SONGEZO ZIBI | Make the correct choice, it’s our democratic right

I was 25 years old when I travelled out of the country for the first time. I worked for Volkswagen at the time and my boss felt that it would do me a world of good to spend a few weeks with the parent company in Germany.

It was at sunrise on September 9 2001 that I landed in Frankfurt, alone and not speaking a word of German. When I stepped outside to hail a cab to my hotel in Gravenbruch, I was horrified to see they were all Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedans, with the odd Volkswagen Passat. I couldn’t afford such, I thought.

Every time a cab driver asked me if I was looking for a ride, I would decline, waiting for a small hatchback that I could afford. After 20 minutes I decided this was futile, and stepped into the next cab, a Mercedes. I will spare you the embarrassing details, including me choosing to sit in the front seat but on the wrong side, of course.

“Would you like to drive?” the cab driver asked? I will also spare you specific details of how the first non-staff person I spoke to at the hotel was Lionel Richie, the musician. And he greeted me!

Two days later, Lionel, myself and thousands of other people were at the Frankfurt Motor Show when news about the September 11 attacks in the US by Al-Qaeda spread through the venue like wild fire. My poor mother was worried sick as I think she suddenly couldn’t recall whether I was in New York or elsewhere.

That trip and many others to different countries had a profound impact on me.

In Germany I learnt very quickly that jay walking was not popular, unlike here. People literally walked away from the direction of the place they’re going, to find a pedestrian crossing and then walk back to where they want to go. Later that same week, I was walking in Wolfsburg still trying to find my bearings when a siren blared at midday. Everyone stopped to observe a minute of silence.

I realised I needed to make serious adjustments, and quickly, to not stand out for the wrong reasons. This is important to me because, for some reason, I am always careful of not behaving in a manner that will cast South Africa and South Africans in a bad light. Naively, I think, I always feel that people who meet me should find me so impressive that they think most South Africans are.

All of this felt weird to me. I could not imagine this happening in Uitenhage (Kariega) where I worked, or Mthatha, where pedestrians stare down motorists while they jaywalk. I was also told to do everything I can to look out for cyclists, who appeared to have the right of way. This spooked me too, especially sitting on the “wrong” side of the car, driving on the “wrong” side of the road.

It was different in Spain, which I visited a few years later on another work trip. The driving was chaotic by comparison. Barcelona, which I really liked despite the fleeting nature of the visit, was not as clean as Frankfurt though it still felt safe.

Italy was a revelation. Having taken a train from Munich through Austria and then on to Milan, I could immediately tell that we were in a different country as soon as we crossed the Austria/Italy border. Italy was run down by comparison, and infrastructure seemed to be crumbling.

The state of cities and countries is a conscious choice by their citizens, though cultural and historical factors can also be at play.

Milan, which I’d always imagined to be a bright, super glamorous city because of its two globally famous soccer clubs, was an aesthetic disappointment despite the many historical, architectural sites. These are still impressive but the city itself was rather dilapidated. I remembered that one Silvio Berlusconi had been mayor there at some point, and I wasn’t surprised.

Any city or country that elects Silvio Berlusconi as its mayor or prime minister cannot possibly expect better. Political choices have consequences. As an aside, Berlusconi, who also gained notoriety for sex parties called “bunga bunga” parties, gifted our own Jacob Zuma with bedsheets and pyjamas after their meeting. I will leave it at that.

Last year I went to Singapore and Indonesia. The experience between the two countries was a supercharged version of the Austria/Italy experience of many years before. In most places Singapore feels like a massive office park, clean and orderly, but no soul. Malaysia was utter chaos and poorly kept. I had moments when I was truly spooked but I still learnt a lot there, too.

So why am I telling you this?

The state of cities and countries is a conscious choice by their citizens, though cultural and historical factors can also be at play. There is a reason Germany and Austria appear to be from different planets compared to their neighbour, Italy. They all have their problems but Italian choices tend to be self-harming most of the time, with a political system and culture that produces a different government every other week.

Though I’m not a fan of the Singaporean system of “democracy’, it is nonetheless a choice, like Malaysia an hour across the sea.

By far my most illuminating travelling experiences were in Uganda and Zambia. I love the people in both countries but I also got to see what decay and collapse look like first hand. Lusaka has a new, Chinese-built airport now, but the old one’s international boarding area looked like an alleyway to the gallows in a medieval prison.

A courtesy visit to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), which locals derided at the time as “Dead NBC” made me see what would happen to the SABC if Hlaudi Motsoeneng continued at the helm. Oh, we also couldn’t take the lift because there was an electricity blackout. The newsrooms, which I was taken to with pride, were only illuminated by laptop screens.

I don’t know about you but OR Tambo International Airport is slowly going back in time. It’s the little things. The litter that lingers longer than before, the parking system that causes a needless jam every morning. The fuel pumps that don’t work during peak tourist season.

The national airline, which was resuscitated recently, is still on life support with a faint pulse and not many doctors available to treat it. It may or may not survive, but chances of its second demise are high given all the noise and chaos around it. But it flies, still, which I suppose is good because not having a national airline is unimaginable.

I’ve obviously not seen it all but I think I have seen enough over the last 21 years of international travel to see what outcomes political choices cause. As a democracy, we have our own choices. At some point we have to accept that because the ANC is consistent in showing us what it is, the real problem comes down to political choices.

If you don’t believe me, watch the US Congress this week engineer that country’s debt default because some voters chose crazies to represent them and make consequential decisions. Even if they avert it, certain boundaries will have moved and international trust in the US’s ability to govern itself will keep declining.

We have a chance to make different choices this and next year. It will be a once in a generation choice that, if we squander, there will be no coming back.

Songezo Zibi is part of the Rise Campaign.