In South Africa, the beginning of 2023 has not fully felt “new” in keeping with the energy of “newness” that often comes with the end of an old year and the dawn of a new year. In the second week of January 2023, we were greeted with a news headline, “Energy regulator NERSA grants Eskom an 18.65 % tariff hike”. This comes at a time when we have been experiencing the worst load shedding (i.e., “load shedding is an energy utility’s method of reducing demand on the energy generation system by temporarily switching off the distribution of energy to certain geographical areas”). Social media was abuzz as South Africans were shocked and frustrated at how we are expected to pay higher electricity prices for a service we live without most of the time. The crisis with load shedding has led to businesses closing down, people losing their jobs and fear of a possible economic collapse. Almost everywhere I go, from the salon, in an uber, at work meetings, in social gatherings, every conversation I partake in touches on the state of the nation.
One might be surprised why I am using this Pen The Vision platform to talk about politics. The truth is, this message visited me a couple of nights ago. I was given the image that is the headline for this article and the word Utopia (i.e., a place of ideal perfection, especially in laws, government, and social conditions). Trust me, at first; I also asked the idea/message that visited me why me. I am no political analyst, and there is still so much I don’t know about politics, but I was told to write from the pureness of who I am. The truth is, at my core, I care about our nation. If I trace all the patterns of my life and some of my body of work, like my book, Thinking in Full Colour, I find myself constantly called to share my heart and my voice about socio-political issues. What is politics? In sharing a purpose-lens perspective on politics in our country, I want to call upon the words of the ex-president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, when he said, “a change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things”. Purpose, like politics, is an everyday event of ordinary people committing themselves to extraordinary actions that transform society. Politics and purpose are significantly linked. Often if the political climate of a country is tumultuous, living out one’s purpose can be very difficult. As a purpose evangelist, I believe that our political climate must be conducive for us to live out our purpose.
So, here’s the message – South Africa is a very special nation; I know it looks bleak right now, and things are bad for millions of South Africans. And that may be factual, but we have to not dream about the nation in our current situation. We must tap into dreaming about it from a place of new possibilities. There was a time in our nation’s history, during Apartheid when people were going through a tough time, and many thought they would never see the dawn of democracy. But some continued to believe and hope, setting the light for a new birth. Yes, in inception as a public, we thought 1994 would solve all our problems. Still, over the years, we have realised that democracy is fragile and achieving democracy is an ongoing journey. We have also learned about the multifaceted application of democracy and how we may have reached the first leg of it, and now maybe the focus needs to be on the second part of it, which is why we need to keep our hope alive. And I am asking fellow South Africans, I know it’s a big ask, but to those who can, please keep believing, keep holding onto the light that South Africa will arrive at Utopia one day. There is a collective Utopia, which is often shared as a land of peace, a land where all people are free, a land of equality and thriving. Utopia street is a philosophy of keeping hope alive. I don’t know what it will take to transform our country, but we need new ways of thinking and being to help us change. We have examples in history of nations that have built from zero. Some nations have built from a place of despair but are amongst the leading countries today, so it is possible. It looked bleak even for them, but I believe some carried the torch of hope, leading to innovative ideas regenerating those nations. What needs to shift in us as South Africans? What if we shifted from a state of complaining to a state of a renewed SA “being-ness”? What do we ALL need to be and become to see a shift in our nation? Hope is not a feeling but a decision.
WE WILL HEAL. WE WILL REBUILD. OUR ECONOMY WILL FLOURISH. OUR PEOPLE WILL EXPERIENCE TRUE FREEDOM. OUR DEMOCRACY WILL BE REVIVED.
Pack your bags, and let’s prepare for the journey to Utopia. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. May God Bless South Africa and her people.
References:
- Mail & Guardian (12 January 2023)
- Utopia Meaning (Merriam Webster Dictionary)