My Beauty Best Teacher

John Githongo and William Gumede write in the FT:

There are leadership failures across Africa. The meltdown in Zimbabwe has focused the world’s attention on just one. Robert Mugabe’s efforts to prolong his rule have provoked an unusually strong African reaction. This may be because Africans are beginning to recognise that there are no “national” crises. The deepening social and economic interdependence of their countries mean that Zimbabwe’s problems are regional and truly African. Across the continent people are demanding more from very limited democracies...[continue reading]

Amengeo Amengeo writing in Business in Focus about the South African "anti immigrant" crisis states that:

Since the ‘end’ of apartheid [and this is moot since whites still control the economy, the courts and the land] South Africa has experienced unparalleled levels of violence, much of it directed inwardly. The people’s rage like an unstoppable river had to find its way and it fell back on itself. The late African-Martinician revolutionary Franz Fanon warned that a people, denied outlets for their anger will turn this rage inward, teetering on a pre-revolutionary precipice.
The anger and horrific brutality expressed in South African violence and crime are not the acts of mad people, but the acts of people made mad by the denial of justice and closure against those who oppressed them for so long. These people have been placed out of reach by the insane generosity of ‘forgiveness’ and ‘reconciliation’ offered without the consent of the people. The unfortunate ‘immigrants’ who have every right to be in South Africa, since without their unswerving support and solidarity apartheid could never have been toppled, are convenient scapegoats subjected to ‘xenophobia’ –destined to be the new divisive buzzword- while the government stands aghast, caught off guard by a situation they should have seen coming. This is a very, very dangerous time not just for South Africa, but the entire Continent.

The truth is that SA has a liberal/progressive constitution, but this liberalism isn't a reflection of actual South African society. See William Gumede's article in yesterday's Guardian. And I've always been suspicious of it. I never thought South Africa's adoption of gay marriage was a genuine reflection of what people thought.

Conspicous consumption and its corrosive effects arrive in South Africa, William Gumede contends:

It is one of getting rich quickly, using shortcuts. Once one has made it, one feels entitled to live lavishly – the ‘bling’ lifestyle. This ‘bling’ lifestyle has now become the new standard for achievement: A sign that one has made it.
These shortcuts could be attaching oneself to a sugar daddy, or in politics to a political party boss, or attaching oneself to a crime boss....Black economic empowerment has also helped along this ‘bling’ culture. The downside of black economic empowerment as it is practiced now is that one does not need to build a business from scratch – which demands entrepreneurial acumen. One can secure a tender through political connections. This is possible even if one does not have a clue about how to deliver the services promised.