Journalists are like doctors, they must prescribe measures that help maintain societal calm

The fact that journalists are custodians of human rights and democracy is not coincidental but deliberate. In a liberal society, characterized by certain standards of moral consensus based on human values, it is very easy to assume the relativity of the former. The moral consensus in every society differs remarkably depending on their points of reference. However, there is no doubt that some values are human and are universally acceptable such as those of human rights and liberty. If journalists are there to guarantee that these rights are protected from abuse then – glory be to them.

However, if we examine the conventional journalistic approach in many African countries, then it is true that journalists have failed to carry out this noble responsibility by virtue of how they report issues. Journalists have often concentrated on sensationalism, immediacy and propaganda which has done very little to defend what they claim to be jealously protecting – liberty. Journalists, for instance, have reported conflicts as ‘a tug-of-war’ between two antagonists where one side risks being reported as losing. Of course, they would often argue that one of the values of news is that it is bizarre or unusual and conflicts fits perfectly within such definitions. Such conceptualizations of news which are embedded in Western models of journalism require rethinking.

Currently, classic examples on how the media plays a role in shaping public opinion is evident in their coverage of the Hague trials and the Mukuru Sinai fire disaster. The former has been given prominence due to its magnitude and the fact that public figures occupying public offices in Kenya have been implicated – these are important considerations in light of the news value criterion. However, what the media has failed to do and must do is to measure the degree of audience interest regarding the Hague question through audience research. Naturally, one would expect that audience have a high level of interest on the Hague coverage but only empirical evidence can guide the media in predicting the extent at which it would be useful to give the Hague prominence. Is there any additional human value for the media to represent the trials virtually all day every day?

Regarding the Sinai fire disaster, the media simply represented it as such – a disaster. The media extended this new and problematic or troubling event, which breached the taken for granted expectancies about how the world should be (consensual calm) by linking it to the forms of explanations which have served for all practical purposes. And so, the Sinai disaster is explained through analogies (similar other disasters) like the Bombolulu fire 2001, Sidindi in 1998 and the double tragedies at Nakumatt and Sachangwan tank accidents that claimed hundreds of lives in 2009. Emphasis is placed on drawing audience emotions through victims of the tragedies. Little effort is made to use the occasion as an opportunity to scrutinize and interrogate policy issues like urban human settlement and poverty alleviation to expose those politically responsible. However, episodes where the media covered the heroic experience of rescue workers must be commended.

The epistemological and ontological conceptions of journalism, which our media seem to religiously follow have often been a Western creation which fit perfectly in the west, especially, when the Western media reports on Africa. Consequently, they defeat the faculties of reason when journalists attempt to employ them when explaining events unfolding in Africa. It would seem that, if journalists in Africa reason through Western fashioned lenses to explain realities in Africa, then their reasoning would be naturally flawed. Timeliness, as a news values that underpin the Western journalistic ideology, betrays the need to go deep into the background of news stories to capture historical trajectories and other nuances. It leaves events superficially covered often stereotypically and sensationally.

The challenge therefore is for critical media scholars to come up with counter discourses to deconstruct the Western models of news. It would not help much for journalists and media academics to seat pretty and argue that “news should be unusual and timely,” which is actually a commercial approach. Any simple criticism about the manner in which the media reports issues in Africa should be given a surgical and critical appraisal, for this would act as a fertile ground for the possible conception of new ideologies.

Reporting that characterizes war journalism that blows issues out of proportion should be discouraged. There are obvious examples where reporting has helped escalate conflicts rather than reduce them in different parts of the world from conflicts such as those between India and Pakistan, Israel and Palestine, to the Invasion of Iraq and, most recently, those in Libya. Locally, the Kenyan media acted carelessly in trying to delicately balance public opinion and official electoral results in 2007 leading to post-election violence.

Reporting based on the conceptualization of elections as “winner takes all” is a time worn mentality that requires diagnosis. Journalists are like doctors, they should diagnose societal issues with the aim of prescribing measures that help maintain societal calm – peace and stability. Beyond the structural and ideological issues influencing journalists, individual journalists have psychological traits some of which are still linked to ideologies of journalistic practices such as objectivity, fairness and balance. The problem is that objectivity is a journalistic ‘myth’ that enables journalists avoid bias and be perceived as fair and is therefore questionable. Given that impartiality is endemic to humans, a deeper universal consciousness that surpasses journalistic ideologies is necessary– that of humanity itself. It is time for our journalists to embrace the same.

