after democracy is in tatters. There is a lot of discontent on the ground, fleshed out in the form of industrial strikes, vandalism and violence with the people hoping to cause panic and paranoia.
The idea is to shake the new rulers who seem to have been attacked by the complacency of attitudes.
On the other hand we have people yearning for South Africa's past - victims of apartheid stroking the welts on their backs with a wistful reminiscence of the days in the plantation with the mean and surly Kobus van der Merwe.
South Africa fits well into the fictional African nation of Aburiria in Ngugi wa Thiongo's Wizard of the Crow, a country he described thus: "Of crooked roads, robberies, runaway viruses of death, hospitals without medicine, rampant unemployment without relief, daily insecurity, epidemic alcoholism."
In the book Aburiria's despotic ruler proposes to build the world's highest building, to be called "Marching to Heaven". The ruler goes to New York to get loans from the Global Bank to build the tower - the symbol of victory and dominance.
This thread of narrative is reminiscent of modern post-colonial South Africa.
We too have run to the World Bank to ask for a R3,75billion loan to develop a coal-fired power plant to boost flagging power supply.
This was the first World Bank loan for South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994. The loan was even approved despite the lack of support from so-called the first world countries such as the US and the Netherlands, which abstained mainly due to environmental concerns.
So with those concerns in mind our country went ahead to acquire the loan.
Wizard of the Crow was written with South Africa in mind - a country where the new rulers are building huge things to signify their dominance.
Kgafela oa Magogodi, poet and lecturer at the University of North West, says Africa in general has this predilection for building things after taking over.
"Size matters in post-colonial Africa. It has always been like that. Every time there is an African independence the new rulers start to build stadiums and erect statues of the present leaders," he says. "The stadiums play as metaphor to lekgotla."
"The idea is to see these figures as larger than life. As an ordinary citizen you are supposed to be humbled by this huge image of Nelson Mandela on the square in Sandton and the World Cup stadiums.
"This is about performance as well. The new rulers tend to show a flair for magnum spaces," he says.
"But the striking masses have responded. They said since you are this big you can feed us.
"Think of the colossal stadiums we built for the World Cup because we wanted to 'show them'. Think of pictures, paintings of rulers that hang on the walls of public buildings. Public symbols get altered with every changing regime. Often new monuments are built. Street names are changed. But when do we change the lives of the wretched?"
When the new rulers fail to build significant things in line with the people's wishes they turn on themselves.
James Mahlangu, former KwaNdebele prime minister, grafted as member of Parliament in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, has been known for not delivering services to the people.
His government failed to build even a single library for its own people during Mahlangu's tenure. The government instead used the money to buy expensive cars, yet the people had no electricity and tarred roads. His party, Intando Yesizwe, became part of the ANC.
"Remember when Nelson Mandela was inaugurated," oa Magogodi says. "He signed on a huge book, which was in fact a heritage of apartheid. He signed the book in the middle to signify that he continues with the heritage of the apartheid order. If this was a new order, a new beginning, he could have started the book from the beginning. At the moment we are still continuing with the apartheid heritage."
Nnamdi Azikiwe, former governor-general of the Federation of Nigeria, had this to say to his fellow Africans: "I have one advice to give to our politicians. If they have decided to destroy our national unity, then they should summon a round-table conference to decide how our national assets should be divided before they seal their doom by satisfying their lust for office."
SA's absurd system
SOUTH Africa is an absurd stage play of contradictions.
The state of the nation 16 years after democracy is in tatters. There is a lot of discontent on the ground, fleshed out in the form of industrial strikes, vandalism and violence with the people hoping to cause panic and paranoia.
The idea is to shake the new rulers who seem to have been attacked by the complacency of attitudes.
On the other hand we have people yearning for South Africa's past - victims of apartheid stroking the welts on their backs with a wistful reminiscence of the days in the plantation with the mean and surly Kobus van der Merwe.
South Africa fits well into the fictional African nation of Aburiria in Ngugi wa Thiongo's Wizard of the Crow, a country he described thus: "Of crooked roads, robberies, runaway viruses of death, hospitals without medicine, rampant unemployment without relief, daily insecurity, epidemic alcoholism."
In the book Aburiria's despotic ruler proposes to build the world's highest building, to be called "Marching to Heaven". The ruler goes to New York to get loans from the Global Bank to build the tower - the symbol of victory and dominance.
This thread of narrative is reminiscent of modern post-colonial South Africa.
We too have run to the World Bank to ask for a R3,75billion loan to develop a coal-fired power plant to boost flagging power supply.
This was the first World Bank loan for South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994. The loan was even approved despite the lack of support from so-called the first world countries such as the US and the Netherlands, which abstained mainly due to environmental concerns.
So with those concerns in mind our country went ahead to acquire the loan.
Wizard of the Crow was written with South Africa in mind - a country where the new rulers are building huge things to signify their dominance.
Kgafela oa Magogodi, poet and lecturer at the University of North West, says Africa in general has this predilection for building things after taking over.
"Size matters in post-colonial Africa. It has always been like that. Every time there is an African independence the new rulers start to build stadiums and erect statues of the present leaders," he says. "The stadiums play as metaphor to lekgotla."
"The idea is to see these figures as larger than life. As an ordinary citizen you are supposed to be humbled by this huge image of Nelson Mandela on the square in Sandton and the World Cup stadiums.
"This is about performance as well. The new rulers tend to show a flair for magnum spaces," he says.
"But the striking masses have responded. They said since you are this big you can feed us.
"Think of the colossal stadiums we built for the World Cup because we wanted to 'show them'. Think of pictures, paintings of rulers that hang on the walls of public buildings. Public symbols get altered with every changing regime. Often new monuments are built. Street names are changed. But when do we change the lives of the wretched?"
When the new rulers fail to build significant things in line with the people's wishes they turn on themselves.
James Mahlangu, former KwaNdebele prime minister, grafted as member of Parliament in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, has been known for not delivering services to the people.
His government failed to build even a single library for its own people during Mahlangu's tenure. The government instead used the money to buy expensive cars, yet the people had no electricity and tarred roads. His party, Intando Yesizwe, became part of the ANC.
"Remember when Nelson Mandela was inaugurated," oa Magogodi says. "He signed on a huge book, which was in fact a heritage of apartheid. He signed the book in the middle to signify that he continues with the heritage of the apartheid order. If this was a new order, a new beginning, he could have started the book from the beginning. At the moment we are still continuing with the apartheid heritage."
Nnamdi Azikiwe, former governor-general of the Federation of Nigeria, had this to say to his fellow Africans: "I have one advice to give to our politicians. If they have decided to destroy our national unity, then they should summon a round-table conference to decide how our national assets should be divided before they seal their doom by satisfying their lust for office."
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