In this week’s Slice of Gasant Abarder column, he argues that if George Orwell was to write a novel entitled 2021 he could well base it on South Africa – where most animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. Abarder is a celebrated Cape Town-based media specialist and the former editor of the Cape Times and Cape Argus. This weekly feature is exclusive to Cape {town} Etc…
George Orwell would have described South Africa as the land where all things are equal. In theory, at least. But he would have noted that some animals were more equal than others. Take Natasha, for example. In an ideal world, she would finish her degree through hard work and sheer determination.
No, not that Natasha! I’m talking about Natasha Dietrich, the 47-year-old mom as the Cape Times reported, who was a former cleaner at a university and was able to complete her Bachelors’ Degree in Education. The mom from Belhar now teaches maths and social sciences at a primary school.
Yes, the University of the Western Cape opened the door by paying for her full tuition fees. But Nastasha wanted it and turned out to be one of the top students. There are other Natashas, and some Johns, who take this for granted and get by on matric – in Parliament, nogal.
During apartheid this was common practice. Job reservations for whites… white mediocrity to be exact. All this while their highly qualified black colleagues in that blue party have to settle for the crumbs.What is unforgiveable, I’ve only just learnt, is that they have the opportunity to study for free as well, despite earning fortunes as MPs.
The fact that the DA’s chief whip Natasha Mazzone and party leader John Steenhuisen still only have a matric is unforgivable. What is criminal though, is lying on your CV.
For 10 years, suspended DA leader Bonginkosi Madikizela claimed on his CV he has a degree in commerce. Suspiciously, the news only broke after he entered the race to be the DA’s mayoral candidate for Cape Town in the upcoming local government elections. Of course, someone shopped him, perhaps for 30 pieces of silver.
There have been claims made that Mazzone told anyone who cared to listen she had an LLB and did her articles. Curiously, she hasn’t been suspended and her hubby did a job on Wikipedia to correct the “facts” reportedly after Madikizela was exposed.
Yes, the ‘what about-ers” will point to one Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma who didn’t finish matric but was a whole president. The difference is he lied about many things but not this fact.
Equally, lying about your experience is fraudulent.
Imagine you lied about holding senior positions in your previous company and you’re hired on that basis. Later, if your company finds out the truth, you can be fired, or worse, criminally charged. Naked ambition and the benefits of being a boss can make people do strange things and act criminally.
Elsewhere, in the land of the wilting Proteas, there is a Mark who also didn’t get a job on merit and the results of that appointment are showing up like cracks on an Indian wicket.
Mark Boucher is another example of white male mediocrity who gets by with a little help from his friends. Or, friend, in this case (in the form of Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith).
The truth is Boucher should never have been appointed. He had a level 2 coaching qualification when there were more deserving black candidates with level 4 coaching qualifications and far more experience at international level coaching. What is worse is that he had an opportunity to upskill himself but didn’t feel the need to attend coaching workshops.
And no, no one is questioning his fantastic career as an international cricketer. But coaching an international cricket team is a whole other ball game.
The worse part of it all is that of our friendly cricket writers. Just a handful of scribes are rightfully asking some tough questions. And instead of following suit, the rest are behaving like fanboys and admonishing their critical fellow scribes. How dare they ask tough questions about Boucher?
Welcome to the South Africa of 2021, folks. The land of opportunity – for some. Where you can get by without matric and become a president. Coach the national cricket team without the requisite qualifications. Or run the main opposition political party with a matric certificate.
But if you’re Natasha Dietrich, forget about it. You’ll never achieve your dream without that degree in the land where all are equal, meritocracy is a myth, and some animals are more equal than others.
Picture: Charel via Instagram