Why I love South Africa

I consider myself to be thoroughly South African.  I have English and Irish heritage and I believe somewhere on a bend of the family tree there is some Spanish. 

However I hold no allegiance to that heritage. I always describe myself only as "South African". This was a major change for me.  I spent the entirety of my teens trying to leave this country.  It was, after all, the 80s and being South African was not popular, I was a teenager and the lure of America was massive.  

Time passed, I got married and had a child.  In 2002 I found myself in America for my 4th trip there and a curious thing occurred.  I was homesick! I couldn't wait to get back home and for the first time I looked at America and thought "I like visiting here but definitely won't live here". 

I love being South African and I take it all, the good and the bad. 

This self indulgence is  written as an introduction to the following.  A speech given by Christo Wiese on the 7th of May 2010. It highlights what is positive about our country and why we all must do something to contribute to it's success. 

"A few years ago I read a very interesting book, by a Lebanese writer, one Taleb, titled the Black Swan.    By now, I am  sure, we’ve all heard the story of the “once enigmatic” Black  Swan  -  but what was the lesson of this  story?     Simply,  that  when confronted with  incomplete data one often  draws incorrect conclusions,  and  therefore –  people often think they know more than they actually do  know. Perhaps one should pay more heed to what Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defence said on occasion:

“There are known knowns.  These are the things we know  that we know. There are known unknowns.  That is to  say,  there are things that we know we don’t know.   But  these are also unknown unknowns.  There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

Being  ignorant when it comes to the unknown unknowns is understandable,   but what constantly amazes,  in  respect of our continent and our country, is how little many people know of what are or should be, the known knowns.

Non-Africans, and I suspect even some South Africans, often fail to grasp that Africa is not a country, but a continent.  And a very large continent at that; the land mass of Africa is larger than the combined land mass of China,   India, the US and Europe.

This vast continent with its more than 800 million people is made up of 53 diverse countries whose inhabitants speak more than 2000 languages.  And to mention only a second aspect of Africa’s diversity, per capita GDP in 2009 for example was 51 times higher in Equatorial Guinea than in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Another common mis-apprehension is that South Africa is a non-African country meaning unsuccessful.

 How does one define a successful country?

Would you agree that a country with the following score-card can rightly be defined as successful.   Let us call the country X.

 1.    X has the world’s 26th largest population and 29th largest economy.

1. X’s per  capita GDP, corrected for purchasing power parity,  positions the  country as one of the 50 wealthiest in the world  
2. X’s  currency is the 2nd best  performing emerging  market currency of the 26 monitored by Bloomberg.  
3. The IMF’s  World Economic Outlook ranks X in the top 10% of countries in respect of  real GDP growth projections for 2010.  
4. X was  ranked as the 18th most attractive destination for  foreign direct investment by Global Strategic Management Consulting Firm  AT Kearney.  
5. In the  Economist Intelligence Unit’s Survey of Democratic Freedom, X ranks  31st of 184  countries.  
6. X has  sold $1.8bn worth of cars to the US last year,   putting it ahead  of Sweden and  Italy as supplier to  the US auto  market.  
7. X,   according to the Open Budget Index,   ranks 2nd worldwide in terms of the  transparency surrounding its budgets,    just behind the  UK,  it ties with France, and is ahead of New Zealand and the  US.  
8. X is  ranked 30th  out of 178 countries for ease of doing  business ahead of Spain,  Brazil      and India according to a joint  publication of the World Bank and the International Finance  Corporation.  
9. X’s media  ranks 26th out of  167 countries in the Worldwide    Press Freedom Index  2007,  higher than any country in Asia,  the Middle East or  South America,  and ahead of Spain, Italy and the  US.  
10. Tax  revenue in X has increased by 220%,  over the past 10   years.

