South Africa has all these good things and more:
Drinkable water;
Shakespeare in the Park (it was really good!);
A sense of humor in home names;
Clever designs for fire hydrants (but what do the dogs do?);
The Big Hole in Kimberley (truly a case of lemonade from lemons);
A tree blessed by the Archbishop is still growing;
A high Human Development Index (a summary measure of achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living), as reported by the United Nations;
The 39th largest economy in the world;
The most UNESCO world heritage sites;
And plenty of potential.
There are lots of people who care a lot about each other and the environment. South Africa sits on 2 oceans and is acutely aware of plastics pollution of global waters and the impacts of climate change.
South Africa has all these good things and more. The also have the world’s highest inequality (as measured by the GINI coefficient), the world’s highest reported unemployment rate, gender-based violence, government corruption, and more (or less, depending on how you define it).
How do you take all the good you see and apply it to address the not-as-good-as-we-need? Planners and community development projects would say that you:
- Collaborate on a vision of the future;
- Get buy-in from as many stakeholders as possible;
- Design a plan to implement that vision;
- Create the means to fulfill the plan; and
- Work the plan.
This looks so easy and logical on paper, but each step is an enormous effort. Imagine the endless debates over every detail. Imagine the staggering cost estimates in time, labor, and money needed. Imagine the national consensus needed. It may be more likely that you’ll get wear out, burn out, and for some, get out, creating a brain drain just when brains are most needed.
Is the alternative to muddle through hoping someone else will fix things for you? Is it hunkering down in survival mode until conditions improve? Or is one answer to treat the vision and plan like building the great gothic cathedrals in medieval times? Those who started the construction knew they wouldn’t live long enough to see the completed building. Yet they began, bearing all the costs with no expectation of receiving any benefits from a structure they would never use.
When building a gothic cathedral, the first thing you do is dig deep into the ground to establish a foundation strong enough to support the huge edifice. Maybe that’s the way for South Africa. What foundation is needed so that future generations can carry on the work? How can you incorporate inspiration and motivation into each phase of the plan so that every generation keeps moving forward? It’s the work of more than a lifetime — but what better way to spend a life?
