Madiba would be furious, and call for action. So should we

How would Madiba feel, this Mandela Day? And more importantly, what would he suggest we do?

I wanted to write something joyous and optimistic this year, celebrating the life and, more particularly, the values of one of the world’s greatest statesman and leaders, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

Instead, I find myself thinking that that isn’t what Madiba would have wanted at all. He was a realist, a pragmatist, a man of truth and action.

So, Mandela Day 2022 is a sobering moment for our beautiful country. Not because anything has changed particularly, but more because nothing has, over the past year.

A year after our country was reeling in shock semi-post-COVID-19, we saw KwaZulu-Natal go up in flames as the Zuma children and other opportunists stoked the flames of insurrection as Jacob Zuma went to jail, not for the alleged treasonous dismantling and wholesale looting of the state, but for contempt of court. The harder crimes still need to be accounted for. Just like they still do for the majority of the political and white-collar elite who aided and abetted these sustained crimes against a country trying to redress a tragic past and create a more just, equal and shared economy.

This Mandela Day occurs almost three decades after the end of apartheid, and instead of finding ourselves in a thriving place of joy and success, we’re sadly in the doldrums.

For a country so abundantly rich in minerals, tourism assets, a world-class manufacturing capability, outstanding agricultural know-how and vast fertile land, spectacular businesses and profound intellectual property, we should be booming.

But quite the opposite is happening.

We find ourselves semi-paralysed by the ongoing inability of Eskom to provide our country with the most basic service – electricity.  And I don’t blame the current leadership of Eskom for this, but the past 16 years of total neglect, looting, political interference, infighting and actual sabotage of our national power facility.

We find our airline remaining in tatters, our railways hanging on by a thread at best, and our infrastructure in an abysmal state of disrepair as our cities try their best to overcome a national absence of leadership or capability right down to the renamed city of Gqeberha running out of water and with no intervention or contingency plans prepared.

We know all this, but the greatest sadness I need to express this Mandela Day is the sheer lack of obvious care or concern from the government.

This reverberating loud silence from the highest levels of leadership. We have no “family meetings” like we did have during COVID-19. We sit here wondering what’s actually going on. And when a member of society points out to the minister of police the staggering hard-crime statistics devastating our communities, he gets screamed at and escorted out of the building.

Madiba wouldn’t just be sad. He’d be heartbroken and angry. He’d tell us not to accept this. He’d tell us we’re far better than this. I can hear him. We can hear him. That distinct and wonderful strong voice saying that it’s enough. No more. Be proud. Be strong. Find your voice. Don’t be weak.

The important part to remember about South Africa is we have incredible people. Good, decent, kind, capable and warm people.

People who simply want to get on with their lives and make steady progress. We also have an abundance of assets, as I mentioned earlier. It’s literally all here. Just waiting for the right structures, leadership and policies to help the country unlock them for the benefit of all.

But ever since the startling discovery of cash-filled furniture, we have heard little from our president.

Now, it’s no coincidence that we only heard about this two years after the alleged crime was committed. That’s because the RET (Radical Economic Transformation) faction is determined to destabilise our country as the National Prosecuting Authority is closing in on it with the shocking evidence and conclusions from the Zondo Report.

It’s so outraged at not being able to feed at the taxpayer trough that it’s happy to tear the house down to avoid prosecution and to ensure its feeding frenzy remains unaffected.

So, what would Madiba want from us? He’d want us to be angry. To be furious, in fact. To say, “No more!” He’d want us to do all we can as citizens to help our country and its people.

To not allow theft, looting, sabotage and treason to go unpunished.

This Mandela Day, Madiba would be telling us to do everything we can to help build and fix our country wherever and however we can. He wouldn’t want us to look at this as a moment for celebration or jubilation, but as a time for constructive action.

He’d want us to ask ourselves, what we can do individually and collectively to fix our country. And that’s how we should honour Madiba.

Mike Abel is a founding partner and CEO of M&C Saatchi Abel. He is recognised as one of Africa’s leading marketing, advertising and communications specialists, as well as a prominent thought-leader.