A city… and how it evolves into something greater

Being cynical is not a bad thing necessarily… you could argue that there’s a lot that can be gleaned from a critical observation of the world and the status quo in looking to the future. Take, for example, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. One argument is that his cynical view of social structures spawned the most influencial social-networking website we’ve ever known.

How about Sir Bob Geldof? One of the most cynical artists around, but also one of the most influential – Live 8 founder, humanitarian pioneer and all-round roughian.

I’ve yet to meet anyone as angry and cynical as Sir Bob, but I have indeed met a lot of cynics. It has to do with some of my journalism work. Year after year I observe rookie graduates arriving in the newsroom: fresh-faced, harnessing a strong desire to learn and, occasionally, change the world. After 6 months they are scowling every time a politician’s name comes up, they’re immune to the horror that makes headlines and they maintain a general sense of disillusionment with humanity.

I could go on, but cynicism is not the focus here. I would like to talk about a city and how it evolves into something greater.

The media plays an important role in today’s society, one of which is the “watchdog” role. The media, on many occasions, has held accountable those in positions of power, and has presented information which would otherwise have gone unnoticed to most tax-paying citizens.

For us – you and me – the issue here is what we do with that information.

I have watched how people respond to some of the local headlines. Mostly it is shock or frustration. Very seldom have I witnessed a voice which offers direction among the noise of reaction.

Some of you will know of my current hometown Pietermaritzburg and the difficult time it has been through the past few years. Long story short: funds were mismanaged and the city council went bankrupt. In a big way. No money to pay staff meant nothing was maintained and the city quickly became a mess.

But things have changed. The energy spent on bemoaning about those in power has been replaced with a active sense of ownership, and it’s pervading the common consciousness…

You see it in the revamps of shopping malls around the city. You see it in local businesses rallying together with the P3 initiative (a clean-up campaign). You see it at sporting events – and we have some of the biggest sporting events in the country hosted here – like the Comrades Marathon, the Midmar Mile, the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the MTB World Cup, amongst others.

This seldom makes page 1 of newspapers. It’s been a slow process, a gradual realisation that a people movement is possible. It’s the idea that this is OUR city, it belongs to us, and WE have a responsibility for it.

And the results are amazing. Without petitions, without marches, without violence, the slow process of cynical outbursts is steadily being replaced with the priority of giving. And this has caused government to up its game. It’s like the optimism, the sense of pride, the integrity of investing time and money and talent into something, is all very contagious. Premier Zweli Mkhize announced at the 2012 KZN legislature that our province is debt-free province with R3,6 billion in the bank. We’re poised to boom in the next few years.

I’m not saying we have arrived. Far from it, there’s still much that is physically and spiritually needed for people’s lives here in the Burrah. But there are many good people here. The cynicism has not travelled from their head to pervade their heart.