camshare

[camshare]

"To speak of a ‘shadow government’ without acknowledging that we live in an inherently corrupt, dual society to begin with; replete with parallel systems of justice, trade, employment, service provision and so forth – is disingenuous. What we are currently experiencing is a product of our central condition as a nation. We are a country of parallel realities, and what we are now witnessing is that our demons are surfacing. What has long been resident within South African society, always just beneath the surface, is now rearing its ugly head in dramatic fashion. If we are brave enough to confront this central truth, then perhaps our current “state of capture” may yet be turned into an opportunity for an exorcism. " #SouthAfrica #corruption #StateCapture #leadership

[camshare]

Leveraging Sustainability Innovations 22-24 Nov

I will be giving a short course - Leveraging Sustainability Innovations - at Cornerstones Institute in Salt River, Cape Town on 22-24 November. It is intended to orient those who want to implement sustainability interventions but aren't sure how to go about it.

Here is the course description:

"This introductory course is designed to expose mid-to-high level executives in the public and private sectors to the field of sustainability and the key innovations that are unfolding in this sector. It will help unlock their ability to work with sustainability by introducing them to a variety of case studies in sustainability innovations, and by assisting them to develop project and programme-level sustainability proposals in their respective organisational contexts and areas of work."

You can register for the course at this link: https://cornerstone.ac.za/leveraging-sustainability-innovation/

Please let people who may benefit from this know, as it is happening soon!

Many thanks!

[camshare]

The long road forward for South Africa.

[camshare]

"The African political condition has a label. Neopatrimonialism, as it is termed, refers to a system of rule by an individual and/or political party that where loyalty is predicated on the distribution of economic rents to ‘clients’. These are individuals, groups, networks and organisations that are linked in some way or another, that is; through kinship, common purpose or agendas, social networks, and so forth." #politics #SouthAfrica #leadership

[camshare]

"Understanding what latencies and potentials reside within the South African state that support shadow, deep and parallel state activities, and which have developed and been inherited through its historical evolution, is critical, as breaking the cycle requires that these propensities are dealt with at their roots. In order to create a new history a breaking of cycles is necessary, but first we have to recognise that what we see and experience in the present has historical precedent and is not simply the emergence of something new. To scholars and enthusiasts of history there should be a strong sense of history repeating itself under the Zuma presidency, and in order to break with that history we need to acknowledge it and understand it deeply, lest we merely offer up superficial and symptomatic treatments for a disease that we carry deep within our veins and our bones; treatments that distract us from the reality of our condition and eventually brings about our end nonetheless."

[camshare]

"The conversations occurring between black professionals and entrepreneurs now is about setting their own agenda, strategy and rules, and moving ahead without the white-run private sector entirely. Attempts to recast radical economic transformation as empty, populist sloganeering are hence deeply misplaced, and proof of this is that for the first time black professionals are not even bothering to explain themselves or attempting to correct the misconceptions that white society may harbour over the new agenda. The way they see it, the time for ‘asking for permission’ has long passed, and no explanations are necessary. This train is leaving town, and fast."

[camshare]

Perhaps it was naive to assume that years and years of neoliberal era spin-doctoring wouldn’t eventually send politics itself spinning spectacularly out of control. And despite the best efforts of moderates and progressive centrists, the gyre seems to be an ever-widening one. Spectacle ‘trumps’ substance in this new political terrain, where the performative has displaced the substantive, and where ‘truth’ is whatever one makes of it. Facts, expert opinion and the like has all come to be profoundly distrusted. It is difficult to steer a course through the noise and turbulence of the politics of the early 21st Century. So it is of paramount importance to interrogate the new trajectory that the ANC has embarked on, one that promises “radical economic transformation” as a solution to the desperate and critical challenges that South Africa faces 22 years into its transition to a democratic dispensation. Radical economic transformation currently means different things to different people.