Yes we have e-tv, SABC and other news outlets in South Africa but a journalist is either good or evil

Call it conservatism or old-fashionism but psychological factors are still important variables that influence news content. Of course Prof. Tawana Kupe will take this ‘reality’ with a pinch of salt. This is due to the fact that, it would seem, psychological factors do not influence news content in a mutually exclusive manner nor do they exist in a vacuum. Therefore, they cannot be solely used to exhaustively explain the character of any journalist as an object of analysis.

To draw from the ancient Russian dramatist Denis Fonvisin, who was responsible for the construction of the Russian nationality in the 17th century Russia, we see relationships that can be comparable to South Africa and many African nations that realized nationalism much later in the 20th century given my arguments in this article. Like Peter the great, Fonvisin was keen about the realization of the Russian identity and nationality. Unlike Peter the great, who celebrated the idea of “the civil” or civilization from the West, especially the United Kingdom (the first nation on the planet), Fonvisin embodied the envy among Russians of the West. This was out of the realization that to be like them, then Russia has to match and probably even surpass them - as envisioned by Peter the great or Peter 1 (1682-1725).

There was influx of Western ideas and accompanied technology in Russia which Peter admired although he was not interested in cultural questions. When his vision to match and even surpass the West was not forthcoming and realizing that Russia could actually not match the West, resentiment was born beyond his control captured well by Fonvisin. However, this brought about cultural renaissance during the reigns of his successors.

The point I am making in this article is that one of the reasons why Fonvisin and many Russians were resented was the fact that the model conceived by the West was, according to him, not the best model for Russia to adopt. For when he personally visited France and after striving to be objective about his object of analysis (France), Fonvisin could not help but conclude that he saw more bad things happening in France than good ones, he saw many bad people than good ones. He further concluded that the same applies to everywhere in the world and neither the West nor Russia was an exception.

After observing the French, Fonvisin concluded that “a French man will never forgive himself if he misses an opportunity to cheat,” “his God was money”, that “what was considered a virtue in France was actually a vice in Britain” and that the French are good in nothing but the arts and culture (fashion). Having seen France, Fonvisin saw no reason to adopt the Western model but surely envied it. Nevertheless, the crisis of the forced noble identity created an identity gap and insecurity among the aritrocracy in Russia and the search for national identity became a state of emergency.

The search begun by, first and foremost, constructing the West as an object of ridicule especially in relation to the idea of civilization which Fonvisin, the dramatist, satirized so well. He satirized the cultural pretensions and privileged coarseness of the nobility which made him one of his nation’s foremost 18th-century dramatists. His wit and his knowledge of French and German classics made him a favourite in the enlightened circles of the court of Catherine the great. Such cultural satires became mortar for the construction of Russian nationalism.
In rejecting the West, reflected in works such as “Letters from abroad,” Fonvisin was not rejecting the idea of human reason but the force behind the faculties of reason.

Greenfeld, a Prof of nationalism at the Institute for the Advancement of Social Sciences (IASS), writes that the rejection of reason implied the reinterpretation of its corollaries in political culture: liberty and equality. While Russian nationalists agreed that the concepts denoted great moral virtues (for these values were so central to the canon that their very names acquired a magical character), they refused to see their true embodiment in Western institutions. Western liberty and equality were not real liberty and equality. These were something else. It was not entirely clear what they were, but the pivot of the reinterpretation is easily established. Individual freedom was the source of all bondage: It stifled and constrained the inner forces of spirit; and every expression of this limiting rationality in economic or political institutions only exacerbated it deleterious effects. Real freedom preceded into the soul and became the inner freedom; and political equality lost all meaning.

Fonvinsi was among the first to point to the critical difference between the real and the apparent. In his letters to Panin (1778), he wrote “Observing the conditions of the French nation, I learn to discern liberty by law and real liberty. Our people do not have the first, but enjoy the latter in many ways. In contrast, the French, having the right of liberty, live in veritable slavery,” but it was the Derzhavin who unselfconsciously, gave Russian liberty and equality a concise, but articulate poetic definition. He said in The Grandee “Blessed is the people which like the Russian people, sees happiness – in unity/equality – in equity/and liberty – in the ability to control ones passion.” However, the matrix of such a conceptualization which was the Russian nationalism was based on cultural re-evaluation. Russia did not have liberty and equality; and so it revolted against rationality, rejecting both the thinking individual and the faculty that define his nature.

Greenfeld points out that reason as a faculty of the human mind referred to articulation, precision, delimitation, and reserve. They oppose to it life so full of feeling that one could choke on it – the inexpressible, the immeasurable. By their very nature these qualities were vague, undefined. It was much clearer what they were not, than what they were. These qualities of the Russian soul arrived at through the mental exercise of posing antithesis to the Western virtue in which Russia was particularly deficient. Greenfield further points out that the possession of such a soul was so sweet, and its inventors and discoverers wanted so much to believe in it, that this initially intangible entity materialized and, embodied in the national character, became the most formidable and immutable component of the culture emerging around it.

