“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”
The above passage in Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities written in 1859, is still very much applicable to current-day South Africa.
I wish to add my own pearls of wisdom: “It was a time of confusion; it was a time of embarrassment.”
Let’s start with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Attending last week’s seminar for businessmen on the subject at the iLembe Chamber of Commerce (see article on page 6), the mind-blowing impact this new technology will unleash onto the world is both breath-taking and frightening.
Despite the many positives, there is also likely to be a dark, evil side, especially in terms of spreading disinformation and misusing AI for propaganda.
One cannot begin to sensibly describe the massive influence it will have on our lives within the confines of a newspaper column.
Read up on it.
And while intrepid South Africans will as usual be quick to embrace AI as it encroaches into our lives at the speed of light, we will be at a huge disadvantage compared to other countries – for one single reason only.
Technology can only be effective and function properly with a constant and reliable electricity supply, and we don’t have much of that, do we? And there’s little hope we will have an oversupply any time soon.
How embarrassing is it that two decade after South Africa’s energy supplier Eskom was voted global power company of the year, we now make grovelling overtures to Mozambique to spare us some energy jolts. Mozambique, for heaven’s sake!
Then Comrade Cyril announced SA’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague – an ANC party decision he said.
Hah, crafty move one thought, deftly sidestepping the dilemma of having to arrest Comrade Putin when he sets foot on SA soil for the BRICS meeting in August.
We can simply reconsider and re-join the ICC again after the crisis has been averted and Comrade Vladimir is safely back home sipping vodka at the Kremlin instead of in a South African “tjoekie” with orange overalls on.
(Remember how we dealt with Sudan president Omar al-Bashir’s case when he was feted here and allowed to escape).
The next morning there was a total red-faced about-turn, however. “The Presidency wishes to clarify that South Africa remains a signatory to the Rome Statute and will continue to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
How humiliating was that? Some heavyweight no doubt made a quick call to rearrange the Prez’s thought process for such a lightning retraction to occur.
Can’t wait for the BRICS meeting to see what merry dances will be performed.
But this international political embarrassment was not the only one.
While we openly suck up to China and Russia, Comrade Cyril’s national security adviser Sydney Mufamadi was hastily despatched to Washington to lobby the Biden administration and congressional leaders.
This amid concerns that South Africa’s controversial stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine is jeopardising SA’s economic and political relations with America, especially the possibility of being expelled from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
What next, one wonders, from our confederacy of dunces.
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