So bring on the good news

Since my recent post about negative bias in coverage of Africa I've been wondering about the good stories about my country that go unreported. Before I start I should disclose that I am in the UK, not South Africa. Secondly, I have just bought a house in Cape Town and I am transfering my net worth from the mighty pound into the wobbly rand, where they will forever stay due to exchange controls. So I'm "Proudly partial to South Africa"

• Our progressive constitution is internationally respected.
• In spite of simmering tensions, the world looks up to South Africa as an inspiring example of relatively peaceful transition of power and co-existence amongst diverse groups.
• Crime is bad - really bad - but it's not getting any worse. If you believe the stats, violent crime is actually declining.
• While HIV/AIDS is obviously an acute problem, the country is rich and sophisticated enough to help sufferers and absorb the worst of the resulting societal and economic shocks provided there's political will to do so.
• While the economy still fails to employ enough people and income distribution remains desperately skewed, the macro indicators are very positive indeed: inflation and interest rates are at multi-generational lows, growth has been unspectacular but steady, the economy is creating lots of jobs in sustainable service sectors while shedding jobs in mining, a painful but beneficial transition, and our credit rating has been steadily improving since 1994...
• Using GDP per employed person, SA is up there with TAIWAN!
• Ignoring for a moment his policies on AIDS and Zimbabwe, Mbeki's peace efforts in Africa have been substantial and earned SA recognition in the international diplomatic arena, bolstering our chances of getting a seat on the security council.
• We seem to have the ear of the US administration, which is shrewed given that we're also in there with the Chinese, Indians, Brazil and the EU.
• We have the world's largest platinum reserves which could make us the next Saudi Arabia as and when the hydrogen economy takes off.
• Sasol is a global player in energy technology.
• Our steel and electricity is comparatively dirt cheap .
• Our agriculture seems pretty healthy - while most of southern africa is struggling to cope with the effects of the drought, we are struggling to find export markets for our bumper maize crop.
• Damn, the tax take was embarassingly large. Sensibly, we're paying off debt with the excess.
• We have eliminated the reserve bank's forward book and doubled foreign reserves in the last two years.
• Asset prices - notably property - are booming. Not too sure where that's headed though...
• I have very mixed feelings about this, but South Africa is growing into a major player in car manufacturing. Case in point: GM just announced $100 million investment to upgrade their Port Elizabeth car plant to produce all Humvees sold outside of N America. Already all right-hand drive VWs and plenty BMWs and Mercs come from our shores.
• South African call centres are now the most favoured by UK companies according to a recent survey.

It seems this list could go on.

Coverage of Africa disproportionately negative

This articulates something I have always felt about the UK media (although the survey focused on Africa coverage in the US). Often the only news about South Africa that ever makes it onto the BBC is negative, be it crime, Zimbabwe, labour strife or major road accidents. The positives just aren't deemed newsworthy.

Racism and monkey business in 21st century South Africa

A caustic spat is brewing on the comments pages of the respected South African Mail & Guardian newspaper/site. The debate is three-pronged, representing a spectrum of debate in South Africa.

The protagonist, Malegapuru Makgoba, vice-chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, alleges in his Wrath of dethroned white males that white males in South Africa are spoilers, comparing their behaviour to fallen alpha males in baboon packs.

Audacious. Some choice quotes:

"...let there be no doubt that sooner or later African dominance and the imitation of most that is African shall permeate all spheres of South African society...

This message should be loud and clear just as the writing is on the wall for all to whom South Africa belongs... ...It should therefore become common sense that the white male... ...learns to dance and sing like Ladysmith BlackMambazo... ...learn kwaito, dance like Lebo, dress like Madiba, enjoy eating 'smiley and walkies' and attend 'lekgotla'...

He must soon accept, value and imitate the things that matter dearly to Africans. The sooner this white male gets out of his denial mode, the sooner he will receive treatment and proper African rehabilitation. Surely, our white male group can and should do better than the baboon or the bonobo."

It's interesting how the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children: I would not have put it past the white supremacists of yester-decade to compare non-whites to baboons. Meanwhile, history gets on with the tiresome job of repeating itself.

Enter stage left Robert Morrell, professor at the faculty of education at the very same University of KwaZulu-Natal, arguing persuasively in his White, male, democrat, African for inclusion of all minorities, including white males, in the transformation of South Africa.

Finally, very much stage right, Dan Roodt enters with You can't have your banana and eat it. Roodt is controversial, having penned the likes of Adapt and Die - South Africa's new motto. He praises the previous apartheid regime for not having dropped its nukes on the non-whites of South Africa as an act of extreme altruism. Seriously.