Fonvisin argued that reason cannot be equated to the mind because the mind often cuts through the veil given that it’s a product of the surrounding environment, unless it is a product of a sacred and pure heavenly Island divorced from environmental variables, ‘reality’ and beyond human reach. Fonvisin argued that reason and thought is about fashion. Reason, and by extension the mind, can be out of fashion but not the soul. He argued that a body, which is just a vessel, without a soul is a monster and the soul is what brings about the pure consciousness of humanity and is the reason for its very existence. It was this foundation that the Russians wanted to construct their nationalism as distinct from the West. If we go by this analogy, we are tempted to assume that the Russian nationalism was constructed by men and women who had great ability to reason but guided by the soul. However, such an assumption may leave a lot to be desired.

Thanks to technology today. There are many Fonvisins and Peter the greats in the society in the name of politicians, academics and business people due to their positions of power and explosion of technology like facebook and twitter. But those who enjoy a relatively privileged position in the distribution of culture are journalists and citizens as journalists. Journalist report what happens by virtue of having witnessed the event unfolding, so do citizens. To what extent are journalists responsible, just like Fonvisin and Peter the great for the construction of a better South African nation and African nations today? Because journalists are people and there are more bad people than good ones in every nation, as Fonvisin observed, how can evil/bad journalists escape this psychological trait that is part and parcel of their human reason?

Given that psychological factors still play an important role, how can good journalists strive to counterbalance the imbalance? Do journalists have to be evil/bad to celebrate the fact that “good news is bad news?” Do they really celebrate bad news? If so, does it mean that this is because they are bad/evil journalists? Or is it because, like the French in Fonvisin’s analogy, their God is money and they simply sensationalize to sell stories? And how can they escape such criticisms and accept self critique of what is inherently psychological? Do journalists in South Africa and Africa view reality with Western fashioned lenses which marvel them but blind them of cultural issues in Africa like Peter the great?

The media has now replaced the early nationalists in Africa that had to "decolonize" the African mindset as well as overthrow colonial rule. The media should continue with the nationalist task of "reeducating" Africans and the promotion of black pride through African foods, music, dress, architecture, and religion as equal to, if not better than, their European counterparts. While these steps may seem minor they are the best ways that the media can adopt to build a better South African nation and African nations through their news content and programming. Yes we have e-TV, SABC, SABC-Africa and other news outlets in South Africa but a journalist is either good or evil. The good ones embody the soul/spirit and pride of Africa and are constantly constructing our unique nationalism.

South Africa Media Bills - is the economic structure still super?

In recent years, the ideological form in which men became conscious of the existence of the conflict between politics and economics, and how to fight it out, resulted in the birth of democracy. This means that individuals are free and at liberty to competitively express to achieve material and psychological satisfaction.

The South African media, largely owned by the whites, consists of three newspaper groups Independent Media, AVUSA, formerly known as Johnnic Communications, but now largely owned by a consortium largely dominated by blacks, and Naspers which is basically largely owned by Afrikaners. Each of these media groups have  major mainstream affiliate  newspaper editions which are commonly referred to as the AB press.

The latter is due the discourse around their quality in terms of structure and style of writing which is generally considered formal and serious as opposed to the informal nature of existing tabloids. The best examples of the AB press are the Sunday Times, published by AVUSA, Sunday Independent, published by Independent Media Group and Beeld published by Naspers among others. While AVUSA and Naspers are more local conglomerates, the Independent Media Group is international, linked to the Irish tycoon Tony O’Reilly with business interests from Ireland to many other parts of the world like Europe, Australia and Newzealand.

These newspapers see audiences (active readers) as a potential market, whose interest they need to serve. They deliver ‘active readers’, as a commodity, to advertisers. Businesses see newspapers as an ideal market for reaching potential customers with ideas and commodities, especially, due to the assumption that their target audiences have the financial capacity to buy products and services of high quality and value. The newspapers', audiences and the business community are therefore complexly interlinked in an inseperable  consciousness that solidifies them. The recent introduction of the media Bills in South Africa is thus a big blow regarding their operation.

Although the South African media might be ideologically  polarised, basically due to historical trajectories of racial solidarity, they are united on one thing - they exist to make profits, just like any other product in capitalism, and support a system that guarantees that they continue making profits. Any attempt to disrupt such a consensus is a likely recipe for chaos. These are the reasons why the business community has added its voice to the media bills and tribunal debates. The introduction of the bill is seen as a retrogression as far as democracy is concerned.