By now, I am sure, most of you have guessed that the mystery country of course is South  Africa.   Or rather South  Africa as we have just analysed   it,  by focusing on the positive aspects.    Of course there is another side to  the coin.   Our unacceptably high levels of crime and low level of  policing efficiency.   Our inability to achieve the desired output  for our vast expenditure on education bearing in mind that – 25% of our  non-interest budget expenditure goes to education.    Also the ever present fear of corruption and maladministration, etc.,   etc.   I am sure everyone has his or her own little list.

I would  submit,  however,  that the positive aspects,  that I  have briefly referred to (and there are many more) at least prove that  contrary to the way pessimists perceive South Africa there are definitely  two sides to the South African coin.

The  challenge for every South African appears to be which side of the coin do  you wish to focus on  for example when you drive to Cape Town  International Airport  -  which is the lasting impression on your  mind -   the unsightly (albeit diminishing) shack lands – or the  glittering new Airport precinct.    Cape Town International Airport is regularly judged to be one of the best (mid size) airports in the world.

But as pointed out earlier,   South Africa is unquestionably part of Africa.   So we should also look at Africa.

 Firstly,   how is Africa faring politically?   Fortunately we now have a very handy yardstick with  which to measure African Governance.   That is the Mo Ibraham  Index established by the like-named Sudanese billionaire and compiled by a  team from The Harvard Kennedy School of  Government.      The criteria used to compile the index are:  economic stability, corruption,    security, rights, loans, elections,   infrastructure, poverty and health.

 The 2008 Mo Ibrahim Index stated that 31 of 48 sub-Saharan nations recorded higher scores than in the previous year’s survey.

 What this index reflects is the reality - that in Africa today the political generation of the Bwana Mkubas (Big Men) is showing signs of passing – prompting some to speak of Africa’s Second Liberation.

Those with a clear understanding of modern Africa believe that it is the growing democratization of Africa that allows the warm water of the market to spread within its states – a trend that in turn reinforces the spread of greater democracy.     Economic  and Political freedom will  continue to lead as it has already done,    to economic opportunities,   social upliftment and a  new place for Africa on the World  Stage.

What are the reasons for Africa’s democratization?   I would like to mention only four:

 One powerful reason for this welcome change is demographic.  The post  1960’s African population boom means that the continent’s electorate is on  average young.   Never having lived under colonialism they are far  more likely to hold their politicians responsible for the challenges facing  their countries.   Blaming colonialism is increasingly seen for  what it is, namely an excuse for bad governance.

Another reason for the greater democratization is the bigger role played by women in African politics.   In Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia the continent has at last  elected its first female president, one with an open style and a  technocratic bias.

 Previously chauvinist parliaments across the continent are seeing the number of women MP’s increasing.    In Rwanda,  a recent African  success story,  the ratio is now 56%.   In South Africa it is 33% with females constituting 40% of our Cabinet.

Further support for the Second Liberation has come from Africa’s increasingly vociferous fourth estate.   In an ever growing list of countries the Media has become the guard dog that barks and that no longer readily responds to being told to shut up.

The justice system in a given African country may not yet always be able to bring its former leaders to book.    However Frederic Chiluba in  Zambia and Bakili Muluzi  in Malawi are welcome  exceptions.   In addition,  external institutions,   supported by African Nations are being established to fulfill this  role.   Charles Taylor of Liberia is having his day in court in  The Hague and the International Criminal Court has even issued an arrest  warrant for the sitting President of Sudan,  Omar  Bashir.

Just as Africa’s condition and future development will have a massive impact on South Africa, so will developments worldwide impact on Africa. So what will the New World look like that South Africa will likely inhabit in 2020?

 China with a population of 1.5bn by then will be close to overtaking the US as the world’s largest economy.    India (2020 population of 1.3 bn) will be a top 5 economy and Indonesia will be emerging as an Asian Brazil, resource-rich and with a population of 275 million.

