Carol’s Column

Life in Cape Town

One thing about living here, it's never boring. Just look at the past week with its elements of tragedy, comedy, farce, inspiration, joy and despair. This country of ours is buzzing.

Take the story about a rural school in the middle of nowhere with a principal denied all the conventional tools of education. Yet he, and a few other devoted teachers, with the utmost dedication have created a miracle school where young disadvantaged children have blossomed into highly achieving learners.

This inspirational story made me feel good the whole week. No, not only good, but proud that I shared the same geographical space with such people.

Then there is the farce acting itself out in Cape Town with Mayor Peter Marais who goes from bad to worse. There he sits, presiding at the top of a mound of dung beetles who at best have intentionally hoodwinked the people of Cape Town and, at worst, have done so dishonestly. Daily, the newly appointed Heath commission wades through the evidence. The farce becomes even more ludicrous when South Africans are exposed to loquacious Marais on TV, waving his hands, a look of pained bewilderment on his face, saying he misjudged the people of Cape Town. He would have thought they would have wanted to name their street after Nelson Mandela, wonderful Madiba, the man he and everyone loves.

Didn't the Capetonians want to honour Madiba? Conveniently, Marais has had a memory lapse, a political senior moment. Did he forget he'd wanted two streets re-named? The second after FW de Klerk. Marais didn't mention De Klerk. Most people agree that on one occasion in our recent history, De Klerk acted as a great statesman (for which he was co-winner of the Nobel prize with Mandela). But, does Cape Town really want a street named after the man who led an apartheid government known for its brutality, authoritarianism and abuses against human rights? Of course it doesn't.

Slowly, this Monty Python scenario plays itself out.

Just up the road, so to speak, a despotic megalomaniac drags his country deeper into disaster, encouraging militant self-styled war veterans to act violently, fuelling racial tensions, creating turbulence and instability, arresting those against him and causing people of all races to flee.

For senior Zimbabwean government officials to deny there is a crisis in Zimbabwe is cynical, despicable and deeply dangerous to that country and to all of us surrounding Zimbabwe. Above all, it causes the entire continent's stress levels to rise.

Then for the prurient, there was a real-life thriller, complete with private eye, alleged sex, sin, beautiful wife, lover and an embalmed body, suspicion of murder and seemingly, a trial by the media.

But there was joy too - Women's Day and the choice to make it a day of remembrance for less fortunate sisters. And, talking sisters, I have to catch my breath that I live in a country which produces a concert entitled Tribute to Dolly Rathebe. Sadly, because I was not in Johannesburg last week, I missed seeing our "greats" on stage in person, the incomparable Miriam Makeba (award winner of true class), the legendary Dolly Rathebe, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Thandi Klaasen, Dorothy Masuku, Sophie Mgcina, Mara Louw, PJ Powers, Abigail Kubheka, Zenzi Lee and Mozambiquan Mingas. Mamas such as these blow all bad shadows away.

Talking humour. Did anyone watch the news clip on SABC of elephants being re-located from Hluhluwe game reserve in KwaZulu/Natal to the Lake St Lucia wilderness area? These elephants were being "re-deployed" announced the intrepid reporter. The statement was not said in jest.

Peter Marais should be re-deployed. Robert Mugabe should be re-deployed, but elephants?

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