Sometimes we are so consumed by the here and the now that we fail to look at what present day events might be telling us about the future. I guess it is a normal human condition. After all it is the hear and now that can cause us pain or pleasure.
The future is just that. The future, and there is very little we can do about it if at all. Right?
I hold a different view. I believe if we take our best stab at trying to understand what drive current decisions by individuals and organisations, we should be in a position to predict with the hope of a fair amount of accuracy what these individuals and organisations might do in future.
After all, history seems to repeat itself and with all of us living in Internet time history is much more recent than before. At the same time a week is an extremely long time in politics.
So what am I yabbering on about?
I am referring of course to the ANC and its current president and President of South Africa and the bloody battle waging within the ANC over a second term for JZ.
If I link to the internal battles to all of the tax payer moneys that are being spent on JZ then I cannot help but think that there is a much bigger agenda on the table than mere mortals like us (the voting public) have been thought worthy of knowing about.
Has anybody noticed how every big ticket expenditure on the President is always shrouded in secrecy and mystery (the new presidential jet, Nkandla the City and Nkandla – of pimp my crib fame). At first everybody denies that it even exist as an imaginary construct. Then it exist only in the fertile imagination of unreconstructed, white capitalistic controlled and coconut journalists.
The City Press seem to be particularly prone to this form of thought crime.
Of course at the same time the usual parrots climb into the discussion accusing all and sundry of counter revolutionary behaviour or being jealous plain and simple. They strongly deny that the Doctor Professor Supreme Leader could ever be guilty of the behaviour that is being ascribed to him.
Then comes the leak and the astronomical amounts that always seem to involve projects that have been signed off by JZ.
Remember the new jets – a cool R2 billion.
Then Nkandla the City – another cool R2 billion
Now the Pimp my Crib – more than R200 million.
No wonder one of the more ardent supporters of our president just gave up and told one of his friends on Facebook that he has lost his mind when the friend tried to put the number of zeros behind the two to explain how much R2 billion rand is.
Of course the price for non-sensical and absurd and rubbish explanation must go to our comrade Mac. While initially denying the amounts he now says that of course the president’s private residence must be given a facelift. We don’t want visiting presidents. prime ministers, kings etc. to have to slum it.
Of course he is referring to the PRIVATE RESIDENCE of the president. Which head of state would visit the president at his private residence.
Perhaps they are thinking of the times that foreign heads of states would visit George W Bush on his Texas spread. I cannot remember however that the American tax payer spent that sort of money on refurbishments at George’s Texas ranch.
While mulling over all these imponderables it suddenly struck me like a bout of severe heartburn after a not so good dish of Indian food the previous night. Hilary Clinton and Bill Clinton went to visit former president Nelson Mandela at his copy of the house at Victor Verster.
But said I to myself. This is a former president and he no longer has the right to receive these people in Pretoria or Cape Town at the official residences of the President – who happens to be JZ.
So, is the ANC and JZ anticipating that these bigwigs will continue to come and visit him after he stops being president of the country? I can hear the collective: But WHYY?
After all, they are not doing any of that visiting stuff with the other former president – Thabo Mbeki.
Putting my extreme thinking cap on it then finally got it.
There might be the intention that JZ will be the president of the ANC long after he ceased to be President of South Africa.
There is a great precedent after all. OR Tambo continued to be the president of the ANC for 24 years.
The ANC constituion does not put any term limits on the presidency position.
Thabo tried for a third term and only came unstuck because the Zunami overwhelmed him.
It is therefore no wonder that the ANC is working very hard that the private space around JZ is developed to such an extent that it would be fit for a visiting foreign dignitary or two.
So now the president for life aspirations are becoming much clearer.
Remember you read it here first.
Chris' Rock 