Commodity-rich countries from the “New World” – Africa, the Middle East,   Russia, Indonesia, and South America will be prospering, because of Asian demand for their products.   Most of the “Old World” – the  US,  Europe and  Japan plus their  adjacent,  dependant regions such as Mexico and Eastern  Europe will be stuck in a low growth economic rut.    Indeed the coming decade may well be the  West’s Japanese-style “lost  decade”.   The reason being that the demographic consequences of  the ageing of the Old World – coupled to the fact that the US,  UK  & Europe – 15% of the world’s population – currently consume 70% of the  world’s  mobile savings -   this means that in the West there  will be higher interest rates,  a higher cost of capital and  consequently lower economic growth.

 Overall South Africa will live in a more globalised, intensively competitive world economy that will be increasingly focused on an urbanizing, industrialising Asia.  The region which by 2020 will also dominate the growth in global consumption, driven especially by the exploding middle classes of China and India.

 By 2020 it  is projected that South Africa will have a population in excess of 53  million of which 30 million will be under the age of 25.     Forced by intensive competition from Asia on South  Africa’s  remaining industrial base  our economy will have to refocus on its core,  defensible,   competitive advantages :  mining,  agriculture and  tourism.    Sectors that are doubly blessed in that they are all labour-intensive and export orientated.

South Africa’s trade focus will by then have diversified significantly from the West.     Asia will have become by far our most  important trading partner  -  China most obviously but with  English-speaking India a strong number  two.   Indeed the Indian Ocean Basin – from South Africa in the West to Australia in the East will have become a very prosperous trading basin.

 South  Africa’s economic  status will be secured by its natural-resource based development with  targeted value-added propositions added on to this foundation further  enhanced by the development of tourism  -  a “magic” industry in  that it is an export-earning service sector capable of absorbing large  numbers of lower skilled workers  -  especially in rural  areas.

 But then optimise these opportunities we South Africans will have to learn to think out of the box socially, politically and economically -   designing policies that are made for South Africa and that are good for South Africa.

 Events over the last two years have illustrated that the capitalist way is not only to be found in the West.   We must and I believe we will develop a 2020 vision for South Africa that is much more globally relevant  than to-day in the Asia-centred,  commodity-hungry world we will live  in by 2020.

 Skeptics of course will have grave reservations as to our ability to develop and implement such a vision.   The answer to such sceptics (perhaps the same people who were hoarding bully-beef and candles in the run-up to  the 1994 election) is to point to the many successes we have achieved as a  country  -  in 1994 and in the sixteen years  since.

 As Roelf Meyer recently wrote in Die Burger.    In taking stock we  should compare ourselves with comparable countries in the rest of the  world.  We should not compare ourselves to the developed or Western  World,  because we were never part of that world.   We should  compare ourselves with developing countries and  also countries that  recently emerged from internal conflict.   In the latter group we are a shining star and within the international community South Africa is still hailed as a beacon of successful conflict resolution.

 Roelf refers to a 2009 issue of the Economist in which comparisons are drawn between 180 countries and specifically the 65 best economies in the world.       

 According  to the survey:    South Africa has the  25th largest  purchasing power,  is the 39th largest exporter,   is  the 25th largest  manufacturer of goods and the 28th largest supplier of services.   On the competitiveness Index we rank no 45.   Not great,  but  it looks a lot better when one notes that Brazil, considered one of the  leaders of the developing world and with a much larger population ranks  43.

But these are the achievements of yesterday and today.   And we have to get  from 2010 to the 2020 Vision.    Other countries or societies  will not do it for us.   The Government on its own cannot do it.

Inter alia,  because as Henry Kissinger once said:

 “No  policy  –  no matter how ingenious  -  has any chance of  succeeding if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of  none” and Ronald Regan said: “The most terrifying words in the English  language are: I’m from the Government and I am here to  help”.