In opposing the bill, the South African media acts as a custodian of freedom and guarding against the excesses of political and economic relations that might act as obstacles to freedom. The media always strives to be a neutral player in the delicate relation between politics and economics. This means that the media is sometimes at the mercy of greater political and economic forces which tend to influence and threaten its very fundamental role as the custodian of liberty. The danger of introducing media bills in South Africa, a country that has been lauded in the SADC region for having a free press considering that its neighbours like Zimbabwe have very restrictive media laws, leaves a lot to be desired.

The central issues introduced by the bill is how to strike a balance between press freedom and regulation. Although the debates begun on a higher note, with some politicians and media crying foul, they have taken a new dimension. The business community added their voice to oppose the state's intention hidden behind politicians in parliament. The business community's  contention is that the media bills (if enacted into law) will reduce investor confidence and slow economic growth. One key voice is that of Gareth Ackerman - chairman of one of the biggest retail stores in southern Africa Pick n’Pay.

In an interview with Alec Hogg, a writer and a broadcaster, published on moneyweb.co.za, Ackermans argued that there is a strong awareness in the market that South Africa is in the new space, especially after hosting a successful 2010 world cup. According to him, the bill creates a negative sentiment and driving off investments. It ammounts to muzzling the press in the name of legislation considering that a vibrant press is necessary in the country to tame the growing culture of corruption. If the media is not allowed to talk and say what it needs to say, be it good or bad, then it could actually have a negative impact on business as a whole in South Africa.

Such powerful discourses beginning to emerge from the South African economic/business class underscore two issues. First, they ensure that any attempt to introduce media bills does not see the light of the day. This is by virtue of the facts history reminds us. That freedom in South Africa was won through the consensus that property rights will be respected and existing businesses interests will not be interfered with. This is also out of the symbiotic relationship between the media and business in a largely capitalistic democracy like South Africa.

Second,  politicians will find it difficult to push ideas that are conflicting with the interests of those who bankroll their campaigns – the business class. Political parties in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) included, have been increasingly relying on private donations and public funds for their election campaigns even though their sources of funding have been shrouded by mystery. It is only through scandals like the ‘Oilgate,’ where state funds were allegedly channelled to ANC, that we really begin to get into the depth of such mystery.

Nevertheless, the media will remain a site for struggle due to the fact that it forms part of a powerful public sphere acting as a platform for deliberating important issues of public concern for common good. However, it should guard (self regulation) itself against the excesses of commercialization where professionalism is sacrificed at the altar of commercial interests – Perhaps this should be addressed but not in terms of draconian laws and subjective media tribunals.

Kenyan referendum not juicy, let’s make a cocktail!

President Kibaki adressing a press conference after the Yes team won the referendum (photo sourced from Daily Nation 05 August 2010).


Kenya has indeed shown the world that it can hold free and fair elections. No doubt. The people of Kenya are celebrating what the rebirth and the new constitution will bring, the second republic. Having stayed abroad for over seven years, I personally have something to smile about. I can now have a dual citizenship. How great. I can even choose to go back home and become an MP or is it a PS no, maybe the Prezo. Or I should just seat in the Diaspora and continue remitting cash back home. ..am still thinking.

You see, the reality is that the new Kenyan constitution has got much to offer. Wait a minute, why is the international media not seeing these fruits. I have been disturbed by the manner in which they have represented the Kenyan referendum. I did a quick textual and ideological analysis of the semiotics involving their coverage in stories appearing online on the 5th of August 2010 and I had mixed reactions. I became sad and happy. Sad because it is saddening to hear a cocktail of words such as ‘violence, ethnic, and tight security’ being repeated several times by the international media across the board in their stories.

Reports from Aljazeera news online and TV on the elections utilized such words and emphasized the idea that ‘the government and their security forces’ assured voters that there will be no incidences of violence. As if Kenyans are that violent by nature and do not understand their civic duties in a democracy pertaining the idea of elections and change. They need “security” forces to understand their responsibilities. Analogies were used where the referendum is compared to the ugly incidences of the 2007 election violence, often superficially, in reinforcing the discourse of violence that, apparently, ‘characterize elections in Africa’. Such discourses could lead to tension.

The BBC news online also reported that “it appeared that the elections were conducted peacefully,” paradigmatically, I am sure there is a better choice of words. Simply reporting that ‘it appeared,” leaves a lot to be desired. The CNN reported that “there have been no reports of violence so far,” as if they expected some forms of violence at some point in the immediate future. The CNN went further to argue that “Security -- especially in potential hot spots -- has been beefed up following concerns that violence would once again break out during the voting period.”

