surfing, running life and stories

Reading a variety of articles in noseweek #103, a penny dropped, if somewhat belatedly. A number of articles (about eskom; corrupt cops ; dodgy muncipalities) exposed blatant corrupt practices. What really struck me was that in all these articles some of the government employees pulling a fast one, bore surnames which would denote their membership of the `previously advantaged.’ The Apartheid system was corrupt, self serving and rotten to the core. The ANC, prior to 1994, was so poorly managed and ill-prepared to rule, that when it took over governing South Africa, its many appointees from national to local government adopted the status quo of corruption and lies which their nemesis, the Apartheid system had put in place. Operating under a cover of secrecy, both organizations learnt how to cover up and befuddle the public. So what we have now, ruling our state corporations and government structures is the worst toxic combination of lying, self serving individuals, who have merely continued the century old South African tradition of ripping off and lying to the public.

Senegal
The Almadies Peninsula just outside Dakar is the most Western Point of Africa. I have seen three surf spots, all really good. The best is Ngor Rights. Ngor is an small Island, only about 500 meters off the coast. Its a right hander reef. Its been light on-shore, but still surfable. If it gets big, I reckon it would be very gnarly. Walking the coast of the Peninsula I was stunned by the pollution. Mostly plastics and I reckon mostly dumped over board passing ships. Not that there is much sign of pollution and litter conciousness by the locals. I always find it disconcerting, being in amazing places spolit, for me, by litter. My first reaction was that this is a poverty thing..people just don't care. Then I thought, its not that. The pollution in the developing world is domestic junk, clogging rivers and beaches. In the so called developed world, we do the same, but pollute on a larger, more `sophisticated scale.' We may keep our rivers, roads and beaches clean from litter, but we pump toxics into the sea, air and land mass- a lot more destructive, but better hidden. A bit like corruption. In the developing world it is in your face and ugly. In the so called developed world it is huge, toxic and destructive but better hidden.

For at least the last twenty to thirty years, May/June have been the months of protest in South Africa around living conditions. 2007 was no exception. With the continued poor service delivery in 2008 in the Western Cape, we will hopefully see communities out on the streets, exercising their Constitutional right to peaceful protest. In the past, protesters have backed down after politicians have made promises. Since the tyre burning in Ocean View and Masiphumele in 2007, how much progress has been made by local and provincial government to adress land and housing issues. As with the rest of Cape Town, in the Kommetjie area, there are large tracts of land, owned by various government structures which are unused or underutilised. 2008 is the time for local, provincial and National government to stop power plays, sort out land issues and build houses. This is government's Constitutional duty. (Section 25.1) `No-one may be deprived of property..’ and Section 26.1 `Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing.’ And if communities know that government have the resources and yet do not deliver, communities need to use the space given them by Section 17 of the Constitution and protest.