Media Flaws

Bra Kenny,

I don’t know you. You don’t know me too. But rest assured I won’t be pulling a Zwelinzima Vavi on you… Just a friendly reminder that “he that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money” as per Benjamin Franklin.

I wasn’t too startled to hear you spent R700 000+ on ‘your’ birthday party – or celebrating a milestone in your life. I’ve come to expect this kind of expenditure from those not well acquainted with money. Don’t worry you’ll get there. You see this thing called a birthday, is exactly that – the day in which you were born – not a milestone. Living is not an achievement sir - seeing life as that reflects an ex-con mentality still embedded in recidivist ways.

Unlike Vavi, I do not think you were spitting in the faces of the poor – the poor quite frankly don’t give a rat’s arse about who and what you do with your money much like I don’t find it newsworthy. Which begs the question on why I’m even writing this. You sir, are a victim of the media’s celebration of triviality, cult of personality and iconoclastic tendencies. Just have a quick look at how the Sunday World glamourised one, Mandla Lamba, yet upon investigation found… well… let’s just say they were wrong. Anyway, Bra Kenny don’t allow yourself to be drawn in to become the spectacle as you inevitably end up being the subject of mockery and affirm all things wrong with blacks possessed by demons that stalk us at every minute, always beckoning each one of us towards a realizable dream and nightmare. With every passing second, these demons advise, with rhythmic and hypnotic regularity – get rich! get rich! get rich! (Mbeki, 2010).

The impression given by your response to Vavi and many celebratory-like articles around your party merely reiterated the mantra of ‘Get into business and get rich quick?’ Kusekude emaqatheni ngengqondo ezinjalo. Sir, there are steps to be taken towards such and I fear only showing your wealth might inspire varying avenues towards wealth accumulation in the young / youth [think crime]. Displaying your overnight wealth as motivating to the young is like teaching maths by showing learners the answers only, without step-by-step solutions. You were a teacher once upon a time, so I’m sure you get where I’m going with this maths analogy?

You tell Vavi, he probably will never become a millionaire nor billionaire on his salary alone. Do you know how many children will depend on this thing called a ‘salary’ alone throughout their lives? I’m sure you do. So pray do tell, was poverty that uncomfortable that you now approach the expenditure of money with such vindictive willpower?

Since we're on a million-rands-finding mission I can for a fact tell you that anyone can make a million. Just ask a bank robber. And quite frankly I don’t think business is the only way to become a millionaire or billionaire. Do not allow your limited vision of wealth creation be the yardstick measurement towards the summit of success in life. There are many ways to make money or be happy in life. In as much as Smuts Ngonyama once pronounced “We didn’t struggle to be poor”, it has to be noted that we didn’t struggle only to be trapped by filthy lucre. If your destination in life is money, then so be it. But leave the kids, us and media consumers out of it. I shudder to think you’ve motivationally-spoken at more than 2000 schools. Boy! Aren’t they in dire need of debriefing, if they’re to draw inspiration from an I-was-arrested-for-fraud-and-got-rich-thereafter collective. Until then, I cannot witness, via media, obubuqaba benu budibene nemali. No, really, such behaviour and utterances I would expect of a car hijacker somewhere in Butterworth or Mthatha. Not some claimed businessman.

Spend your money, yes. Just bear in mind it’s just money. And no, I hugged no tree before and after saying this. I just refuse to entertain nor celebrate poverty mindsets – you see sir you come from a collective which Oscar Wilde articulated well in the following words: "There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else. That is the misery of being poor." Which begs the question as to where exactly you fall? Rich-with-poor-man-mindset, perhaps?

Look I’d love to call what I’m writing nothing but an envy-rant, yet it stems from a genuine concern that what you say does very little for the impressionable know-no-betters swallowed in debt - driving luxury cars they can’t quite afford, buying Dom Pérignon at ZAR only to find they’ll be feasting on Pilchards and pap till month-end at home:

Impressionable know-no-betters that think we make money to spend it only.
Impressionable know-no-betters immersed in self first.

Let’s work together on this one. Petty ego-driven bickering between you and the hypocritical Vavi won’t get us anywhere; but will only seek to affirm the existent levels of self-hate / self-loathing amongst blacks.