Despite all these reports, I am still happy. Happy because Kenya is the real winner in the referendum. Clearly, with the new constitution, I believe Kenya will achieve its vision 2030. Majority of us in the Diaspora are already making major home coming plans. My friend Bobby in Vienna posted something on facebook. Yah, I think it was “let green be the color of love.” The post was spot on. I am sure Spidy in Toronto is smiling because the last time we met during the holidays in December, he complained of how he needed a Visa to come to his country of birth. He had become a Canadian Citizen. Well Spidy, there’s nothing to worry about now…you will regain your Kenyan citizenship in December and still retain your Canadian one. I am sure you will have the best wedding thereafter. God bless Kenya.

AB local newspapers share South Africa white famers fears of Zimbabwe style land invasions - doctoral research now reveals

" We tried to, treated it [land invasions], mostly, from the humanitarian perspective on the impact of farm workers, the impact of famers, you know, farmers being driven out of the country, farmers being killed etcetera. I mean, look, there were not a lot of white farmers being killed and a lot of people had drawn comparison in this country [South Africa] where there have been something like 3 500 farmers, white farmers killed since 1994 versus how many Zimbabwean white farmers, like ten or twelve or something , maybe as many as that. So from the perspective of violence and murder, it wasn't such a big story but it was politically, as we believed that it was part of a strategy to remain in power and also it reflected here [South Africa]obviously because people, a lot of people, our readers included said this is what is going to happen in South Africa. Down the line, are we going to see farm invasions here sanctified by the government? We heard the minister of lands just the other day basically warning, as some of his predecessors have also warned, that if white farmers here do not put more effort into distributing their land to black farmers, then we are going to have a Zimbabwe here and it would be worse" Peter Fabricious, foreign desk editor, Independent Media Group.

Julius Malema was quoted in the Daily Nation Thursday April 2010 in an article titled "ANC youth leader will not be silenced" advocating for Zimbabwe style land invasions. The nation online reported that "The firebrand youth leader of South Africa's ruling party made clear on Thursday he will not be silenced, demanding Zimbabwe-style land seizures from white farmers and vowing to keep singing a controversial song Kill the Boer."  Malema was speaking after his return from a visit to Zimbabwe, where he met President Robert Mugabe and hailed the seizure of white-owned farms to give to landless blacks as a success that South Africa should emulate."We are in a serious economic struggle that seeks to redistribute the wealth to the people. This is what we need the ANC to champion." Malema, who has no direct influence over party policy, also champions mine nationalization. He argues that "Land reform in Zimbabwe has been very successful" and called for South Africa's reforms to be "aggressive" and "militant" but he was not calling for violence.

The fears expressed about the Zimbabwe style land invasions are therefore real but far much complex. This is due to the fact that the land invasions in Zimbabwe are actually a symptom of decaying democracy, characterized by corruption, lack of accountability and proper leadership. This is manifested through unfair democratic practices during elections such as violence and intimidation coupled by a culture of vote rigging. In a sense, all this factors dovetailed to what has now been commonly referred to as economic collapse - the South African economic-ruling-class fear that the economic challenges in Zimbabwe will spill-over to South Africa.

I argue that economic collapse in Zimbabwe is, partly, driven by the political uncertainty characterized by the lack of strong democratic institutions of governance such as an independent electoral body, judiciary and legislature to guarantee free and fair elections. In contrast, these systems are well established in South Africa and it would be interesting to see how South Africa would deal with situations like land invasions were they to erupt. On the other hand, what currently constitute the institutions in Zimbabwe are colonial apparatuses inherited from Ian Smith’s government that protected white minority interests.

With no proper institutions of governance in Zimbabwe, then the potency for political instability, often witness before and after elections, creates low investor confidence. However, I would like to indicate that economic instability or economic downturn is not necessarily created by the ZANU-PF regime, as the selected South African press that I analyzed in my study seems to suggest, but certainly enhanced through the chaotic nature of electoral campaigns. The chaos led to poor policies on land reforms where land is utilized as a tool to win political support. This has cultivated sporadic land conflicts between white commercial farmers and black settlers often viewed as war veterans and the ZANU-PF youth Brigade.

 Poor land redistribution programs and policies are often blamed for sporadic land conflicts, especially during elections,  that they have precariously dominated land restitution discourses in that country, especially, among the political and economic class in South Africa. It is important that such discourses be scrutinized to formulate a way forward for equitable land restitution in Zimbabwe and to address the benign national question of redistributive justice for posterity.