 Every South African who has the best interests of this country at heart, will need to do his or her bit.    As general pointers I would like to leave you with a few suggestions:

"Make a  positive difference, no matter how small, inter alia, by developing a  positive mind set : Perhaps along the lines of what George Bernard Shaw said  "You see a thing and you say "WHY?, but I dream things that never were and I  say "WHY NOT?"

1.                   Harness the power of community

 2.                   Engage in constructive participation

3.                   Do not be overwhelmed by all that is still unacceptable or sub-standard.   Look around at the great things that are happening -    Soccer World Cup.

 We should not only see the positive - but embrace it and contribute to it.     Surely then,  but only then will exponential benefits flow to  all of us who share this beautiful country."

Thank you Christo! Well said. 

The Lost Art of Being Understood

Being understood is the root of successful social and business interaction.  Without it civilization is not possible. Unfortunately we are misunderstood all the time.  According to a study you are only likely to fully understand (in terms of intent and tone) half the emails you receive on a day to day basis.

That's just email.  Throw twitter, facebook, instant messaging, cell phones and good old fashioned face to face and we have a world where you can be instantly misunderstood 24 hours a day.

At the root of being understood is communication, yet it is only one third of the euqation. Ask any person or businessman and they'll tell you that communication, in one form or another, is at the root of their difficulties.  Yet amazingly it is the easiest difficulty to fix.

In my recent travels I have found that  the subject of communication has become tattered and worn through mis-use and confusion. It is fantastic that even though this lies at the root of 80% of social problems very few people believe it to be a problem that THEY have! And consequently is a scrambled search for crazy solutions that take us further and further from simple communication.

It's a wonderful subject to know!

I haven't said much here - I intend to write detailed articles on all of this in the coming weeks.  I wrote this simply to say that being understood is possible, it's simple and it will change your world!

Service - the old cliché makes a come back

In the last weeks I have been studying the phenomenon of social media and branding online through this medium. 

While I'm some distance from being an expert (but which I intend to be) it is interesting to me that "Service" has become immensely valuable in the online community.

I say this as a consumer as well as someone who is looking to establish a brand and provide a service.  But the term may be defined differently than it has in the past.  Quite obviously if you're buying a washing machine you want prompt delivery and a great price.  That may never change.  But how does this translate online and how do we get to the point that we want that washing machine.  If you're online and savvy it's not old school.

It is no longer good enough to have a washing machine in an advert that tells me how wonderful it is. In fact we often find this to be distasteful.  How does this machine measure up?  What do other people have to say about the machine, about the company? What online resources exist to help solve issues relating to it after I've purchased?

More and more we look to other people like us for opinion and input.  We don't trust the company, we trust each other. So don't tell me how great you are, I need others to tell me that.

If you have an online presence you better be prepared to supply these answers and make it very easy for us to get the scoop.  And don't hide from the negative input.  If it's out there we'll find it so have it right there on the website and deal with it.

And it all comes down to service in it's entirety.  Throughout the history of business service has been thrown  around and it's become a cliché.  But now more than ever service must be understood and put completely into practice. Those that do will thrive, those that don't will be relegated to an ever decreasing off line market.

Now that I think about it, the washing machine wasn't the best possible example but there you go.

Communication and Trust

I attended a talk yesterday about marketing which I found to be very interesting. But a comment was made which made me sit up:

The question was asked: "What is the key to a successful marriage?" The answer it turned out was not communication but rather "Trust".  Fair enough but the comment was along the lines that it is an old wives tale that communication is the key factor.  In fact communication is around 3rd or 4th in importance.  The presenter provided an example:  A husband comes home with lipstick on his collar and says to his wife "Honey, let's talk, let's communicate"  The point?  Lot's of communicating but no trust.

This really bothered me and I chewed on it for some time until I realised the problem with this statement. First off I know without a shadow of a doubt that communication is THE universal solvent and consequently THE key factor in any relationship.  Secondly any husband who came home with lipstick on his collar would not be communicating.  Any person who violates the agreements of a relationship (whether marriage, work, friends) reduces his communication.  Because of the broken agreements he (or she) will look to avoid contact and communication and will, in a sense, be hiding.

