Publications
Partners
I recently received a letter from one of our readers, Mack, who wrote to me about my column that was headlined “We need to produce what Africa consumes” (City Press, May 27 2018).
He wrote: “I have enjoyed Muzi Kuzwayo’s Sunday columns in your newspaper. The May 27 2018 was the worst article I’ve read from his pen.”
Mack is unhappy that I said we should open the borders of Southern African Development Community countries and let people travel without passports.
Mack writes very well and, even though he had the rage of a volcano, I enjoyed the clarity of his thought, though I disagree with him.
I replied and said: “I hope to convince you to come over to my side. People such as you, with the passion, clarity of thought and ability to write must be inside the tent, pissing out. Not the other way round.”
Like many writers, Mack looked at the problem, but failed to make the leap past the valley of the obvious.
He argues that foreigners bring crime. No. Crime is a result of many things. I grew up in KwaThema – there were no foreigners at the time, but there were gangsters who made life miserable. I lost good friends to gang violence and they were all killed by local boys. Jackrolling was a terrible rape culture, and some people died. That wasn’t caused by foreigners; it was committed by local miscreants who didn’t love their neighbours.
Mack, think about this – the US has 50 states and a population of more than 320 million, and it is often called a country of immigrants. Diversity is good for a nation. It leads to creativity and builds a strong economy that creates jobs. The same is true for economic blocks such as the EU.
Countries such as China and India have big internal markets that can sustain their local entrepreneurs. Many African economies are too small to do the same.
Mack, don’t let labels distract you by charging me with being a “capitalist”, here. Good economies create jobs and jobs give people dignity, which is what the Communist Party of China is doing very well. In a very short space of time, it has turned that country into a superpower. When people are not desperate, they’re less inclined to commit crime.
So, redo that page, friend. Reframe the problem, turn it on its head, and you will see that the solution is in the most uncomfortable spaces. Don’t be afraid to go there and, believe me, you will come out alive.
The world is waiting, Mack. It is waiting for you like winter’s sun. Wishing and hoping to be warmed up by your passion. Shine, friend, shine.
Do not let myopic bigotry cloud your magnanimity. And when you argue, my good man, never be personal. You are better than that. Do not, my friend … do not descend from the peaks of praise to wrestle in the mud pit of the mindless.
Talent, my friend, you have tons of, but you also have a sprinkling of fear. Remember, it’s been said many times before: fear is like a fire; you can use it to cook, but, uncontrolled, it can burn the house down.
So here’s a task for you. Forget the Vrr-pah. Do not worry about travelling in style. Travel in earnest. Buy a ticket and see the world. Travel through Africa. Go to Europe, go to the Americas, go to China … go anywhere the Vrr-pah cannot go. Your assignment is simple: “How can I make the world a better place?”
And please don’t forget me when you receive your Nobel prize.
- Kuzwayo is the founder of Ignitive, an advertising agency
- Read Mack’s full letter in City Press on page 4 of Voices