It is clear that land is a source of wealth based on how it is utilized and therefore, there is a direct relationship between land utility and economic growth. It is quite unclear on how the South African economy can be, potentially, greatly damaged by pockets of land conflicts, especially, amongst white and black farmers due to the fact that the country's economy is basically technological and industry driven as opposed to Zimbabwe's - where investments heavily relied on raw material and semi-finished production. However, politics should show sober leadership by addressing land issues in a manner not likely to harm the economic gains and the democracy that South Africa has realized so far.

Regarding the situation in Zimbabwe, there are several issues that accounted for the economic free fall. Apart from the legacy of colonially inherited debts , failed Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (neo-liberal macro - economic policy shift), some of which south Africa is still experimenting on - like the willing-seller willing-buyer principle of land redistribution that 'failed' in Zimbabwe - unbudgeted government decision to intervene in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the payment of war veterans, the nature of elections in Zimbabwe is, thus, partly responsible for the 'economic collapse'.

The representation of the economic situation in Zimbabwe by the South African press suggests that Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and Mugabe are the key architect of economic problems in that country. Election politics are presumed to have led to severe food shortages and high inflation, where in some instances, food has been used as a political weapon for votes while operations such as Murambatsvina, have been unleashed destroying the economic livelihood of many urban settlers. These events coupled by the cholera epidemic are said to have negatively impacted on the economy.

The representation of the economic situation by the selected South African press, therefore, suggests that for Zimbabwe to recover economically, then ‘Mugabe must go’. The MDC, on the other hand, is represented as the new ‘Moses’ who will take Zimbabwe to the ‘Promised Land’ economically. The assumption is that a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) victory will resurrect investor confidence given its backing by the donor community.

However, I argue that economic recovery and development is not achieved by creating debt dependent nations. In fact, the land question, which is at the center of electoral violence and economic turmoil, should be equitably addressed by all parties committed to ensure a political, economic and socially sound Zimbabwe. This equally applies to South Africa. Although the economic situation in Zimbabwe is more complex than the superficial manner in which the selected South African press represents it, it sheds light into how bad politics can destroy a nation and acts as a strong warning to South Africa - these are the fears expressed by the AB press that I studied in my doctoral research. The newspapers studied were: The Sunday Independent, The Sunday Times and The Mail & Guardian

You are not alone

Indeed, no one should be alone in the fight against HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. After many years of HIV/AIDS research, it seems as if stigma will still dominate discussions on how to cope with the pandemic. The just opened HIV/AID arts exhibition at the Museum Africa in Newtown Johannesburg gives hope in the fight against HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination and calls for the support of the treatment of those living with HIV/AIDS.

The keynote speaker in the opening of the sessions, Justice Cameron said people must work together to promote treatment and fight HIV/AIDS stigma and to reverse the idea of HIV/AIDS as an uncontrollable pandemic. He added that treatment is essential to bring life to those who are infected with HIV/AIDS and should be encouraged and promoted.

The exhibition was attended by people from all quarters of the South African community and will be on for the next couple of days. People are therefore called upon to attend in order to show support.

On the display, are marvelous pieces of artistic works including photographs, video and audio information containing real life experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS, those affected, including those that are coping with treatment, and how they are coping.

However, artistic the pieces displayed should have done much more in their representation of "the faces of HIV/AIDS" by shocasing the idea racial diversity. The photo gallery was heavily dominated with black faces men, women, young and old and they risked sending the wrong idea of AIDS in the minds of the public.

The idea of racialy profiling the disease ammounts to othering, blaming and alienation and further contributing to stigma. Other racial groups not profiled  might may easily asume they are not vulnerable, a reality that may double their vulnerability.

The exhibition was no doubt a good ad promising one in the fight againist HIV/AIDS but it should have done more in terms of representation of different racial groups, how they are coping with HIV/AIDS infection and dealing with stigma and treatment. This would have made the event appear more genuine in its commitment  to “treatment". Otherwise, there is no denying that the art exhibition, the first of its kind in Africa having originated from the US and exhibited across different continents, is worth seeing and will go a long way in supporting other HIV/AIDS  initiatives already in place in Southern Africa and Africa as a whole.

Mbeki's legacy conference at Wits University exposes 'realities' in South Africa

The recent conference on Mbeki's legacy exposed the raw realities of the socio-economic, political and cultural experinces in South Africa. Central to this debate was a general theme related to political ideologies that have shaped political governance,accountability of political leadership and life experiences of citizens in South Africa from government policies that have emerged.

From the ideas of the left to classical marxism and economic determinism to market driven neo-liberal ideologies, privatisation versus protectionism and regulation of the economy, it was clearly a minefield of ideas.

Ofcourse, all this ideas were central to the discussion about Mbeki's legacy because Mbeki as a person did not box himself in one corner of ideological thinking, at least according to one panelist in the coference. His ideas were organic and dynamic and seemed to be diffused, such that it becomes difficult to pin him down on one particular school of thought.

