A few observations on South Africa

Government in transition… South Africa in 2008

A few weeks ago I was in South Africa. Colleagues from the U of Pretoria invited us some time ago and we were finally able to free up some time to get down to that part of the world. I was there to attend the annual meeting of the South African communication association, visit a number of excellent of universities in the Pretoria/Johannesburg area, and spend an afternoon at Vega (which in my view reminds me a bit of an effort to develop an educational IDEO)… sorry, I didn’t get down to the coast so I don’t know how the area compares to California and it’s vineyards. You’ll have to read about that elsewhere.

The timing was perfect. The weather was great (but dry before the rainy season). The world economy had not yet tanked and the Rand was doing pretty well. Just after we arrived, at the request of his party (the ANC), President Thabo Mbeki agreed to step down sooner than his already announced departure date in 2009. The locals were in a bit of a frenzy and we were on site to observe developments. Would the transition over the first few days be smooth? What happens when and if Jacob Zuma is selected President next year? What happens to a country that the rest of Africa looks to for leadership (and produces 1/3rd of the GDP for the whole continent)?

The good news… best I could tell, despite the political uncertainty, road construction continued without pause (a unifying factor from every country I’ve been in lately) and on the road in between Pretoria and Johannesburg there are enough international company offices that the place resembles a modest scale Silicon Valley.

Bad news, the local Pretoria rugby team is not doing well and there is great concern that as host country for the 2010 FIFA World Cup the locals won’t be able to organize a competitive team. And of course, some feel like the facilities will not be ready in time to greet the hordes of international guests anticipated.

My impressions. A mix as you might imagine but optimistic overall. I visited Soweto and was surprised. It was not what I expected. Nelson Madela's house is undergoing renovation… rumor has it that Winnie feels it’s a bit too modest to be the home "Nelson lived in". I was told that Bishop TuTu was up from the coast… there was a car with a Cape plate outside his house. The local kids were well attired and playing soccer in a nearby park. The housing was modest but clean and respectable and you felt secure. Something you don’t always feel in downtown Pretoria or Johannesburg… or many U.S. cities. True, there are parts of Soweto that don’t have electricity and sewage but overall the place didn’t have the look or feel I expected.

A day earlier, we visited an Afrikaner monument and museum… a very impressive monolithic facility on top of a hill near Johannesburg testifying to the Afrikaner movement and its historical influence in this part of the world. Transition is a continuing theme in South Africa’s short life. The Afrikaner monument and Soweto show the diverse sides to this place. And as the ANC shifts its players there is consternation. Minorities have gotten used to Mbeki's multiracial liberalism and Jacob Zuma's aggressive populism concerns some who feel it bears a great deal of resemblance to the politics of their northern neighbor, Zimbabwe. Ask around, just below a surface level of optimism there is angst among many.

They say that no trip to South Africa is complete without a sighting of the “Big Five”. Unfortunately for us, our visit ended in viewing only 4 of the big 5. Oh well, we almost made it… this place is worth a return trip for many reasons. Dynamic, exciting, good people doing interesting things. It’s not “out of the way”, it’s right in the middle and has been since Mandela and Tutu emerged on the world scene. That has not changed.