What do shack dwellers know about bling-bling?
When South Africa’s new communications minister, Siphiwe Nyanda, treated himself to two new luxury motor vehicles the newspapers and online media were chockfull of criticism. Our favourite headline – and we admit it was a close run affair – appeared on ne
According to online knowledgebase, http://www.wikipedia.org/, “bling-bling (or simply bling) is a slang term used in hip hop culture to refer to flashy or elaborate jewellery and ornamented accessories.” The magic of bling is it can be worn, installed or carried. You can see examples of bling by watching any number of modern-day music videos, including tricked out motor vehicles, heavy gold chains, golden tooth caps – and basically anything shiny! Wikipedia suggests that bling practitioners tend to come from poorer or middle-class backgrounds and that their ostentatious displays of wealth indicate to their peers that they’ve transcended their dire circumstances. Are you ‘down’ with that, my brothers?
Accusing the minister of bling-inism
Is Fin24 correct in accusing the communications minister of bling? We suggest they are not. The minister purchased two BMW 750i luxury cars (at a cost of R1 135 500 each) and fitted a range of optional extras, totalling R148 400. We’re pretty certain that neither the car, nor the R23 400 rear seat entertainment centre, or the R5 600 “high gloss satin chrome” paint job fall under the broad bling parameters just discussed. The minister has bought a motor vehicle which any self-respecting wealthy businessman would gladly use to shuttle to and from business meetings.
The problem is the minister is not a wealthy businessman. He is an elected servant of a community in which the average breadwinner would have to work for 75 years (without spending a penny on food, clothing or healthcare) to enjoy the same privilege. It’s worth mentioning they’d have to work another eight years for the extras. When questioned about his purchases Nyanda simply pointed to the Cabinet-approved Ministerial Handbook. The book says he is entitled to two vehicles to a certain maximum value and that these vehicles can be replaced every five years or 120 000km. He is therefore 100% within his rights to make the purchases. But that’s not the question the opposition party is asking, nor the answer the voting public want to hear. We want ministers to follow the party line by bridging the gap between rich and poor. What’s wrong with a simple (sic) BMW 3-Series or Mercedes C-Class?
What does the average African National Congress (ANC) supporter have to say on the issue? It’s difficult to tell because the poorest of the poor – the population segment that houses the bulk of ANC party support – simply have no voice. Their status rises in the few months before an election, when their loyalty is bought on the back of the most basic of promises, and plummets in the months after. They are left to address their grievances with an unsympathetic municipality that more often than not negotiates from behind a wall of teargas and rubber bullets.
Are we dealing with a bunch of posers?
The paint on Nyanda’s new Beamer was hardly dry when the incoming minister of basic education got in on the act. Angie Motshekga proudly announced that she’d saved the taxpayer a packet by not using her full allocation. She opted for a BMW 730d and a Range Rover Sport for a trifling R1.7m. Why the obsession with luxury vehicles? Many years ago we were privy to the angst experienced by a company chief financial officer in the run up to a tough union negotiation. Before he left for the meeting he swapped his S320 Mercedes for his personal assistant’s Citi Golf. Sure he was a poser, but he didn’t want to raise the ire of the poor factory workers (or union bosses) with whom he was about to meet. And he hadn’t purchased the vehicle with taxpayers’ cash.
What message do you send to your constituency when one of your first actions in your new job is to stock your garages with expensive cars? If South Africa was a well-to-do nation with 90% employment and a $30 000 average annual wage we wouldn’t give a hoot what our ministers and other elected officials drove. But until that happens we side with the Democratic Alliance spokesperson, Lindiwe Mazibuko, who describes the current obsession with status as a “frivolous and a massive waste of public money.”
Flashy dresser to crack the whip at SAPS
We’ll leave the car debate for a moment to focus on the real bling. Soon after the appointment of Bheki Cele as South Africa’s new National Police Commissioner, e-TV news ran an insert to answer the “who is Cele” question. The best they could muster – aside from recounting his ANC history and unfaltering loyalty to President Jacob Zuma – was to highlight his penchant for Stetson hats. News service IOL introduced him as a “trendy-dressing, tough-talking cowboy” – clearly someone who understands bling. In our view the focus should be on the man’s crime fighting capabilities rather than his sense of style. Even more perplexing is why Zuma went ahead with another political appointment to a critical safety and security post?
Opposition politicians wasted little time in voicing their displeasure. Inkatha Freedom Party spokesperson Velaphi Ndlovu said the appointment was “nothing more than a political promotion for one of President Jacob Zuma’s closest allies.” The good news is the common criminal will be in for a tough time. Cele won’t back away from advocating the use of deadly force. And he’s not afraid to tell us what he means by it either. “Deadly force – dead means you will die – that’s what it means,” he said.
Editor’s thoughts: A flash motor vehicle contributes absolutely nothing to service delivery. A minister driving a 1600cc Toyota is going to be able to perform as competently as one driving a Bentley or Rolls Royce. We believe leaders should earn respect for their actions and not what they drive. Should government reconsider the motor vehicle and housing perks currently paid to Cabinet ministers and other high-ranking government officials? Add your comment below, or send it to gareth@fanews.co.za