Regards,
Me

“There can be no better message to all of us as we celebrate Human Rights Day (on 21 March) than these very wise words from a young African professional in his early twenties. The historic task to build a non-racial democracy, to achieve social and national cohesion, to advance the goal of national reconciliation, to secure the human rights of all our people, black and white, demands that all of us must answer the question honestly - did all of us, including the corporations, really listen when young Bonga Bangani dared to speak out to communicate to all of us the dreams of our youth for a new South Africa that truly belongs to all who live in it, united in their diversity!” – President Thabo Mbeki.

I watched e-news in disbelief this Saturday. That station or whatever it is needs to be closed down before it defames South Africa entirely. It’s as if they live and breath – ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ - they are sorely, if not morbidly hell-bent on reporting gore and shame. I watched a completely de-contextualised report of Thabo Mbeki’s weekly newsletter – specifically citing phrases in which he used the K*** word. Now any objective mind would have easily pointed out that this was extreme sensationalism at work and mud-dragging.

This same newsletter does however conjure up memories of The Last King of Scotland and our not-so-friendly uncle Bob. From what I can gather, our president is fast-losing his cool and patience (thank goodness he doesn’t spend too much time in Cape Town, he would have lost it ages ago – he’d make Mugabe’s dry-wrinkled face sparkle with contention). Soon we'll have our very own Mugabeki. Anyway, without delving too much into politics, I’ll leave you with the letter that sparked the president’s above-mentioned quote. By Bonga Bangani - a UCT BBusSc (Financial Hons) graduate:

ToRichardWainright.pdf ... click & save before opening...

A while back a dear Boon from Claremont sarcastically attacked my open letter to SAB. I didn't have the time and energy to put on my race blinkers, but thankfully, Portia Tsolekile managed to convey my sentiments in a far more subtle manner:

Ms Tsolekile writes:

I refer to Cath Boon's letter ("Trivial pursuit", Tatler, February 15).

I find Ms Boon's communiqué non­-palatable, a bit distasteful and quite far-fetched. Frankly, her transparency clearly shows that she never lived in Newlands and probably never will with remnants of such a racially motivated attitude.

Speaking from experience, I concur with Unathi Kondile's concerns.

I also lived in Newlands for a few years and due to parking and traffic problems related to sporting events I opted out to Kenilworth.

The malt was also a concern and still is if one lives closer to the main road. I wish that one of these days the smell will be deemed a health hazard. The smell has got a sickening effect on irregular occasions; however, one can stomach it.

Rather than Ms Boon's sarcastic remarks and an obvious lack of fortune of being able to live in Newlands, something could really be done about the bad fumes from SAB. Seriously, if KFC's fumes along the Main Road in Mowbray and of Steers at UCT could be controlled, why can't SAB do something about its own fumes?

• SAB answered the question in its response to Mr Kondile's letter.

Unfortunately I do not subscribe to suburban community reads. So I was lucky to have a friend alert me on some sarcastic, overly-zealous, obsessively name-dropping Claremont resident who had decided to board the wrong bus – one that was headed to SAB.

The resident, only known as Cath Boon from Claremont, writes:

What causes smell at SAB? Unathi Kondile writes that"Newlands residents face horrendous challenges such as vuvuzelas, beer-guzzling rugby fans, abusive cricketers and hideous criminal forces" (Tatler, February, 8). Yet he complains only of the "various refinery fumes" from the brewery! As Unathi Kondile has only lived in Newlands for five years, and the causes of the "horrendous chal­lenges" - the rugby and cricket grounds and the brew­ery, have been there for decades, (in the case of the brewery since the 1800s) - why on earth did he move there in the first place? SAB's response was informa­tive Unathi Kondile has, of course, two choices as well as wanting a couple of cases of their products free. Stay or go, matey.

There are so few soccer matches at Newlands that the vuvuzelas can't be that much of a "horrendous challenge". I'm a huge rugby fan, like cricket and would give my eye, teeth to be able to afford to live in Newlands, rather than on the wrong side of the tracks shaped by criminal and anti-social behaviour, and in some cases fear for our lives, about rob­bery, rape, pillage and the everyday hijackings.

