I confess. I know nothing or at least very little about the Protection of Information Bill or Secrecy Act that has got all and sundry into a lather this week. I suppose if I did know anything sensible and accurate about it I wouldn't be able to write about it for fear of being in breach of it. I suppose? But it does smack of the paving of the path to a good old African dictatorship.
Now Africans (and I consider myself an African before the self riotous out there get carried away) have collectively proved themselves over and over again to be pretty fucking useless at the best of times but one thing we do know how to do, and we do this quite well (but probably not as well as China and a few Arab sandpits) is to trample on others, their dignity, their rights, their heartbeat. And we're also quite good at guiltily wringing our hands when observing our lot in action and doing nothing about it.
I am not a liberal - shhh peanut gallery - regardless of the colour of your skin I have a strong belief in right and wrong, a strong belief in learning from mistakes made, a strong belief in leading by example and strong belief in firm and fair. But I fail to understand and find it quite sad that we are scarred by our past so badly that in a country like SA with all its mineral wealth, geographic diversity and pot of cultures we (poetic licence - work with me) have allowed near on 20 years to pass us by since 'democracy' and today we are still talking about the same shit and simmering in the same anger.
So the secrecy bill will only serve to remind the underclass (and unless you're privileged enough or royal enough or connected enough to benefit from being in government you are the underclass) to look north to the Arab spring. Because it may be the only option eventually. Because what will happen next is that the constitution will be changed at will to accommodate power trips and obese egos, to sell the land to the invading Chinese and there will be nothing that we can do about it. There will be no consultation because it will be wrapped up in the act somehow. There will be no reporting of it for fear of persecution. Minorities will be persecuted because they have had the audacity to grow their wealth and create infrastructure. Corruption - and its been impressive so far - will become legendary. Service delivery will be non existent. Infrastructure will gradually crumble. The police will be non existent or non effective. Civil disobedience will develop. It might take a year or two or five but the clock has started.
Fanciful? Ask journalists who have covered the demise of other African states, and here are only a few; Zim, Mozambique, Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia, DRC, Sierra Leone.
And yes, bizarrely, SA's people who don't live in the country will still return, they will be swayed by some motivational speaker about SA being the land of milk and honey - oh yes and you certainly do get milked - making the decision to leave a less glamorous life style so that they can braai and feel the sun on their backs. Clever people will make life changing decisions based on their past memories of drinking cold hansas. Ask me. I did it. It took me 10 years, two children and a lost fortune to bring me to my senses. I won't be back.
And quite frankly if even after the passing of this bill you still have your head in the sand hoping it'll get better then you deserve a medal for naivety. Or stupidity.
I leave you with these final words. My view may be different to yours I accept that. You may read this as negative, that is your prerogative. But if you can go then you should. 'n Boer maak 'n plan. You should too.
