POLL | Is an Afrikaans general knowledge test the best way to tell if you are South African?

European low-cost carrier Ryanair’s decision to make some SA passport holders travelling to and from London answer an Afrikaans general knowledge quiz before boarding their flights has sparked a conversation about the best way to determine our nationality.

Ryanair said the move was to combat “passport fraud”, but it has been slammed by many in government and civil society.

The questions include: 

• Wat is Suid Afrika se amptelike geldeenheid? (What is SA’s official currency?); 
• Noem een van Suid Afrika se nasionale vakansiedae? (Name one of SA’s national holidays?); and
• Wat is die naam van die bekende bergreeks in Kaapstad wat sommige glo is een van die oudste bergreeks in die wêreld? (What is the name of the famous mountain range in Cape Town that some believe is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world?).

While many admitted to struggling with the questions, others said there were other ways to determine if a person is South African, from slang to braai recipes.

Comedian Barry Hilton came up with his own list of questions and many  shared theirs on social media.

“How many tomatoes are in an All Gold tomato sauce bottle? What are Zoo cookies? Who remembers Melrose? (Oh boy!) What is load-shedding? What does SBWL mean? Where can’t you touch someone: 1) their jacket 2) their bum 3) their studio?” wrote Kristia van Heerden.

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