Unathi Kondile must consider himself among the extremely fortunate if his only concern, apart from the sports supporters, is the malt from the hops creating "a horrendous challenge" to his nose.

PS. I wonder where he lived before!

Ok, maybe my cries were a bit benign … and I’ll only answer one thing in this letter: “I wonder where he lived before!?” I think we all know the answer to this - you put me there, so why ask?! - but I miraculously struggled and struggled to gain access or move into other parts of my native land which are now littered with your 'new' establishments (SABs) and envy-enducing properties.

Three weeks ago I decided to kill time by sending an email to the Southern Suburbs community newspaper. I didnt mention any names, but guess who decided to reply? South African Breweries (SAB). The title wasn't mine, the editors probably did that, but I could have been ranting about a residential neighbour who decided to brew his own homemade African beer.

So yesterday the following was published: and no I didn't retype this, it was scanned with an OCR capable scanner...

I wrote:

Five years living in Newlands and I've witnessed resi­dents heroically fulminate over the most benign of issues - such as pebbles on the pavement(s) or their jogging paths. Newlands residents face horrendous challenges such as Vuvuzelas, beer-guzzling rugby fans, abusive crick­eters and hideous criminal forces. All this is under­bellied by a silent airborne threat emanating from a wonderful brewer who art in Newlands too.

No-one (I'm hoping I'm wrong) has ever whinged about this ever-brewing neighbour. Residents bask in silence and bear the various refinery fumes, that could potentially render us all involuntary alcoholics.

At times these fumes are so sulphurously unbear­able, that one is forced to shut windows and embark on extensive indoor "aerosolisation".

Surely there should be health hazards stemming from this daily involuntary raw liquor inhalation. Not trying to play "hit-him-again-Johnny", but wasn't our brewer not-so-long ago accused of polluting Lies­beeck River? They stopped, but where do they now rid their polluting waste - via air? I guess I'm the only res­ident whinging on this and I could easily be silenced with a case or two.

P.S. I love this brewer's products!

Click on 'more' to see the lengthy response SAB's Michael Farr gave me...

To whom it may concern

It is with great consternation to hear that you spent R123 000 to appear on the cover of a lesser known publication, known as Leadership Magazine.

It is with further dismay that your actions were actually prohibited and that your company actually paid for this. This not only brings your accounts department to disreputation but also challenges Leadership magazine's credibility. They’ve (Leadership Magazine) tried to defend their actions, by stating that you only paid for your 3 or 5-page self-written profile which they featured – your face only made it to the front page as a bonus!

Moving on. I don't know what is going on with you. Are you lusting fame? We all know you have a high and powerful job, but I guess this self-adoration all started when you became a common news feature on your own television channels. I don't know of any CEOs that take pleasure in being in the public eye as you. I'm hoping you won’t use being previously disadvantaged as the reason.

By the way, if you really want to be in the public eye - I'd suggest you start clearing the the air about your son. There are wild rumours amock, which I hope are not true, about his recreational activities and engagements. So before you drag yourself into the limelight, think very carefully about the perks and benefits that come with limelight positions and how you and your family could easily become public interest - You will not like it, although I suspect it's what you want or need.

I also suspect that you get a good pay at the end of the month, being CEO of SABC and all. And I hear that you've just been elected to the chair of Global Media AIDS Initiative Leadership Committee - congratulations! You've done us proud, but please, please leave the limelight alone - you might end up like the Selebis, Zumas and Yengenis.

Once again congratulations on the Global Media AIDS Initiative chair!

Your sincerely,

Anonymous

After reading this letter I somehow felt obliged to share a prayer with the intended receipient. I picked the following prayer from Tom Eaton:

"Our celestial social worker who art in Heaven, accessible be thy name. Thy group-hug come, thy mandate be done (after in-depth discussion with all stakeholders) on Earth as it is in Heaven. Validate this day our self-image, and expect us not to resist temptation but deliver us from moralizing. For thine is the Socialist state, the celebrity and the bling, for ever and ever, or until we change our minds again. Amen."