Dr Pali Lehohla (left) with Quinton Fortune at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Photo: supplied
In October 1998, I was the master of ceremony for the release of Census 1996. President Nelson Mandela was speaking on the occasion. From prospects of the rivers of blood to a negotiated settlement, Mandela provided us with a map of what had to be negotiated and what remained for us to do.
He said: “We have brought about this miracle. When you go to the world, you need just to say, I am a South African, whether you are black or white, and the doors of this world become wide open to you. That is a reality. I want you to understand that! The leaders of this country, when they go abroad, are fêted.”
On a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg around March 2010, I was travelling with Professor Akiiki Kahimbaara, a senior member of staff at Statistics South Africa.
It was perhaps the silky grey hair of the professor that drew attention to our conversation to one of the most successful footballers, not only in South Africa but the world.
The maestro Quinton Fortune decided to approach us and take part in the discussion of the plight of the youth.
He was part of the management team of the 2010 World Cup. We were so excited about this encounter that we took selfies. We kept conversations going after that.
In March 2019, I visited Oxford University, where I am a Research Associate, and Quinton booked us tickets to a Manchester United match against Arsenal so that I could bask in an unforgettable experience at the Emirates Stadium.
On the day, he could not make it.
But he told me to go without him and tell them that I was a South African, which I did. The doors opened, but not before we had a chat about Quinton and how I knew him. These are the people Madiba referred to.
But how do we feel about being South African currently?
Last weekend, the much about nothing ANC’s 6th National Policy Conference occurred under a dark cloud. Mandela would have been so disappointed at the state of affairs, with corruption at the forefront.
In his speech in 1998, Mandela said: “Naturally, we have made many mistakes, some of them fundamental. Then, we have shown weaknesses because we came to government determined to clean it of corruption and yet, we found that our own members, some of them who held leading positions in the liberation movement themselves, became corrupt and, in some cases, even more corrupt than the civil service of the apartheid regime! That was a great disappointment and still is to us because we believe in a clean government”.
Against the conference and playing out in full glare are recent events. Recently, eight women were gang raped on the eve of Women’s Month, four were shot dead in the Thembisa march, and this week, Kakgiso residents marched to the Krugersdorp mining dumps - all Gwara-Gwara symptoms Madiba had referred to.
On the other hand, many South Africans from all walks of life have swept up global accolades. Quinton Fortune was with Benni McCarthy as he took his position as a first-team coach of Manchester United.
These Capetonians have shone a light on what South Africa is capable of.
Kaizer Motaung received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cape Town. Professor Tshilidzi Marwala got appointed as the Rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo. Pitso Jingles Mosimane continues to be sought-after post his successful sojourn in coaching the Egyptian club, Al Ahly. Professor Thuli Madonsela got appointed as chairperson of the Management Board of the Cities Alliance. Wits vice-chancellor and principal Professor Zeblon Vilakazi was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society, Dr Phumzile Mlambo Ncguka received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, and Banyana Banyana won the Cup of Nations.
But, South Africans are kept from basking in the euphoria of success as the pain of load shedding and the tormented economic and political life we have created drains pride in being South African.
However, all is not lost.
Fortune sent me the following message of hope recently. “Professor Lehohla, there are so many things I want to do but do not know where to start. If there is anything you need me to do for our people (especially for the young people), then just let me know. I would not be here if it was not for Madiba and others.”
And thus, as Fortune continues the legacy of Madiba, we hope the seeds that the great man will still live on in others.
Dr Pali Lehohla is the director of the Economic Modelling Academy, a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a Research Associate at Oxford University, a board member of Institute for Economic Justice at Wits and a distinguished Alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa.
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