But central to Mbeki's thinking has been the idea of a free market economy which attracted heavy critisisms from the left wing partner of the ANC (COSATU) and perhaps contributed to his unpopularity and defeat in the party leadership race in Polokwane.

Why do I say Mbeki could not be conered in a box concerning his ideological intellectualism? While he advocated for a pro-business rightist mentality to the economy, which critics argued only favoured the rich, he also adopted leftist ideas into policy such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)which led to the creation of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) that has since been critisised to favour those who are already privileged and acted as one of the bones of contention between ANC and COSATU.

The core values of the RDP are based on the fact that the centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid have plunged the South African society into a deep seated crisis. Every aspect of the country from political institutions, the economy, social life, the very moral fabric of communities has been deeply affected by the legacy of the arpatheid past.

According to the ANC website www.anc.org.za, the RDP thus anchors itself in meeting human needs. In other words, it is self-consciously people-centred. The RDP is not rooted, in the first place, in this or that political or economic ideology, it submits all such ideologies to the practical litmus test of meeting the fundamental human needs of the South African society.

The RDP asks to be judged in terms of its capacity to provide jobs, shelter, safe water, health-care, nutrition, relevant education, and safety and security to the people of South Africa. All other ideological considerations (for instance, socialism or the "free market"?), and all other technical considerations (for instance, optimal annual growth rates, or budget deficit reduction targets) are secondary to the overriding concern of meeting human needs, in a sustainable manner.

In taking its stand on a people-centred approach, the RDP is not underrating the importance of technical competence, or budgetary discipline, nor does it undervalue the great importance of ideological debate, and the potential opportunities and risks of choosing one or another perspective. But the RDP refuses to lock itself into either preconceived technical or ideological dogma.

The ANC has been basing its election campaigns and victories on the basis of a vision of "A Better Life for All" through the RDP which outlines the strategic path towards this better life. But, of course, one would question the idea of 'a better life for all' given the socio-economic, cultural and political ralities that are still challenging this vision.

Further, what would possibly happen if people loose their trust in the ANC's capabilities to better their life given the challenges that still face the RDP programme? Will they vote another party? Which one? Maybe Congress of the People (COPE) is banking on the days when public perceptions would shift againist the ANC based on whether the RDP and other policy programmes of the ANC like GEAR are succeeding or not.

There is no doubt that the Reconstruction and Development Programme as a government policy has uplifted the living standards of a number of poor South Africans in terms of the expansion of the economy over time and the provision of formal shelters and running water and electricity which has, in many ways, succeeded in the formalisation of shacks in major cities especialy in Gauteng province. But is this all? For instance, many poor South African are yet to see the benefits of the RDP houses, given the the backlogs in RDP house provision and massive unemployment rates, despite a record economic growth.

Andile Mngxitama's, one of the panelists in the conference, argued that the RDP houses are apparatuses that are still being used by the 'managers of a racist system' to continue marginalising the black people. He pointed out to the fact that only black poeople live in RDP houses.

He also mentioned other areas that the black people still lag behind, considering the ANC's vision of a better life as stated in the core values of the RDP given the major challenges still being faced in areas such as housing, education and health to jobs, economic growth, and safety and security. Can this factors influence the way we think about Mbeki and his legacy? Are these challenges as a result of Mbeki and his ideas as a person or the policies of the ANC as a party?

Another issue that emerged out of Mbeki's legacy is the idea of African reinnaisance, which recommended African solutions to African problems. Mbeki has been very instrumental in rejuvinating the African voice through African Union. Ofcourse the visibility of AU led to Africa being listened to even by the strong and mighty who form the G8 and it is not a surprise that South Africa represented the voice of Africa in this year's World Economic Forum.

Mbeki's involvement in Africa contributed to the inclusion of South Africa as a member of the United Nation Security Council, something which has now assisted the AU to gain more muscles to negotiate the African agenda especialy in the global free market. Ideas such as NEPAD and peer review mechanism which are related to fair trade, transparency, governance and accountability, although they are being frustated in some countries in Africa, can also be related to Mbeki's effort and vision to see a united African voice that can negotiate for solutions to its own problem.

His contribution to the continent can be seen through the involment of South Africa in finding peaceful solutions to troubled countries in Africa such as the DRC, Liberia, Burundi, Sudan, Zimbabwe and most recently Madagascar which has since been suspended from the AU due to a coup that ousted the former elected president Marc Ravalomanana. However, it is worth stating that neo-liberal democracy and a push to the New World Oder is a global ideological battle.