[camshare]

"We will remain doomed to a future of ‘second-rung’ economic activities should we not take this opportunity to go beyond mere redistributive reforms and seed the potential for economic diversification through harnessing new growth offerings. For decades there has been a consistent mantra; that significant industrialisation is required to take the South African economy forward, and that it would need to diversify significantly to achieve this. That opportunity is now on our doorstep, should we approach it in a half-baked manner, and fail to conceive of a truly radical vision – one that is not only socially radical, but is radical in terms of economic transition – then we would have failed to leapfrog ourselves into the most significant emerging economies, ones that will increasingly dictate how the 21st Century unfolds. It will be a ‘revolution without a renaissance’, and that, in effect, is a revolution that is incomplete."

[camshare]

"Yet drawing the middle classes in the new South Africa out onto the streets – whether white, brown or black – is an incredible achievement. Moreover, the protests drew people out locally, that is; they took to the streets in their various neighbourhoods and areas across the country, in addition to converging upon major state venues such as parliament in Cape Town, as well as Church Square and the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It is from this that the seeds of active, local citizenry can be built in South Africa, especially within middle and lower middle class neighbourhoods and areas. The absence of a coherent ideological or political project that they can articulate or motivate for, at this state, should come as no surprise. The protest actions of yesterday are but a starting point. They are not yet a movement or set of movements of any recognisable description. They are largely united by a joint frustration with corruption, the lack of political accountability and the inaction of politicians and the ruling classes (one might also add traditional activists and left intellectuals to this). So what is the plan moving forward? What can actors within society draw upon to keep the momentum of mobilisation and protest action?"

[camshare]

"Faced with perhaps the greatest post-Apartheid crisis of leadership and governance that the democratic dispensation has endured, the South African left are largely unable to find a coherent voice, and are hence unable to mount any serious programme of action to remedy the situation"

[camshare]

United We Stand, Divided We Fall! "It’s up to ordinary citizens. That is the key message coming out of all quarters of South African society. Whether they be anti-Zuma civil society organisations such as Save South Africa, opposition politicians, or the now famously fired Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, the message is clear. Organise amongst yourselves and act if you want South Africa to change course."

[camshare]

"What is certain, is that the Russian nuclear deal – announced after a meeting between President Zuma and Vladimir Putin – is likely to be pushed through. Estimated at 1 Trillion Rands, it has faced concerted opposition both from the public and within government itself. The vast majority of energy researchers and experts see no need for the deal, and it is widely viewed as a patronage deal that will enrich Zuma’s supporters. While a lot has been made of the President’s close relationship with an Indian born business family – the Gupta’s – with whom the President’s son has very close business ties, little mention has been made of Russia and its role in the deal (the President’s close relationship with the Gupta family is derogatively referred to as “Zupta” by opposition politicians and the press)."

[camshare]

"Helen Zille’s latest twitter comments, and her subsequent Daily Maverick article, both waxed lyrical about the ‘benefits’ of colonial infrastructure and services (e.g. medicine) to the colonies. Predictably, her comments have invoked widespread outrage in South Africa, a country that is still grappling with its colonial and Apartheid past that saw white supremacy entrenched in every aspect of daily life."

[camshare]

"Yet these ‘forgotten zones’ have severe and entrenched social vulnerabilities, which although not as evident and direct as natural disasters, constitute a deeper malignance; a turbulence that ignored, is likely to grow and build amongst the populous youth of the continent, until it erupts into social disorder, or finds focus and becomes a driving force for change."

[camshare]

Re-Thinking Trump: What's Left?

"There are many on the left who are of the view that Donald Trump is merely a distraction from the real political challenges facing the left and liberals; that he is merely a stage-act who may make a few loud noises, but will ultimately prove largely ineffective and harmless in the end, that he will be reined in by the same systemic constraints that – for example – rendered Obama’s promises of change ultimately ineffectual and timid."

But is this just wishful thinking?

More here:

http://thoughtfactory-cam.blogspot.co.za/2017/03/re-thinking-trump-whats-left.html

[camshare]

"No one can reverse the past. It cannot be reclaimed, yet it is in the present, with us." Read the first chapter of "Lazarus in the Multiple: Awakening to the era of complexity" here: https://t.co/bqsN83UJ4k #philosophy #memory #undercommons #assemblage #BLM #SouthAfrica #race #complexity #posthumanism #history #politics #society

[camshare]

Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina attacked in Berlin!