Thus, trust is broken because of the breach of trust, followed by no or reduced communication.  And in the reverse trust can only exist after communication and can only be maintained with further communication.  In the example above, it will only be through truthful communication that this hapless husband will be able to begin the tough road to regained trust.

I felt much better when I saw this.  My faith remains firm - it is communication that remains the universal solvent.

(takes a breath, takes a seat)

Pre-Marital Counseling?

Should a couple get marriage counseling before they get married?  This is an interesting topic as opinions are so varied.

But before we can look at that we have to look at the process of getting married - how this happened in the past and how it has changed. 

Typically 20, 30 or 40 years ago you would have a situation where people attend church, perhaps regularly, maybe not, but they have a church to which they "belong".  At some point in their lives they fall in love and decide to get married.  The choice is obvious, if indeed there is even a choice: Meet with the local pastor and schedule the date with him.  He then provides a short (or lengthy) counseling course over several weeks to prepare the young couple for marriage.  And so it ran, regular as you like. 

Fast forward to the present and the all too typical situation is no longer typical - it's quite frenetic.  If we are going to church its just one of myriad social activities - Work, Facebook, travel, email, conferences.  We have cellphones making us available instantly all the time.  So in the first place the single generation is  far more likely to meet and fall in love with someone outside their own cultural or religious leanings.  Once they do they rarely rush into marriage but rather move in together and live that way for months or even years.  So by the time they get around to the subject of marriage they've all but lived together as a married couple for some time already.  So they go off to see the local pastor and that's where it gets complicated. 

The first difficulty is that there is an issue that one or both have been pretty poor in attending church regularly. Or worse, they have different religious backgrounds. Both of these make for an awkward moment.  Either the pastor refuses or he insists on the regular pre-marital counseling course and commitment to the church.  The couple have already experienced life together and don't feel it is totally necessary.  Also neither want to "convert" or make a commitment they don't feel so they decide that this is not the route for them. 

So back to the original question: Should a couple get counseling before they are married?  The simple answer is, yes. However it's not that simple. 

The first barrier in getting gain from anything is to recognise that there IS something to be gained. Enforced counseling or going through the motions will be time and money poorly invested. 

And the truth is there is much to be gained from counseling, assuming of course that the counseling is of a high standard.  What is the key factor in creating a successful marriage?  What is a successful marriage - how is this defined by each partner and how does this relate to the other partner? What gets a couple through the stress and conflict that can arise in a marriage? How do you "keep it fresh" in the years that follow the honeymoon? 

These are important issues and they change constantly - we are always growing (or should be) as individuals and with this growth comes change.  What you think about life today is different to how you thought about it 10 years ago.  Will your spouse change with you?  How do you ensure you change and grow together?  

Done right counseling is no wishy-washy, "let's talk about our feelings", type of activity.  It's a nuts and bolts look at the future partners will make together.  And speaking as someone who has been married 21 years and counting - it's a fantastic ride with wonderful rewards. 

So, yes, counseling is important but make the decision together and demand you get everything you can from it. 

Justifying the Wedding Industry Bankroll

I was inspired to write this post after seeing another blog entry remarking on the "high" prices charged by marriage officers for their services.

According to the South African Bridal Industry Academy (SABIA) the wedding industry is worth R27 Billion annually.  If accurate it's a staggering figure when you consider that 200,000 marriages are registered annually in South Africa which translates to an average cost of R135,000 per wedding!  This covers all costs relating to a wedding from preparation, the event itself (including guests traveling from abroad) and the honeymoon. According to this article foreign couples coming here to get married spend up to R1 Million on their wedding!

Is this massive cost justified?

Being a marriage officer I have some bias for my particular service since given the above amount my cost is around 1% of the total and I'm the only supplier who absolutely HAS to be there.