Recently, democracy has been shaken in many countries of the world, especialy in Africa, and there is no any other era that capitalism has been under extreme pressure than most recently. So, perhaps the questions can shift from the idea of 'a political figure and his legacy' to questions of societal political and economic power structures and whether or not they are capable of sustaining the growing resentment among people of diffrent gender,ethnic groups,religions, cultures, races and classes on the realities that neoliberal ideologies have constructed and made them experience.

As a result of global recession, and as the wallets are closing in the West, we are begining to see power (economic) shifting to the East. Investors are puting their hopes on the East and many western componies are now expanding eastwards. China's role as a major player is now beeing acknowledged in the global financial market. For example, China is to contribute 40 billion US dollars of the total 500 billion dollars proposed economic stimulus package while the EU and Japan are to contribute 100 billion both.

According to the Financial Times www.ft.com, future of Capitalism- Awider order comes into view, although the next 20-30 years will witness two global economic superpowers-China and the US, China still has got alot of work to do at home. Domestically, it has to create a local market for its products, which is a high political call, and stop the reliance on the export oriented market, especialy regarding trade with the US. The US, on the other hand, has to stop relying on China to support or fund its excessive reliance on credit.

It a delicate balance that requires harmonisation of global finance between major players under the auspices of global financial institutions like IMF and World Bank-the two have be sharply critisised by Mbeki for coming up with programmes that are unworkable for Africa like structural adjustment programmes which contributed to poverty and unemployment in countries like Zimabwbe in the early 1990's.

Generally as the capitalistic system continue to loose its reputation among global citizens through recent events like recession etc, perhaps some form of socialisation is neccessary to manipulate the consent of people from an early childhood through Personality Assessment Systems (PSA)-very much entrenched in different apparatuses of the US society- through dissociation and mind control by skillfully manipulating human emotion especialy fear through the manufacture of a problem, for instance recession, to cause public reaction and thereafter prescribing a solution (commonly known as problem-reaction-solution) and thus proponents of the systems emerging even more powerful in the aftermath. Even though I don't wish to delve into conspiracies, it seems something needs to be done to convince people about the 'benefits' of a global world.

These growing recentments are visible in the civil society and other quaters such as pressure groups such as Occupy Wall Street and others evidenced by the magnitude of demonstration that accomponied discussions by the G20 countries concerning the socio-economic and political state of the world. However, it is important to note that the civil society has also been plagued by the same divisions that characterise the ruling polity having emerged from the same ideological power structures.

Jane Duncan, one of the panelists, explained the need for the civil society to be rebuilt and developed and the need for them to stop operating from the ivory tower for them to support the needs of those they represent. Mark Heywood added that "some parts of the civil society is not a preety picture". The civil society's agenda has been vacuos, untheorised, fragmented and lacks proper approach and consesus.

The civil society has fallen in an undefined space and all this need to change if the civil society is to deliver. Heywood indicated that people have hope in the civil society, the fact that the civil society is diverse and plural is very important and perhaps it should look at what is it that is in this diversity and plurality that can be unified in order to make a claim of socio-economic rights for the benefit of the poor people in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

Mngxitama however disagreed that the people of South Africa have placed their hopes in the civil society, he calimed that the civil society in south Africa has failed due to partisanship and with no options left, people have resorted to popularism in the name of Jacob Zuma, who they think will be a soulition to all their problem, because he is a man of the people and a true born African unlike Mbeki who was considerd aloof and an intellectual who asserted his Africanness by quoting other reknown scholars.

The other ideological structure, which has got nothing to do with Mbeki but perhaps has everything to do with the public image and construction of how Mbeki is seen today and consequently his legacy, is the media. Ferial Haffajee, Editor-in-Chief of the Mail & Guardian posed a question at the conference on Mbeki's leadership and what it said about 'us'. She later agreed that perhaps the question should have been who is responsible for the representations about Mbeki that we now use as the yardsticks or reference point when debating his legacy?

Haffaje accepted that the media plays a crucial role in myth making and perhaps the media should improve on its political reporting by ensuring they understand that they play a functional among other roles in shaping people's perception and their understanding on how they make sense of the world and people arround them, moreso politicians- it is understandable though that media ownership is a factor that influences media content and it actualy plays a big role in media represenation of socio-economic, political and cultural 'realities' in the world and South Africa is no exception.

As far as Mbeki himself is concerned, there was a general consesus at the conference that he has left behind powerful policies and institutions that will go a long way in deciding South African geopolitical positioning as an African economic powerhose and will go a long way in shaping her international relations, particlarly as the champion of the African voice and a model to admire depending on whether or not his successors will pursue this agendas with caution, dedication and determination.