The Editor: Challenges within the African continent, putting South Africa beneath the microscope

Being in the Dark Continent (Africa) doesn’t mean you have the sole right to remain in the dark… Writes Buchule Raba GoXtra News Editor

As I’ve mentioned above living in the Dark Continent does not mean you’re in the dark. This is just an idiosyncratic name given to our continent. Now I will focus not in Africa as a whole, but its Southern parts in particular Southern Africa. I am going to look at its citizens, attitudes, education prototype, the rich and opposite. This is a very broad subject, thus I need to be as comfortable as the coin…

South African citizens are broad ones and that makes an outsider to lack the comprehension of what is shaping our societies on daily basis (Crime, poverty, rape… you name them). Because of this broadness visitors from other big countries come as blind as a bat because of what they continuously hear/read/watch on the news about the voluminous crime that takes place in our country. But is that a trend or a stigma attached to our nation? I will rather go with stigma. In a country that has such history as of apartheid people are embedded with stereotypes and those are evident from the day we got our freedom. The day that said in more particular to “Blacks”, be lazy because Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative action is going to work for you. Just find a solution to the cry of the citizens, because the two models above are as a bad as the itch- as a blight.

Talking about attitude in a South African setting it is a phenomenon which is hard to change. Not because it cannot be changed but the locals have no backbone and they constantly looking bad at the person who strives to proper the right from wrong. How many times have you heard a bunch of twits lambasting a good speaker? Nor that they do not want change, but the speaker him/herself have not impacted change of attitude within them; but is one who knows how to speak in public. To modify attitudes in this country you need to make sure that you’re clean or reformed from your former state that will allow your audience to put judgements upon you. Do not say, “Don’t eat the mouse, while its tail is right in your mouth”; you need to find an ethical way to challenge this problem by tackling it from the genesis. You need to be strong and know how to deal with negative stereotypes. The master of all, you need to RESPECT whoever you speaking to.

Talking about respecting whoever you’re speaking to brings us to the educational prototype of the state of Southern Africa. In her education is mostly regarded importantly by the folks who really never got the chance to sit down and get educated. The people who died for the betterment of this beloved country left us with hope that with education everything is as blissful as the sunrise. But what is the government doing to better that hope? While there are areas with no schools, sanitary drinking water, poverty to mention but a few. We generally follow that if the above challenges are challenged in the rightful manner, then education and prosperity are possible. As of this problem, educated people find it difficult to mix with their uneducated counterparts, because they don’t want to be labelled with names such as, “You think you clever”, “You make yourself better”, and etc. breaking that pigeonhole will help enhance the teaching amongst citizens.

First of all let me highlight a point on the subject above, education does not make you rich or poor, it’s either it helps you flourish or trip while trying to be rich or poor (If one ever tries to be poor).The country was declared such a long time ago as a rainbow nation and a place where everyone lives and enjoy equal rights. Take this to your pretty intelligence, equal rights do not mean all shall be rich or poor. It simply means equivalent rights in terms of governments’ basic services to the people that it serves. How possible is that in South Africa? Are the rights embedded in our constitution in practical or theoretical terms? Are the people who have to ensure we all enjoy equal benefits from the state at work? Anyway who enjoys equal rights here? You cannot tell people that they have the right to such and such while you do not enforce that into practicality.

The current government system is not as blameless as the snow, but yet we cannot blame the government because there are many available channels for citizens to help themselves through the state available aid. We need to eradicate vitiate that shapes our country. We need together as the citizens and the media to help alter the spurious information that leaves the country to give us a bad name globally. If in all honesty we were a bad country why foreign nationals find us as the best hiding and business making spot? Citizens must behave lawfully. Education must be balanced between those who can and cannot afford such. The wealth (singing along with the government) shall be shared, not Kenny Kunene’s wealth but that of the state as it rightfully belongs to the citizens. Finally attitude must be changed with ethics and not by people who will undermine their subjects of change…

Until next week I relish to you…


Story by: Buchule Raba



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