There is nothing new about fake stuff in South Africa

The recent furore over so-called tuckshops selling ‘fake food’ has led to people reconsidering their diets.

After all, now that Uncle Cyril has cosied up to the Chinese (a billion Rand payout in exchange for Richards Bay, my China), we can start looking at things differently as there could be quite a bit of fake stuff going around.
We have had fake matric exam results for some time now. Also fake voters (relatives of candidates who conveniently and accidentally put pre-marked ballot papers into voting boxes) and even fake teachers.

The Dannhauser area was notorious for these ghost teachers who would stalk the empty corridors at night but still get a salary. Some people even say we have fake sports teams.
However, those same people are silent now that the ‘real McCoy Boks’ beat the ABs in their own backyard.
So back to the tuckshops. What is fake food? Imagine you toddle off to the corner there by Cornhill Street and get a packet of Tastic Rice only to find, when you get back home, that it is plastic shavings.

Or you buy a loaf of sliced-white only to find it stuffed with nappies – you know like the fake furniture sets also sold around here.
Or you get to buy an ice-cold Coke and ugh, imagine if it is Pepsi or the other way around – depending on where your loyalties and tastebuds lie.

Or worse case scenario, fake condoms. Anyway, there are still some fake tenders floating around certain corridors that somehow magically turn into real money.

There are also those fake job offers. You know the ones – give me R1000 for registration and you can have a job in Richards Bay as a firefighter. Of course, it never happens. You just have a lot of people a lot poorer who make their way to the newspaper to explain how they have been conned by real clever crooks, and then, of course, there is the dreaded fake news. Some universities are now offering degrees on how to ascertain if news is fake or not. Politician arrested is probably a real headline. Snow in South Africa in December – probably fake. See, it can be easy.

Springboks beat All Blacks in New Zealand? Ha, got you there – you thought it would be fake, hey?
So, you see, tuckshops selling fake food (that is looted by the way and then eaten by the people who complained it was fake in the first place) is just another litany in a world where much of what you see is fake. The trick is to decide which ones are real for you.