Dear Gareth Rhydal Cliff
In response to your “open letter” of 12th October, 2010 and entitled Dear Government, I feel compelled to reply accordingly.
Firstly, to put a few of your statements in perspective I’d like to point out that SA is indeed NOT the least literate and numerate country in Africa. According to the United Nations Development Programme Report of 2009, SA was ranked joint 107 in the world at 88% literacy with Namibia (in joint second place in Africa) and Zimbabwe is ranked 91st in the world at 91,2% also as the leading African country for literacy. Countries like Libya are ranked 113 (86, 8%), Nigeria is ranked 139 at 72% and Burkino Faso and Niger at 178 with 28, 7% respectively and in last place, Mali with 26, 2%. I might add that in as much as we all agree with you that education in this country is an appalling state, the literacy rate in 1990 was 82, 4%. This indicates that there has been some growth over the last ten years and yes, much more can and should be done in this instance. Let me also remind you that in 1994, just 14% of the African and 17% of the so-called Coloured population had a matric level pass, as opposed to the commencement of general qualitative tuition in Zimbabwe started post 1980. The base black and so-called coloured students started from post 1994 was incredibly low by global and even African standards so cognisance needs to taken of this throw-back from the apartheid era. By glibly remarking that learners who are writing matric now didn’t even start school in 1994 had nothing to do with Apartheid is way off the mark and frankly unintelligent as who should teach these children you speak of? To have a quality educational system, you FIRST must have qualitative tuition to teachers. To begin with, the bases of quality teachers was close to zero in 1994 and as a corollary of this, go on and point a finger at Apartheid, because it certainly is the culprit in this case. Let me remind you again that in 1994, 14% of Africans and 17% of so-called coloureds held a matric certificate and I assume because that the ANC government had to henceforth manufacture quality teachers from thin air. This categorically concludes that your statement about the literacy percentage in SA as opposed to the rest of Africa is grossly inaccurate as well as having little understanding to the true background dynamics at play in the educational debacle.

Secondly, your comment of pretty stadia standing empty is pretty sic hypocritical as your own article entitled “The Greatest Show on Earth” of 8th June 2010, you proclaimed therein to be excited, proud and pleased and further you claimed that the WC2010 was the most positive and powerful thing to happen to our nation since the release of Mandela. You go on further to lambast the naysayers about bitching, moaning and complaining how much it costs and wished (in your own words inter alia) “...I wish they’d shut the fuck up.” In the face of this, how can you in the space of 4 months, comment about pretty stadia standing empty? Maybe you should apologise to the naysayers who predicted that all these “wonderful stadiums” would cost you, me and all the ordinary taxpayers (who are all already overtaxed) a fortune for years to come.

Thirdly, the comment about more “Presidential bastard children” is downright rude to put it mildly. The Encarta English Dictionary describes, in the context you used the word bastard, as an offensive term for somebody born to unmarried parents. Clearly you thought about this before you penned it and I’m of the opinion that it was intended to flatly insult the President as you certainly had the luxury of choosing to use the decorous term illegitimate. Let me remind you if you’ve forgotten perhaps, that even though this country is referred to as a geographic position south of Africa, it still is in and a part of Africa where the overwhelming majority of its population are African in terms of culture, norms and traditions. Central to this culture and tradition is respect for elders regardless of whether their behaviour is degenerate or obscene. Even in Afrikaner culture there is again a very healthy respect for their elders, and utterances such as yours would be met with a snot-klap and or a broek-skeur bliksem. The word in the so-called coloured community would be far more floral for the same transgression and here I’m referring to the adjective preceding the word klap (referring to a woman’s genitals). Remember that the President is 68 years old and you a mere 33 years old and by referring to Mr. Blade Mzimande (52 years old) as ugly is obscene and grossly disrespectful. Even if he was as ugly as ten miles of bad road, it is NOT your place to say so publicly in as much as you are aware that “ugly” or “beauty” is purely subjective. This brings me to you correct comment that the “people” and in using this term I take the implication of all the people are indeed tired of the ANC and will surely make their displeasure felt in time to come. Other forms of venting displeasure are already on display in terms of public strikes and so on.

Fourthly, your comment of corruption and self-enrichment is a global phenomenon common to the vast majority of governments around the world and is certainly not peculiar to the ANC or Africa. But let me remind you that the real beneficiaries of this corruption you speak of are people from your very community. In fact, there have been more new “white” millionaires in this country from 1994 to 2004 than from 1948 to 1994 during those heady days of the apartheid. There still exists in this country, the greatest margin of disparity between those who have (the overwhelming majority who are “white”) to the black masses. Now there is something to rant about and genuinely ennoble yourself in this regard. The vast majority of the wealth and land still sits in the same corner that it did in 1994 regardless of whether the ANC and their cohorts bizarrely enrich themselves or not. The BEE, BBEE and ABCDE debacle in this country failed because black people have to BUY their freedom and loan the money from banks and merchant banks and in as much as this may make loads of cash for the seller and the banks alike who as you know, are owned by one small sector of the community, it places a severe burden on the individual or group who are borrowing this capital.

Fifthly, you speak of the ANC government renaming things and yes I agree with your argument as there are far more critical issues on our national development agenda to focus on, but be fair at least. Zille and the DA in the Western Cape have been doing the very same thing at a ridiculous cost and should receive the same lambasting.

In conclusion, what you have done with this piece has proven what the ANC Government has been saying about an irresponsible media prevalent in this country. Your piece lacks accuracy, is blatantly disrespectful and downright rude and is far from balanced. You and your little camp of supporters may think that what you’ve espoused may be funny or spot on bru, whereas in fact it has created far more harm to the fight for press and media freedom that you can imagine. I guess the media owners just wished you’d shut the fuck up in the first place.

#2: Brian e Ebden - An open letter to Gareth Cliff 

 

Exactly!