Having performed over 500 weddings I have seen everything from 5 star service for 150 guests in the middle of the African bush to 5 people in a park without a single refreshment! So it all comes down to what the couple (read: Bride) want.

As with anything of a social nature there can be pressure from friends or family to do it better than others have done. This can make it pretty expensive.

And as  the wedding industry is seen as a growth industry so more people view it with a gleaming eye and decide to try their hand at making it into a full time profession.  To make a living you have to sell your service at a price that does make a living. And that can make it expensive.

And most importantly a wedding is sold as probably THE most important occasion in a woman's life and consequently are willing to do what has to make it  the event of a lifetime.  And that can make it expensive.

So, is it justified?  Depends who you talk to, who is paying for it and who is selling it.  But one thing is for certain:  The industry will continue to grow and become worth more for as long as couples are willing to pay what is asked for.

My advice to anyone getting married is remember that there is a vast amount of choice so never take the opinion that you absolutely have to have something or buy something or do something in a certain way.  It is YOUR wedding so demand and get the service you are paying for.

Lastly, from my biased opinion, a wedding remains one of our cultures great personal celebrations and whether its big, small or expensive it is a wonderful expression of an important moment in anyone's life.

A Short History of Marriage

In a world that changes as fast as ours one wonders why people still get married.  During the 1980s and 90s there was a definite anti-marriage theme running through our social discourse. But today marriage is as popular as ever and growing. In fact, on average, a wedding takes place every 3 minutes in South Africa, 24 hours a day every day of the year! And the number of weddings increases by around 2% annually.

From the time we climbed out of the trees and conquered the valleys and the hills marriage has been a part of our way of life.

In very early times a male simply took a woman to be his and in this way the race was propagated.

As we civilised the concept of marriage became more formalised but was primarily a way to protect wealth, property and bloodlines and for hundreds of years arranged marriages were the norm across many cultures.  In Hebrew law if a man's brother died he was required to marry his wife.  In ancient Greece there was no ceremony, it was just decided.  Any idea of love or courtship was not part of the deal and certainly involvement of the bride was non-existent.

In Europe, it was only in the latter part of the first millennium, around 865, that saw the introduction of the idea that there should be mutual consent in a marriage and possibly even some affection. By the 1200s this had become more popular and the Christian tradition adopted the concept that marriage should include love between partners as Christ loved the church.

However, arranged or contracted marriages remained firm particularly among the upper classes of British and European cultures. And marrying outside your class or station and certainly outside your culture was verboten.

The marriage ceremony became more formal in the 16th century requiring the presence of a priest and at least two witnesses. A tradition that has continued to the present day and which is still a requirement in South African wedding ceremonies.

Interestingly the engagement ring is almost universal.  The ring represents eternity and whatever forms marriages have taken through the centuries it was always considered to be a lifelong commitment.

The one thing that defines marriages in the present (and just about all endeavors of modern man) is choice.  This began with the industrial revolution which spanned 200 years from the 1750s to the 1950s. But things really ramped up in the technological revolution in which we find ourselves today.  The choice of partner is probably greatest in all of this.  It is not just possible to meet and fall in love with someone half a world away, it is ridiculously easy: Ease of travel, skype, twitter, facebook. Fall off a virtual log and you meet people.

Although arranged marriages still exist in many parts of the world the modern idea of marriage is one of choice and mutual participation.  And when it comes to the ceremony very often the groom has very little to do other than show up on the day.

Thus, love and affection are now dominating factors in marriage but it still remains a legal contract and both parties should be aware of the implications.

And to answer the question with which I began this post:  People still get married because they find they survive better together and having someone to share the victories and the losses of life is a fantastic aide to our survival. In a chaotic and turbulent modern world that need is greater than ever.

Marriage has come along way and by all indications it will become ever more popular as the explosive growth in the wedding industry shows.